If only their power play song resulted in some more goals, the Pittsburgh Penguins might have advanced further in the playoffs even without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The number that rings true for every Pittsburgh fan and it really should for Fantasy GM’s as well is this one. 2.9%. That is correct. Pittsburgh was 1 for 35 on the man advantage in their seven game elimination at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yes Tampa is good but for everyone that blasted Boston and their man advantage until kingdom come, why did the Penguins get such a free pass?
One cannot just say it was the absence of Malkin and Crosby because the Penguins had not been very good all season. For the last two seasons, their connect rate after the halfway mark of games dipped to 8.2% including 5.1% in the third period and OT. Even former assistant coach Mike Yeo was blamed for the woes but what was the excuse last season? There seems to be an excuse any time you talk to a member of the Pittsburgh media, fans, etc. The bottom line is for whatever reason, they do not produce at crunch time. It was not that way when they made it deep into the playoffs.
The Penguins were 25th on the Power Play during the regular season and even while Crosby and Malkin were playing, they were 22nd at about 16%. There was a brief spike after the injuries but ultimately it did not really matter, the team just did not produce when it needed to. The old age is true. Pittsburgh could not make teams pay and believe me they got more than their share of chances (311 — 5th in the NHL).
Honestly, this team generates amongst the fewest chances even when all the parts are in the lineup. It just is apparent that they try to be too damn cute all the time and even if they get the puck down low for a good scoring chance, something goes haywire preventing them from scoring. The blame simply falls on the players and even yes, Sidney Crosby. His power play numbers would have taken quite a dip even if he had played 70 or 80 games, so let us cut the crap here.
What needs to be done? Simple, extensive drills are not going to work but results would. This team needs to taste success more consistently on the man advantage and to do that, they need to shoot the puck more. By opening some lanes up, that gives players more options and choices when on the power play. Maybe then, everyone can start producing at their normal fantasy outputs and not at levels deemed okay pre-lockout.
Give us your thoughts? What would you do to fix the Pittsburgh Power Play? Is it really as simple as we present it or is there something more complex? Let us know now!
