Penguins' forward has ignited power play and has 14 points in his last 15 games
With a win against the New York Islanders on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins improved to 10-4-1 over their last 15 games. In that time, they went from having the third-worst points percentage in the league to just one point out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
And a certain player has been a huge part of their success in that time.
Forward Michael Bunting - acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the Jake Guentzel trade last spring - is on a tear after starting the season off slow. After registering just one point in his first 12 games, he was even a healthy scratch at one point.
Since then? He has 11 goals and 20 points in 25 games, including seven goals and 14 points in the Penguins' 15-game winning stretch.
“I’m having fun," Bunting said. "We’re winning, too. Everyone is playing well and I find that when the team is having success, individuals are having success, as well. And it’s going around this whole room and you can see that. We want to keep this going. We’ve got a road stretch here, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Perhaps the biggest area that Bunting has made an impact is the power play. In their win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 7, the coaching staff made the decision to split the power play into two pretty even units.
Bunting has seen time on both units, but wherever he has gone, he's putting points on the board. He has five power play goals and seven power play points in the last 15 games, and the Penguins now have the fourth-ranked power play in the NHL at 25.9 percent.
Both it and Bunting have been key parts of their winning stretch.
"Right now, [the power play] is working extremely well for us," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "So, we'd be foolish to tinker with it.
