The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a brutal penalty kill through 11 games, and Mike Sullivan says the group is still being worked on.
PITTSBURGH - Over the past few seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins became notorious for a standout group of penalty killers, usually near the best in the league.
Through the first 11 games of the 2022-23 season, however, the Penguins penalty kill has struggled immensely.
It’s an array of new faces to the group and it may still be early in the season, but a kill percentage of 71.05 is not good enough.
Not even close to where they’d like to be as 71.05% is 29th in the NHL.
In 11 games, the Penguins have given up 11 power play goals and been a catalyst for opposing teams to take advantage of.
Following the loss to the Boston Bruins, Josh Archibald noted that the PK is still ironing out some flaws and are working to improve as a group.
Head coach Mike Sullivan echoed that statement saying the PK is still trying to fully blossom.
“It’s been a work in progress trying to get guys on the same page,” Sullivan said. “We got a lot of new people we’re trying to implement into our kill.”
Archibald is among those new names on the Penguins penalty kill along with Ryan Poheling.
Regardless of how unfamiliar the group is with each other, they have to figure their game out and the rematch with the Seattle Kraken should be a good test.
Sullivan noted that the Kraken’s power play is one of the best in the NHL; they rank fifth with a 27.91 conversion rate.
“They have one of the best power plays in the league,” Sullivan said. “That’ll be a big challenge.”
The Penguins currently ride a six-game losing streak and the improvement of the PK will have a big hand in returning to the win column and once again becoming a well rounded team.
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