Jonathan Marchessault has been the first Nashville Predators player to address the elephant in the Nashville Predators locker room these past three games: the power play.

"The power play could've helped out a little bit more tonight," Marchessault said following Monday's game. "We've got to put teams away in those situations, especially when you get a power play in the third period." 

Up 1-0 in the early third period in their game against Ottawa on Monday, the Predators went to the power play off a tripping call on David Perron. It gave Nashville a situation where it could put the game out of reach, but it once again failed to do so. 

While the Predators scored three times in the third period for a 4-1 win over the Senators, the power play faltered once again, going 0-for-6 on the day. 

"It was a bizarre road game with all the penalties," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said. "It kind of took a little bit of momentum away from both sides at times." 

In just three regular-season games, the Predators' power play unit is 1-for-15, with their lone goal coming from Ryan O'Reilly in the season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

It's only the first week of the season, but with numerous opportunities on the man advantage and failing to capitalize, Nashville's power play sits at a lowly 6%.

Only four other teams have a worse power play, but they haven't had as many opportunities as the Predators have had. Nashville's 15 power play opportunities are the fifth most in the league. 

And it's not like the Predators are facing some of the best penalty-killing teams in the league. Columbus has a 50% penalty rate, which is the worst in the NHL.

Ottawa has a 64.5% efficiency on the power play, while Utah's is 83.3%, which is good but still falls short of the top 10. 

The Predators' top power play unit is made up of the team's best players: Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Ryan O'Reilly. It's the second unit that features a slightly younger cast, but boasts a strong lineup of players, including Brady Skjei, Michael Bunting, Fedor Svechkov, Joakim Kemmel, and Luke Evangelista. 

The first unit has been able to get into the zone, but has struggled to get set and make the right passes. The second unit has struggled to generate any opportunities. 

While it's still extremely early in the season, fixing the power play could be critical as the Predators are leaving goals up on the board. In a one-goal win over the Blue Jackets and a one-goal loss to the Mammoth, the power play could've been the difference.

On the flip side, the Predators' PK is executing at an elite rate, picking up where it left off from last season. It has killed off 9 of 10 penalties, which ranks ninth in the league.