The Pittsburgh Penguins may have gotten back into the win column, but the power play once again struggled immensely.
Against one of the worst penalty kills in the entire NHL, the Penguins went 0/6 on the man advantage and struggled to even get shots on net.
Heading into the matchup, the Arizona Coyotes were holding a 72.41 PK%, good for 26th in the league.
During their six game skid, the Penguins could have used some help from their power play and a contest against the Coyotes was the perfect time to gain some ground.
The Coyotes entered the game as one of the most penalized teams in the league and were sure to hand the Penguins a couple of opportunities; and that’s exactly what they did.
The Penguins had seemingly every man advantage opportunity imaginable; a regular 5-on-4, a double-minor for high sticking, even a 5-on-3 chance.
On those chances, however, the Penguins not only failed to score, but saw scoring opportunities go the other way.
Former Penguins forward Nick Bjugstad even had a breakaway chance during the 5-on-3.
“The power play, there’s always a fine line,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “You don’t want to overcoach it, because my experience has been sometimes, if you’re not careful, you can get in the way of their instincts.”
Overcoaching or not, the power play needs real work and the players on the ice need to find the back of the net.
Sure, their usual quarterback in Kris Letang is missing, but this was an issue that has followed the Penguins before.
In their last six games, the Penguins are 2/24 on the power play and are again dropping in the league rankings.
“These guys are elite players for a reason,” Sullivan said. “They think the game way better than you and I do, and so sometimes, we try to stay out of their way a little bit.”
It’s great that the Penguins won again and controlled play at 5-on-5, but if they want to be true difference makers in the NHL, they’ll need the power play to get back to their scoring in 10-straight games form.
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