Scheifele road success in playoffs brings back memories for Mullen

The Coaches Room is a weekly column by one of four former NHL coaches and assistants who will turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher.
In this 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs edition, Joe Mullen, a former assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers and 2000 player inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, reflects on losing his NHL record for most road goals in a Stanley Cup Playoff year to Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele.

My son, Patrick, texted me Thursday to tell me Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele broke my record.
I said, "What record?"
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He told me that Scheifele broke my NHL record for most road goals in a Stanley Cup Playoff year. Scheifele scored twice in a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday, giving him 11 road goals in this year's playoffs heading into Game 4 at Vegas.
I didn't even know I had the record. But it was kind of flattering to hear that I did, and that I shared it with Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
That was pretty cool, but records are made to be broken, right? Crosby scored 10 times on the road when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009, equaling my record from 1989 when I won the Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames.
I led the NHL with 16 goals in 21 playoff games that season. I knew I was scoring pretty well during the playoffs, but it didn't faze me that most of the goals were on the road.

I never realized the difference between home and away. I just went and played.
We didn't mind playing on the road. We went 6-3 on the road that year in the playoffs and 9-3 at home.
But when you're on the road some of the pressure is off. Your fans aren't there, and because they want you to win so bad sometimes they can add a little pressure.
Maybe that's why road teams are 40-34 in the playoffs this year. The Jets are 4-3 on the road and went 3-1 in defeating the Nashville Predators in seven games in the second round.
Scheifele had seven goals in the Jets' four road games in that series, including two each in Games 1, 2 and 7. He leads the NHL with 14 goals in 15 playoff games, and is within striking distance of the NHL record for most goals in a playoff year, 19, which is shared by Jari Kurri (Edmonton Oilers,1985) and Reggie Leach (Philadelphia Flyers, 1976).
I've watched Scheifele for a few seasons. At 25 he's still a young kid but he's maturing quickly. The thing I like about him is he doesn't sacrifice any of his defensive play for his offense. He's a good two-way player. He looks like he's becoming more of a leader every season because of the way he plays.
He's a big (6-foot-3, 207 pounds), strong player with a great scoring touch, sees the ice well and has great hockey sense. He's a complete player.

The line he plays on, with rookie left wing Kyle Conner and right wing Blake Wheeler, reminds me of the Boston Bruins' top line of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand in that you have three good players who all can pass, see the ice and score goals. They complement each other well.
It's great for Scheifele to have a veteran like Wheeler to guide him a little bit, and then you've got Connor's youthful enthusiasm and skill.
In 1989 I played most of the time on a line with left wing Colin Patterson and center Doug Gilmour. We all complemented each other too.
Doug was a great playmaker. I was pretty much the guy in front of the net trying to get open and trying to get myself in a place where I could shoot the puck. Colin was the guy who did a lot of the dirty work, getting in front of the net and screening the goaltender, and going into the corners and getting the puck.
It just worked for us.
That season I had four two-goal games on the road in the playoffs. My kids used to watch the videos all the time and I would sit there and watch it with them, so I kind of remember that two of them came in Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum.
The biggest thing back then was that no team had defeated the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup at the Forum. People were saying there was kind of a hex on the building.
The Canadiens were a good team and we knew we'd have to win one or two games at the Forum. We won two there, including a 4-2 victory in Game 6 to win the Cup.
The fans were great. They all stood and clapped. It was awesome.
I didn't score a goal in that game, but had an assist to finish the playoffs with 24 points (16 goals, eight assists).
I wasn't aware then that I set a record for most road goals. It was nice to have that record, even if I didn't know about it until after it was broken.