PITTSBURGH — There is no magic button, even if the correlation between Mike Sullivan’s deft attempts to a get player’s attention and that player almost immediately elevating his game is unmistakable.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ coach insists he’s just doing his job, one that has brought the underachieving team to within three periods of a Stanley Cup that seems as inevitable now as it seemed unlikely when he took over in mid-December.

Pittsburgh headed home Tuesday with a firm 3-1 lead over the Sharks in the tightly contested but ultimately one-sided best-of-seven after Evgeni Malkin picked up a goal and an assist in a 3-1 victory on Monday night. Malkin’s performance came barely 36 hours after Sullivan praised him for his hard work while adding the team needed even more from him if the Penguins wanted to close out the franchise’s fourth title.

And just like that, it happened.

There was Malkin getting the secondary assist on Ian Cole’s opening goal. There was Malkin redirecting Phil Kessel’s pass from the circle into the net for a 2-0 advantage. There was Malkin skating with purpose, breaking up passes on one end of the ice and looking for his shot at the other. His first goal of the Cup final came when he darted for the far post on the power play and found himself all alone when Kessel threaded it to him.

Sullivan’s knack for drawing the best out of his players during Pittsburgh’s thrillingly arduous playoff run is becoming so frequent it’s tempting to ask him for lottery numbers.

He noticed rookie Conor Sheary looking fatigued during the Eastern Conference finals against Tampa Bay and sat him for Game 5. Sheary, rested and still confident after a brief talk with Sullivan, returned to his pest-like self and has scored twice during the Cup final, including the overtime winner in Game 2.

Sullivan pulled struggling defenseman Olli Maatta in the second round against Washington yet stressed to the 21-year-old Maatta he would eventually get another chance, one that arrived when Trevor Daley went down with an ankle injury. All Maatta has done since his return is become the best Pittsburgh defenseman not named Kris Letang.

“Every player goes through their ups and downs, times when they’re at the top of their game, and times where it can be a bit of a challenge,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s just human nature. Our players are no different. It never changes our opinions of these guys or how we feel about them. It’s our responsibility as their coaching staff to try to help them through the process.”

A responsibility that Sullivan takes seriously. The hyper-competitive forward who spent 11 seasons grinding out a career developed an appreciation for coaches who didn’t mince words. He places a premium on transparency.

There is very little guessing about what’s on his mind, mostly because he doesn’t hesitate to say what needs to be said and if you don’t like the tone, well, that’s on you though Sullivan makes it a point to never make it personal.

“When he needs to he can call you out and tell you that he wants more from you,” Murray said.

NOTES

WILD: Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens is returning to coaching as an assistant for Minnesota.

LIGHTNING: Tampa Bay hired Todd Richards as an assistant on Coach Jon Cooper’s staff.

Richards most recently served as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and previously coached the Minnesota Wild. Tampa Bay is his fifth NHL organization after time with Nashville, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Minnesota and Columbus.

PANTHERS: Florida will name Geordie Kinnear the coach of Springfield’s new AHL team, which left Portland.

He will succeed former Portland Pirates coach Scott Allen, who has been promoted to an assistant coach for the Panthers.

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