Pens GM has pulled all the right strings

12:19 PM ET

TAMPA, Fla. — When Pittsburgh Penguins legend, co-owner and chairman Mario Lemieux walked into the team’s locker room following the Penguins’ 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night, he looked relieved.

Following not too far behind the former Stanley Cup winner and Hall of Famer was Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, the architect of the team who is now two wins shy of advancing to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since Pittsburgh won it in 2009. The changes Rutherford has made to the organization during the past 11 months are a major reason the Penguins have found their identity and are firing on all cylinders.

It’s also fitting that, on the day Rutherford was named one of three finalists for general manager of the year, the line of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel proved crucial for Pittsburgh. Rutherford acquired the three forwards in three separate deals since last July 1. The GM also made the decision to make a coaching change in December and promote Mike Sullivan from the organization’s AHL affiliate.

All of these moves have intertwined at various points of the season and are the reasons the Penguins are inching closer to the ultimate prize.

New additions Carl Hagelin, left, and Phil Kessel — along with lineman Nick Bonino — have combined for 14 goals and 38 points in Pittsburgh’s 14 postseason games. Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

“He’s done a terrific job, as far as retooling the roster and giving the coaching staff the means to play the way we want to play,” Sullivan said after Game 3. “I think, when you look at the guys who Jim has acquired over the last nine or 10 months, they’re all guys who have allowed us to establish the identity that we have to this day.

“They can skate. They’re puck movers. They’re guys who like to play with the puck. They allow us to play that speed game that …

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