NHL Analyst Knew Penguins Struggles Were Coming
The Pittsburgh Penguins might be experiencing a bit of a power struggle with their new top defenseman.
We’re over a quarter of the way through the NHL season and things are yet to really sail smoothy for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Through 24 games, the Penguins are seventh in the Metropolitan Division with an 11-10-3 record ahead of only the Columbus Blue Jackets.
There are a handful of bright spots, but they are few and far between and the issues that surround the lineup have cost the team on multiple occasions.
One of those low points is the power play that, on paper, should have seen massive improvements whe Erik Karlsson joined the fold, but things have gone the complete opposite.
In 67 total power play opportunities, the Penguins have score seven goals; at 10.9% they sit 30th in the NHL.
Adding Karlsson seemed like a great idea and has paid off well on the score sheet, but a current NHL analyst admits having seen trouble ahead.
Ray Ferraro stated on the Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast with Darren Dreger, that he saw a power struggle between Karlsson and Kris Letang coming from a mile away.
Letang has been with the Penguins since before Karlsson was even drafted and earned his way as the franchise’s best defenseman ever.
Karlsson joining the fold, as a younger, more skilled option offensively, was supposed to do wonders for scoring, but things haven’t quite gone as planned.
“I thought it was an odd fit when they signed Karlsson,” Ferraro said. “You could see the complication of Karlsson and Letang from a mile away. There was going to be a little bit of alpha struggle here between two very good players.”
Ferraro talked about how Karlsson’s style of play doesn’t necessarily fit with Mike Sullivan’s system, both at even strength and on the power play.
The Penguins like to play a quick north and south game, while Karlsson has always been east to west and survey the ice and options a little more.
“That’s not the way the Penguins play,” Ferraro said. “There’s some real complications.”
Considering the early parts of the season haven’t been a complete disaster for the Penguins, Karlsson doesn’t feel like they’ve added too many cooks to the kitchen, but there has been some early struggles.
The Penguins have time to sort things out, but it all needs to happen quickly before more points are allowed to slip away.
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