1. Sidney Crosby "Sid will never be the same". "He's one big hit away from retirement". Those are two quotes thrown around a lot over the past year. Amusingly enough, such rumors were entirely started and continued by fans. Not team doctors, not team officials, not team coaches, not other players, and certainly not Sid himself. I have no basis for saying this, but I'd be willing to bet that anybody who said that had no formal medical training whatsoever. Sid The Kid is back to stay, and better than ever. Teammate Brooks Orpik, who has played with Crosby for his entire career, says this is the best he's ever seen him, even better than his pre-concussion tear. He leads the league in points by a mile. He piles up the assists at an insane rate, and the scoring touch seems to be picking up by the day. Its no coincidence that the Penguins are winning.
2. Goaltending The Pens goaltending was more or less a question mark for the beginning of this year. Backup Tomas Vokoun had three or four bad performances, and Marc-Andre Fleury showed vulnerability. On this winning streak, save for a couple exceptions, the goaltending has been more than strong.
3. Penalty Kill In the first part of the season (most noticeably on the Pens' mini losing streak which preceded the winning streak) the team's penalty kill was very weak. This was a stark contrast to the past two seasons, in which the Penguins took the 1st and 4th rankings respectively. On this winning streak, for the most part, the PK has looked back like its old self. They are pressuring the puck more, which forces opponents to make quick (and bad) decisions.
4. No Excuses Remember 2011, when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin sat out the final four months of the season? Remember how the Penguins made the playoffs (with home--ice advantage) that year? Its because they (led by coach Dan Bylsma) NEVER use injuries as excuses. Over the course of this winning streak, the Pens have been without Evgeni Malkin for most of the time. One could hardly notice.
5. Persistence Pays Off Many have labeled the 2013 Penguins as the "comeback kids"(similar to the '08-'09 team). The team has made late, dramatic comebacks a bit of a habit. Notable ones include a 2-goal comeback vs. Philly in the 3rd period, a 2-goal comeback vs. Boston in the 3rd, a 3 goal comeback @ Florida in the 2nd and 3rd periods, and a 3 goal comeback @ Philly. The persistence has provided several empowering victories, and has given them the look of a playoff team.
6. Home Ice Another rumor thats been flying around: Consol Energy Center is too quiet. I simply don't understand this one. I mean, any arena would be quiet with its team down 4-1 to the Islanders. Even in a normal circumstance, no fan base screams during play relentlessly (save for the insane MTS Centre in Winnipeg). During big moments towards the end of the game, Consol is as loud as anywhere in the NHL. You have to think this affects the players in a positive way.
7. Welcome to Pittsburgh, Sutter Brandon Sutter started his career with the Penguins extremely quietly. He wasn't necessarily bad, he just wasn't scoring much. He played terrific defensive hockey. Now, all of a sudden, he has become a source of dramatic, game-changing goals. With a late goal to complete a huge comeback vs. the Flyers, and two goals in the final five minutes of an astonishing comeback win vs. Boston, Sutter certainly has carved a place in this team.
8. Depth The Penguins depth is unbelievable, from top to bottom. First off, any claims that Sidney Crosby should get some better wingers are absolutely absurd. On one side, you have Chris Kunitz, who is second in the league in points (only to Crosby. Kunitz also has two hat tricks on the season). Third line center Brandon Sutter is thriving, as I said above. James Neal is continuing to be the 40-goal man of last year. Dustin Jeffrey is ably filling in for injured Malkin. Newbie Beau Bennett is already making waves, as a second line winger. It even goes down to the fourth line in Joe Vitale, who leads the way in face-offs.
9. Discipline Something the Penguins lacked in a big way before this streak is discipline. Taking too many penalties. One way or another, they have simply stopped doing that, which obviously results in less chances for opponents to score.
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