The Pittsburgh Penguins needed to find success on the power play and it finally came through.
PITTSBURGH - Heading into their match against the Vancouver Canucks, the power play of the Pittsburgh Penguins was in the midst of another cold spell.
Saying the group was ‘struggling’ would be putting it lightly, considering the Penguins were 0/21 in the last four games on the man advantage.
Not having key blue liners may have played a role in the decline, but going that long without a power play goal is unacceptable under any circumstance.
Something clicked, however, against the NHL’s worst penalty kill when the Penguins knocked in a pair of power play goals against the Canucks.
The first one came on a 5-on-3 opportunity and thankfully the Penguins didn’t miss; a classic slap shot from Evgeni Malkin got the Penguins back on track.
Not only did the goal break the skid on the power play, but also started off the Penguins eventual comeback after dropping the first three goals of the game.
The second power play goal of the night ended up being the game winner from Rickard Rakell, who had an entire net to work with.
A Malkin shot from the point was stopped by Canucks goalie Spencer Martin, but only Rakell knew where the rebound landed.
The puck stopped right at his skates while Martin was looking the complete other direction.
The Canucks took five penalties in total and even when the Penguins weren’t scoring, they were getting good looks and creating momentum for themselves.
Something both goals had in common, though, was a huge blast from Malkin that either found its way through or opened up a grade-A chance for a teammate.
Simplifying the game and just shooting the puck is something the Penguins need to get back to more often while a man up.
If they are able to maintain a consistent rate of scoring, the power play should be able to get back to being the game changer it once was.
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