Putrid power play perplexing Pens’ partisans

Bill Guerin’s go-ahead goal in the second period Wednesday night was just the third power play goal in the last thirty-two chances for Pittsburgh.  The Penguins have the dubious distinction of occupying 29th place – second-last – in the NHL in power play percentage at just 14.4% efficiency.  Guerin’s goal, a deflection off a point shot from Sergei Gonchar, stood as the game-winner when the Penguins won at Calgary 3-1.

Still solidly entrenched in fourth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 29-18-1 record, many have wondered all season how the Penguins’ forward corps, led by the extraordinary talent of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the understated Sergei Gonchar, could languish near or at the rock bottom of the power play chart.  Overall, the Penguins are seventh in goals per game and their steady defensive and goaltending work has earned them seventh spot in goal differential per game.

Clearly, the Penguins do not have a goal-scoring problem in general.  They are certainly among the league’s best at putting the puck in the net, but inexplicably, not when they have a man-advantage.  The Pens also have the fifth best five-on-five goals-for/goals-against ratio – a measure of their work at both ends of the ice in standard even-strength situations.  Only Washington, Chicago, Vancouver and San Jose are ahead of them, teams that are all in the top-eight in the power play standings, clicking along at better than 20%.

Even if Pittsburgh does not eventually crack the 20% mark but achieves the median of 18.2%, there is little doubt that the Penguins would be able to add to their already impressive win total.  The Pens are tied for eighth-worst in the NHL with six one-goal losses.  A power play goal can, and needs to be the difference in turning the direction of close games in the Penguins’ favour in the second-half of the season as they jostle with their rivals for post-season seeding.

This past Monday’s game, a 4-3 loss by the Penguins at Minnesota, was basically a summary of the season-long frustration that is the power play.  The Penguins were granted six power plays against the Wild and scored on none of them, including a 5-on-3 early in the second period when the game was tied 2-2.  During the seventy seconds of two-man advantage, the Pens could only muster two shots and gave up one to the Wild.

During the second intermission of Wednesday’s game, TSN analyst Bob McKenzie recalled how the Penguins utilized their power play successfully during the playoffs last season.  Crosby would be stationed in front of the net, Malkin on the right half wall and Gonchar on the point.  This season, he noted that Malkin has often been placed at the point instead of the half wall and Crosby moves to the half wall.  McKenzie suggests simply moving Crosby back to the front of net.

Everyone who remembers the second round of the playoffs between Pittsburgh and Washington will remember Crosby, seemingly making a home in front of the right post, waiting for rebounds and loose pucks, torturing the Capitals for eight goals in the seven-game series.  (No, I have not forgotten that his eighth goal in the series was on a breakaway).  Unsurprisingly, the Penguins’ power play goal in Calgary was a result of this setup: Crosby in front of the net, creating traffic with Bill Guerin in front of Flames’ goaltender Miika Kiprusoff.  Malkin was back on the right half wall and Gonchar stood at centre-point, the same strategy as last season.

My hope is that the Pens will continue to attempt the tried-and-true formula of creating traffic in front of the net using Crosby to deflect pucks, pounce on rebounds and to control the puck from behind the net.  Malkin should stay on the right half of the ice below the top of the circle, leaving the point to the defencemen.  The Pens have occasionally tried using Matt Cooke in front of the net to screen the goaltender and to clear defencemen to create shooting lanes.  If the Pens’ power play continues to sputter, Big Mike Rupp is a forward I would like to see taking Cooke’s role.  Rupp is taller, bigger and has shown deceptively deft hands around the net this season.  Yes, Rupp is primarily a fourth-line player and in no way am I advocating he jump up to the first unit.  However, his physical presence on a second unit in the later stages of a power play could be a hidden asset.