Article content continued

“At this stage you have to treat it like it’s a playoff game,” Horvat said. “Every game from now on is a playoff game for us.”

Sullivan’s rebirth

The last time Mike Sullivan was in Rogers Arena as a coach in the NHL, the Canucks were finishing off a dismal 83-point season which led to the firing of head coach John Tortorella and Sullivan, then a Canucks’ assistant.

This time? Sullivan is the head coach of the defending Stanley Cup-champion Pittsburgh Penguins who also owned the fourth-best record in the NHL before Saturday’s games.

“I enjoyed my time here but we also had some challenging times,” Sullivan said before Saturday night’s game. “All of those memories come back.”

Even if the memories are misty and water-coloured.

“I’m no different than anybody else,” Sullivan continued. “When you go through experiences both good and not so good, there are always opportunities to reflect and learn and try to get better. That’s part of what we do.

“Reflection is part of the process when you’re trying to become the best coach you can be.”

Still, that must have been some serious reflecting on Sullivan’s part. Looking back, it’s hard to reconcile the journeyman coach who left Vancouver after the 2013-14 season with the architect of the Penguins’ championship last year. True, it helps when you have Crosby and Malkin as the centrepiece of your team.

But Sullivan also reinvented the Pens last year when he took over just before Christmas, installing a speed-and-pressure game which carried them to the title, committing to young goalie Matt Murray in the playoffs and getting relevant play out of Kessel.

This year, the Pens are right there again despite losing Crosby early on, Malkin for seven games in February and Kris Letang for 25 games and counting.

“We’ve been through a fair amount of ups and downs where we’ve had some inconsistencies in our game,” Sullivan said. “But what I really like about our group is we’re competitive, we’ve got guys who really care about the Penguins and we find ways to win.”

We should all be so inconsistent.

ewilles@postmedia.com