Asst. coach Quinn talks Karlsson, Grzelcyk and power play

At any given Pittsburgh Penguins practice, a mirror image often presents itself on the ice, as two men decked out in matching attire with similar physical attributes bark out instructions in a coarse New England accent. That would be Mike Sullivan and David Quinn, and one could be forgiven for seeing double any time they are near one another.

“We’re not brothers, contrary to what everyone believes,” Quinn quipped. “We talk alike and look alike, but we’re not related.”

Over the summer, Sullivan, a native of Marshfield, Mass., brought in Quinn, who hails from Cranston, R.I., to fill a vacant spot among the Penguins’ assistant coaching ranks.

Quinn, relieved of his duties as coach of the San Jose Sharks in April of 2024 after two seasons, took the spot of Todd Reirden, who was fired by the Penguins that May.

Upon arriving in Pittsburgh, Quinn took over Reirden’s former duties overseeing Penguins defensemen as well as the power play, which struggled immensely last season, finishing 30th in the NHL (15.3%).

Quinn’s hiring brought a familiar face to Sullivan’s inner circle, as the two were teammates at Boston University in the 1980s and have been friends since.

But given his close relationship with Sullivan, did that make it easier or more challenging to offer dissenting opinions from his boss?

“Seamless, really,” Quinn said of working under Sullivan. “Obviously, we’ve got a long, long friendship and there’s a lot of respect, personally and professionally. … We look at the game in a similar way, but we also have our different takes on it. There’s a healthy relationship professionally where we can disagree respectfully and have healthy conversations.”

Following the Penguins’ 5-0 shutout of the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Quinn substituted for Sullivan postgame, fielding questions from reporters.

Since joining the Penguins organization last summer, it marked the first time he was made available to chat with the media.

Quinn went on to offer his thoughts on a number of topics, including the individual campaigns of defensemen Erik Karlsson and Matt Grzelcyk plus the Penguins’ resurgent power play.

• Karlsson scored his 200th career goal Tuesday, becoming the 24th blue liner in NHL history to reach that milestone. One of three Penguins players to appear in all 79 games to date, Karlsson has contributed 11 goals with 42 assists in his second year with the club, ranking fourth in points while averaging 23 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time, second to only Kris Letang.

For all his offensive contributions, Karlsson’s defensive warts have frequently been on display over the course of the season.

To Quinn, there are parallels between Karlsson’s play and that of the Penguins as a team.

“I think like our team in general and some individuals, Erik’s had some really good stretches, really long stretches, and stretches where I think he could play better,” Quinn said. “I think it’s really a microcosm of our season in a lot of ways. He’s still an elite talent. Obviously, his offensive abilities speaks for itself. But you see in situations, he’s got the ability to defend, too. It’s why he’s a threetime Norris Trophy winner and a guy that’s scored 100 points. Quite an accomplishment (Tuesday). You score 200 goals in this league as a defenseman, that’s an awful lot of goals. I’m just really happy for him.”

• Grzelcyk’s one-year, $2.75 million deal with the Penguins signed last offseason was of the prove-it variety, and as the season comes to an end, both parties have had reason to be satisfied.

In Grzelcyk, the Penguins gained a serviceable presence on the blue line who proved to be a pleasant surprise in terms of production.

Like Karlsson, Grzelcyk has yet to miss a game for the Penguins and with three still to play, he has comfortably secured a career-best campaign after producing 35 assists and one goal.

Previously, Grzelcyk’s most productive season was 202223 with the Boston Bruins (four goals and 22 assists in 75 games).

The 31-year-old Grzelcyk also emerged as a steady presence on the power play, with one third of his points (13) coming on the man-advantage.

“He’s certainly done a really good job on the power play,” Quinn said. “It’s not an easy situation to step into, but I think he’s had a heck of a year. He had a really good career in Boston. Last year was a little bit of a down year for him. Health had something to do with it, but I think he’s really done a great job taking advantage of the situation that he’s been presented with here. He’s earned everything he’s gotten. Obviously, he’s done a really good job on the power play, he’s played big minutes for us, and I think defensively, he’s gotten better and better as the season’s gone on. We’re fortunate to have him. He’s really done a good job.”

• The Penguins predictably keep Quinn’s specific role in leading the power play from a schematic standpoint close to vest.

But the results tell the tale. This season, the Penguins’ power play has rebounded to a top-10 unit in the NHL following a season of futility.

Following Tuesday’s win over Chicago, which featured a power-play goal, the Penguins rank seventh with a 25.0% conversion rate, having scored 53 goals on 212 tries.

That’s up from 40 goals in 262 opportunities last season.

Quinn was quick to deflect credit to the players on the ice.

“These guys have done a great job,” he said. “When you’ve got this type of talent, you’ve got a great chance to have a good power play. These guys have certainly done a great job working together. Obviously, you have some peaks and valleys during the course of the season. It was a little bit of a rut here the second half of the season, but I think lately, we’ve done a really good job rebounding. We’ve just moved pucks quickly. We’ve had a low-ice mentality and like I said, when you have this type of talent, you’ve got a good chance to have a good power play.”

Note: The Penguins had a scheduled off-day Wednesday.