The Pittsburgh Penguins have moved a surging forward to their struggling top power play unit.
Through eight games of the 2023-24 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have only scored two power play goals on 20 total chances.
The addition of Erik Karlsson to a group that already featured Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, gave extremely high expectations for the Penguins man advantage unit.
With only a pair of goals to speak of, something is clearly not working; whether it’s the personnel or the scheme, it hasn’t been good enough.
Without a goal in 16 straight chances, the Penguins have made another small adjustment to their power play.
After a few games of Bryan Rust on the top unit, he was moved back to the second for Reilly Smith.
In his first handful of games in a Penguins uniform, Smith has looked outstanding with four goals and a great chemistry with Malkin.
Smith is hopeful that his chemistry with Malkin will carry over from even strength to the man advantage.
“Hopefully we get a couple of opportunities tonight and make the most of it,” Smith said. “Other than that just stick to my game.”
The change in dynamic won’t be a clean maneuver for the two, but some of the other names might provide a new opportunity for the entire unit.
“Power plays are a lot different from five-on-fives,” Smith said. “There’s a lot more time and space. Sid, Guentz, and Geno have been out there a long time together so they have that chemistry. I’ll just try to feed off of them and chip in when I can.”
Head coach Mike Sullivan stated before that he didn’t plan on making any huge changes to the power play despite the struggles.
Giving Smith a promotion isn’t necessarily a huge move, but it’s another new look for the lagging group.
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