No, Mike Sullivan didn't forget that it was Montreal that scored the overtime goal Saturday night.
And yes, he's keenly aware that the Penguins' 3-2 loss to the Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto then puts them down, 1-0, in the best-of-five qualifying-round series that will resume with Game 2 Monday at 8 p.m..
Nonetheless, Sullivan said Sunday that a video review of the Penguins' play in the opener turned up more than a few positives for his club.
"There was a lot of the game that we really liked," he said. "And after we watched the game film, it just provided that much more affirmation. I felt our energy was really good. I thought we were playing on our toes. I thought we had a great start, even though we didn't score and we ended up down a goal.
"So there was a lot to like in that game, and that's what I told our players today. There were some areas where we know we can get better, where we can improve, but by no means was it a game that we were overly discouraged about. In a lot of instances, we felt really good about a lot of aspects of our game."
Not all of them, of course. If there hadn't been some significant flaws, the Penguins wouldn't be trailing in the series.
Sullivan clearly wasn't happy that the power play scored on just one of seven chances, and that its failures included a 92-second five-on-three. He doesn't think his players went to the net as often -- or as forcefully -- as they should have. And he certainly wasn't pleased with the meager contributions from his bottom-six forwards.
"I think everybody can go to the net," Sullivan said. "That's being a hockey player, in my mind. When the time is (right) to get to the net because a shot is imminent, we just have to make sure we're conscious of getting people to the net. We certainly got a lot of pucks to the net. I think we can get more people to the net."
The No. 4 line, on which Teddy Blueger is between Zach Aston-Reese and Brandon Tanev, was on the ice for Montreal's first and third goals, and the third line, which has Jared McCann between Patrick Marleau and Patric Hornqvist, was a non-factor throughout the game.
McCann's unit accounted for just one of the Penguins' 41 shots on Canadiens goalie Carey Price, and will be expected to play a more prominent role in Game 2.
"We would like to see just more consistent pressure from our third line," Sullivan said. "We think that line is capable of providing some offense for us, providing momentum for us and being a sound, solid, two-way, 200-foot line.
"That line has the potential to be a difference-maker for us. As we move on here to Game 2, we're hoping they make more of an impact on the game."
Marleau doesn't seem to think that is an unreasonable objective.
"With the penalty-kill and the power play, I don't know if we got out there as much as we wanted to, five-on-five," he said. "When we did get out there, we did some really good things. (There were) a couple of bounces here and there, where we could have gotten some more chances, but we're just going to keep building and get stronger each and every game, as a line."
Whether Sullivan is considering changes to any of his personnel combinations isn't known, because NHL guidelines for this postseason bar reporters from practices, closing workouts to all observers except one online content-provider from the team.
The Penguins provided no information from the workout, and Sullivan declined to say when asked directly about any personnel moves.
"That's a question we would rather not share with everyone," he said. "What we do at practice and what we're thinking about, as far as ur personnel is concerned."
• Montreal's ability to limit the Penguins to one goal on seven power plays in Game 1 was a key to its victory -- mind you, the Penguins' play with the extra man had a huge impact on that -- and is all the more impressive when it's considered that three of the Canadiens' minor penalties were taken by first-line center Phillip Danault. He is one of the NHL's top defensive forwards and led Montreal forwards in shorthanded ice time (2:31) during the regular season.
• Sullivan professed to be pleased with his team's performance at its workout. "We were real encouraged by our practice today," he said. "I thought we had great energy. We had good intensity. I thought our execution was pretty good. We feel like we worked on the areas of the game where we think we need to improve."
• Although the Penguins have lost a franchise-record seven consecutive playoff games, Brian Dumoulin suggested that streak is a non-issue with the players and does not cause a problem with their collective confidence. "That's something we haven't even talked about, or thought about," he said. "Right now, we lost Game 1 and we're trying to learn where we can get better in that game, and we're on to Game 2."
• McCann's impressions of the opener: "We felt like we controlled most of the game, to be honest with you. We had our chances. I have to give (Montreal) credit. They played well, and their goalie played well."
• Losing Game 1 hardly dooms the Penguins to an early elimination, but history says their chances of advancing to Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs are a whole lot worse than they appeared to be before the opener. NHL teams dropping the opener in a best-of-five have an all-time record of 15-68.
• Conor Sheary declined to blame subpar ice conditions for throwing a shot wide of the left post on a penalty shot with 3:03 left in regulation Saturday. "We did a little pre-scout before (the game) on Price, so I think I had a shot in mind," he said. "When I tried to do a fake shot and then release it, it kind of fumbled on me and, obviously, missed wide. But 'm not going to blame it on the ice. It was just kind of a bad move, I guess."
• The Penguins' response to being down, 1-0, in the series should provide some insight on just how valuable their considerable playoff experience is. Canadiens right winger Brendan Gallagher, for one, said he doesn't expect them to be particularly fazed by losing the opener. "We know we're playing probably the most experienced team in the entire playoffs," he said during Montreal's media availability Sunday. "They're not going to get rattled by much." That echoed a sentiment expressed by Canadiens coach Claude Julien, who said, "This is a team that will really want to bounce back, so it's important for us to not dwell on the win, but rather to put it behind us and realize they're going to come out even better than they did last night."
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