Penguins forward Michael Bunting: 'I know what I’m capable of'

Mike Sullivan used a bad name to describe one of his players Saturday.

Well … bad from a certain perspective.

Like one a goaltender would hold.

What obscene nomenclature did the Pittsburgh Penguins coach utilize?

“Patric Hornqvist.”

Sullivan invoked that vexing term after a 6-2 home win against the Calgary Flames on Saturday when trying to outline what forward Michael Bunting offers the Penguins.

Goaltenders occasionally would react with a handful of four-letter words when discussing Hornqvist, a pain-in-the-you-know-what forward who did everything within the constraints of the law — and often outside those boundaries — to agitate those guarding the net.

But Sullivan’s comparison between Hornqvist — a vital component of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017 — with Bunting was not denigrating.

Far from it.

“He tends to get under our opponents’ skin,” Sullivan said. “He reminds me a lot of Patric Hornqvist in that regard. (Hornqvist) was that type of guy, too. For whatever reason, our opponents couldn’t stand him. And I think (Bunting) has similar attributes in that regard.”

Sullivan’s praise for Bunting was limited only a handful of weeks ago. In fact, Sullivan offered a very frugal economy of words in saying anything about Bunting on Oct. 19.

“I think our expectation is higher,” Sullivan curtly stated in Cranberry after a practice session.

One day later, Bunting was a healthy scratch for a 6-3 road loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

To that point of the season, Bunting had one assist in six games while primarily skating on the second line with center Evgeni Malkin.

Since the scratch, he has gained some traction with regard to production, generating nine points (five goals, four assists) in 19 games, including a three-point effort (one goal, two assists) in Saturday’s victory while being deployed on the left wing of a third line with Blake Lizotte at center and Anthony Beauvillier on the right wing.

(And true to Sullivan’s comparison with Hornqvist, Bunting had to be separated by a linesman from a handful of Flames skaters near the benches late in regulation.)

Was it difficult to get past those struggles in the early weeks of the season?

“We’re athletes here,” Bunting said after Saturday’s game. “We’re professionals. It’s up and down all the time. You’ve just got to be able to do your best and work your way out of it and have confidence in yourself. I have a tremendous amount of confidence in myself and know what I’m capable of.

“I just want to keep building off it tonight.”

Much of the foundation of Bunting’s improved play has been laid down by several one-on-one sessions with assistant coach Ty Hennes before practices. They haven’t necessarily reconstructed Bunting’s game, but they have reinforced what makes him effective.

“He got off to a slow start in the year,” Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic said. “You could see he was frustrated with things, and he was working hard, coming out early, staying out late in practices. So it’s good to see him get rewarded.”

A lot of that reward has come from the power play. Primarily working with the team’s second power-play unit, Bunting has scored three goals on the man advantage in the past eight games.

During Saturday’s game, he collected a power-play score by going to the cage and cleaning up a rebound off a one-timer by Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.

Power play goal for Pittsburgh!

Scored by Michael Bunting with 17:20 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Matt Grzelcyk and Kris Letang.

Pittsburgh: 2
Calgary: 0#CGYvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Flames pic.twitter.com/oQyVnJayTR

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 1, 2024

“Obviously, my position on the power play is in front of the net, and I feel like that’s where the pucks end up a lot of the time,” Bunting said. “I kind of have a knack for that.”

By any name, that approach has been getting results for Bunting.

“Just sometimes, you’ve got to simplify and just play shift by shift,” Bunting said. “I want to, obviously, continue that and have confidence going forward because I know what I’m capable of.”

Note: The Penguins had a scheduled day off Sunday.