Sullivan becomes winningest coach in franchise history taken at PPG Paints Arena (Penguins)

PENGUINS

Mike Sullivan with the puck from his 253rd win Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena.

Mike Sullivan is the winningest coach in the Penguins' history. 

Their 5-2 win over the Blackhawks at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday was Sullivan's 253rd win behind the Pittsburgh bench, surpassing Dan Bylsma's record of 252 wins atop the franchise list.

After Sullivan presented Brock McGinn and Drew O'Connor with their milestone pucks from the game, Sidney Crosby came into the locker room and presented Sullivan with a milestone puck of his own. Tristan Jarry, the recipient of the game MVP helmet from the first win of the season in Tampa, chose Sullivan as the recipient of the helmet for this game:

"I should wear this on the bench. Maybe I won't get stitches," Sullivan quipped, referring to being hit by a puck in a preseason game two weeks ago.

After Sullivan tied Bylsma's win record on Tuesday in Tampa, Sullivan spoke the following day about his memories of coaching against Bylsma-coached Pittsburgh teams when he was an assistant with the Canucks and Rangers.

"I have a ton of respect for his coaching ability," Sullivan said of Bylsma. "I thought he did a great job with the Penguins in the years that he was here. My recollection of those teams was that they were one of the top teams in the league. They were dynamic. There wasn't a whole lot of weakness in any aspect of their game. They were solid on defense, they were solid in goal. Sid and Geno and those guys were young and hungry. I remember really well coaching against those guys, and how difficult that challenge was, they were also really well-coached."

The Penguins' next three winningest head coaches are Eddie Johnston (232), Michel Therrien (135) and Scotty Bowman (95).

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