Penguins Update: If Looks Could Kill

Back in the 1930s, the Philadelphia Athletics had a Fall-of-Fame catcher named Mickey Cochrane. By all accounts, he hated to lose. Whenever the As tasted defeat, he was transformed into a mood so foul that his teammates dubbed him “Black Mike.”

It might be an appropriate nickname for Mike Sullivan, too.

I’ll put it another way. If looks could kill, there’d be a lot of dead Penguins today. The absolutely chilling expression in Sully’s eyes following another first-period meltdown last night told the whole story. No need for words or translation.

Forced to endure another disgraceful no-show to begin the second of back-to-back games—a horrific 7-1 loss to Winnipeg—I thought Sullivan might explode in righteous anger right there on the bench. He would’ve been perfectly justified. His team let him down again, in inglorious fashion.

This time, there was no Antti Niemi to blame. Like a young bull thrown on the sacrificial altar, Matt Murray got strafed for four goals—three within a 4:09 span—before he was mercifully pulled with two minutes left in another first period as disastrous and embarrassing as it was humbling.

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