The Pittsburgh Penguins have a great chance to get their power play back into the right gear.
PITTSBURGH - It is truly no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins have had a pretty bad power play in recent games.
The Penguins have gone 0/21 in their last four games with a man advantage and are in need of a major turnaround in that department.
Just before this stretch hit, the group was almost automatic, scoring at least a power play goal in 10 consecutive games.
The power play started to become game changers for the Penguins as they built their way past a seven-game losing streak.
Then, this new lull set in for the power play that coincided with another lengthy losing skid.
Twice during the Penguins 0/21 run without a power play goal, they have gotten 5+ man advantage opportunities.
Luckily, they were able to pull out a victory in one of those two games, but it sure wasn’t thanks to the power play.
What do the Penguins need to do to get back to their red hot ways?
“Just getting back to doing the things we were doing when we were successful,” Bryan Rust said. “More than just one guy at the net. Try and get as many pucks as we can to the net, too.”
Trying to put out the best power play group hasn’t been easy with multiple key quarterbacks missing time, but this kind of regression goes beyond the personnel.
Kris Letang and Jeff Petry have both missed multiple games and have been replaced on the blue line by Ty Smith and P.O. Joseph, respectively.
The Penguins will have a huge chance to kick the power play into gear as the Vancouver Canucks come to town.
The Canucks are falling short of their preseason expectations and currently have the NHL's worst penalty kill percentage.
Clocking in at 68.14%, the Canucks have allowed 36 power play goals through their first 39 games.
Thanks to the recent struggles, the Penguins have slipped in power play percentage as it dropped to 20.59%.
The Penguins have had a roller coaster of a ride the entire season and the peaks and valleys have mirrored that of the power play’s success.
“I believe that this team is capable for more consistent play,” Mike Sullivan said. “At the end of the day it falls on all of us, coaches included, to make sure we bring what we can to the rink every day.”
If the Penguins hope to maintain some success for the rest of the regular season, they are going to need the power play to step it up.
Sullivan said before that he doesn’t try to overcoach the power play, and that’s fair; there’s only so much he and Todd Reirden can do with a white board behind the bench.
It’s up to the players on the ice to find the back of the net.
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