Bylsma discusses possibility of no exhibition games, penalty kill vs. Flyers

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma analyzed the Pittsburgh’s failed first round series against the Flyers, and Philadelphia’s subsequent defeat against the New Jersey Devils, according to a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

He’s weighed the Penguins’ inability to kill penalties versus Philadelphia against their success over the last two years to try and determine if their struggles can be dismissed as two bad weeks or an indication of a larger issue that needs to be addressed.

“The hardest thing to do is draw the appropriate conclusions and move forward,” Bylsma said.

He later added, “But if you look at different aspects of penalty killing, you might ask, ‘What did the Rangers and Devils do in their series?’ You might run into some interesting things. I have.”

Bylsma doesn’t want to go into specifics about what revelations he had, but he will face some unique challenges implementing those changes if the 2012-13 campaign is saved. At this point, teams might not even get to play in any exhibition games before diving into a shortened season.

Fans might not get pumped up for preseason games, but for coaches like Bylsma, it’s an opportunity to get familiar with new players and vice versa. Training camp also helps a team develop a rhythm.

Every team will be in the same boat if the season is saved, but squads hoping to make adjustments to their established system and players joining new teams might have a particularly difficult time early on.