Gorman: Time for Penguins to repeat a message

A constant message from Mike Sullivan to the Penguins is to reset the mindset, a reminder from the coach to his players to focus not on the past or future but rather to live in the present.

So talk of a Stanley Cup championship repeat never enters the conversation. But it's the elephant in the Penguins' dressing room as the players are aware of their opportunity to become the first back-to-back Cup champions since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings.

It isn't lost on the Penguins that, to repeat as Cup champions, they have to repeat a scenario from last year by winning Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final at home.

“Our team talks about the one game right in front of us, and that's the only approach that we can take, is making sure that we stay in the moment,” Sullivan said. “And we just make sure we focus on the task at hand. That's an important aspect of having success at any time of year, but this time of year in particular.

“So that's never a topic that enters our discussion within our dressing room. We're really focused on that one game right in front of us.”

That would be the Game 7 against the Ottawa Senators at 8 p.m. Thursday at PPG Paints Arena, with the winner advancing to play the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Final.

The home-ice advantage should favor the Penguins, but they are 3-7 all-time in Game 7s at home and winless in seven attempts after losing Game 6. Then again, Ottawa is 0-5 in Game 7s in its history.

Something's got to give, right?

“No pressure on us,” Ottawa winger Mike Hoffman said. “I mean, they're the ones that are up. They're the ones that are favored. For us, we just go and take it as another hockey game. This one is a Game 7.

“Obviously, there's a lot of us that haven't played in one of those at this level, but we know the game plan: Stick to our system and try to shut them down as best we can and give ourselves the best chance for the 60 minutes.”

Ottawa coach Guy Boucher has been in this situation before against the Penguins as he coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 1-0 victory in Game 7 of the 2011 Eastern Conference first round. What he warns against is looking past this game and thinking about what's at stake.

“I think what we have to watch out for is thinking of Stanley Cup Finals,” Boucher said. “It's about winning one game. We've won a lot of one games this year. We've won a lot of pressure one games. That's what it's about. …

“If you get ahead of yourself, you get an excitement that's very difficult to manage. So we want to make sure that we manage it. We need to be calm. We need to know what we are. We need to know who does what, and we know that. We have to be ourselves to give ourselves a chance.”

The Penguins must do the same. What makes it difficult is that they are one victory away from a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final and a chance to join the company of the 1991-92 Penguins, led by co-owner Mario Lemieux, as back-to-back Cup champions.

“I would say this entire playoff has given us all an appreciation of what a challenge it is to get back to the top,” said Penguins center Matt Cullen, a two-time Cup champion. “A lot of good players, a lot of good teams, but it's awfully tight. It's always tight. It seems like every series is such a challenge.”

The challenge for the Penguins is to draw from their experience of winning a Game 7 in the conference final last year against Tampa Bay without looking ahead to playing the Predators in the Cup Final.

“When you're on the ice, I feel like, for me, that stuff kind of fades to the back,” Penguins goalie Matt Murray said. “You just worry about the puck. I mean, once that puck drops, it's kind of like nothing else matters. You really forget what's outside the glass and what's outside of that moment.”

That's what Sullivan wants when he talks about resetting the mindset, as he believes high-stakes games have a psychological impact on players. And Sullivan repeatedly has credited these Penguins for displaying resiliency and resolve throughout this postseason run, especially when he's asked them to reboot after a defeat.

“What I love about our team is we've always showed an ability to respond,” Sullivan said. “We've had a lot of high-stakes games here over the last couple years, certainly in my tenure here, and our players to a man have responded the right way.

“I think it always starts with our leadership. These guys have a lot of experience of playing in this type of an environment, and I think that experience will serve them well. But, certainly, we've got to go out and we've got to earn Game 7.”

So Sullivan is asking the Penguins to reset their mindset and focus on winning one game to win the Cup. It's a mantra they must repeat if they want to repeat.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.