Through the early portions of the season, the power play of the Pittsburgh Penguins was less than stellar to say the least.
For a good chunk of the first quarter of the year, the Penguins had one of the worst power play units in the NHL based on success rate.
Personnel changes and a focus on simpler concepts were tried, but work still needed to be done.
Then, it was like a light switch when off and things started to turn around; the Penguins have gotten a power play goal in eight straight games.
“Our power play, for quite some time now,” said head coach Mike Sullivan. “Probably the last 10 or 12 games, has been humming pretty good.”
In the span of those eight games, the Penguins have scored 11 goals on the man advantage, and Evgeni Malkin has factored in with nine man advantage points.
In their 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Penguins power play went 1/5; A less than ideal outcome, but they still managed to score a game tying goal.
The Penguins proved they can still capitalize on those sorts of opportunities and keep the power play running like a well oiled machine.
“It’s hard to be critical of that group right now,” Sullivan said. “They’re getting it done for us.”
While still looking to gain ground and continue to be game changers, there has definitely been improvements to the power play.
The Penguins have seen their group rise from one of the worst in the NHL to a 21.7% success rating; still below the league average but finally in the top 20 again.
While work still needs to be done, the fans can once again feel confident in the power play; they have shown to be much improved and are slowly becoming game changers.
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