Losing to Toronto is a bitter pill to swallow when taking the standings into consideration. Even if Pittsburgh continues to do better than they did under Mike Johnston it still doesn't change the fact that they need to start racking up wins.

It is a frustrating situation because their play has been night and day better, but the hole Johnston dug the team doesn't allow time for the shooting percentage woes to bounce from dreadful to below average (which on most nights would be good enough). Pittsburgh is currently 29th in the league with a 5v5 shooting percentage of 5.46.

Here is the difference between the two coaches so far



It looks like a mid-sized city on the left that decided it was going to get into the skyscraper game and go big time.

The most difficult thing for most people will be separating what happened under Johnston with what is happening under Sullivan. The process of how the Penguins play, which will breed long term success, has been resuscitated. They were dead under Johnston. With Sullivan their only issue is shooting percentage. Emotional people who can't separate process from results are going to continue to think nothing has changed, but they are wrong.

Five top possession teams in NHL since 2010. Winners of all of last seven Cups. pic.twitter.com/LHruGX9TX0

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) April 26, 2015

Sidney Crosby is definitely working his way back to his normal standard. He has seven points in seven games under Mike Sullivan and has taken the5v5 points/60 lead back from Evgeni Malkin (1.67 vs 1.65). I expect both players to keep working their way back to the 2.0 first line threshold under Mike Sullivan.

Crosby has improved in other areas as well

Small sample size, but quite a difference so far. Crosby's numbers under Johnston and Sullivan. pic.twitter.com/aEzUw7AOyJ

— m g (@kikkerlaika) December 31, 2015

1. Sidney Crosby is so patient before rifling the puck past the goaltender. He's still pretty good. #Pens #SixSnipes pic.twitter.com/BA6ym6SGwQ

— Shane O'Donnell (@shane1342o) December 31, 2015

Goaltender Matt Murray continues to impress. He stopped 34 out of 36 shots in actual game play including multiple breakaway saves to keep the game tied. Since being recalled he has an adjusted 5v5 save percentage of .957 which is obviously outstanding.

Matt Murray's ever growing sample size continues to show that he is really good. An organization which understands cap value would already have the idea of a Marc-Andre Fleury 2016 draft trade in the back of their mind.

By the time a goalie is “proven” (thousands of SA), he’s likely past his prime. Keep that in mind re: Murray https://t.co/bTDsnxbxjM

— C. Tompkins (@Null_HHockey) December 31, 2015

I won't be surprised if Matt Murray is Team North America's No. 1 at the World Cup. They were very high on him before he even reached NHL.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) December 31, 2015

Kris Letang returned to game action and what would a game with Letang be if he wasn't run head first into the boards?

one final look. again, so glad Letang appears to be okay. pic.twitter.com/92V3lFdNmN

— Stephanie (@myregularface) December 31, 2015

That is the look of a guy who is just sick and damned tired of this happening every time he takes the ice.

Pittsburgh will not get any time to rest they will be back in action against Detroit this evening. They will look to close out a forgettable 2015 with a victory and finally combine proper process with proper results.

Thanks for reading!

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