Kovacevic: How to fix power play (without exactly overthinking it) taken in Nashville, Tenn. (DK's Grind)

MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

John Marino.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Penguins' five-day Christmas break formally ends here Friday when they face off anew with the Predators. And given all they've achieved already in this NHL season -- 21-11-4 amid 143 man-games lost to injury -- they should do so with heads held high.

It's been, as Marcus Pettersson told me before the break, "something to really be proud of, for all of us, I think."

No doubt. They've rediscovered the Mike Sullivan-branded hard-to-play-against identity, they've gotten enough goals from the guys charged with getting them, they've defended diligently, they've killed penalties, they've demonstrated depth across the board, and they've even uncovered elite goaltending they might not have known they had in Tristan Jarry.

Awesome. All of it.

But notice any facet missing there?

Yeah, the power play still stinks. It stunk when Sidney Crosby was healthy, it's stunk since he's been out, and it's stunk all-around: 22nd in the NHL at 17.3 percent conversion, 23rd with 18 goals. It's been blanked in 22 of the 36 games to date. It's produced multiple goals in a game a grand total of three times.

And that, candidly, is sugarcoating it. Because this month alone, while the Penguins have soared at 7-2, they've scored four whole power-play goals, none of which remotely represents progress in any form.

In order ...

That's John Marino firing into an empty net in Detroit.

That's Bryan Rust on a four-on-three overtime against a dead-tired trio of Blue Jackets.

That's Rust on a five-on-three against the Kings.

And that Kris Letang rolling-puck blast brought a bona fide five-on-four power-play goal, albeit against a PK formation so pathetically passive it could only have been formed in Edmonton. Seriously, check out the Oilers up there, huddled together as if trying to survive a nuclear apocalypse.

One gets the idea. The problem hasn't been solved. It's just been buried.

Well, let's unearth it. Let's dig deep for possible solutions, a half-dozen of which I offer below not in order of priority but in order of the actual chronology in which they'd have to occur:

1. Get some players back.

Can't carry this conversation too far without reflecting Crosby's return, which I'm expecting soon. Setting aside that Crosby squeezed out a single goal and two assists on the power play through his 17 games this season, it's insanity to assume that won't increase exponentially once he's back. A year ago, 29 of his 100 points came via power play.

He's not alone, though. Patric Hornqvist's the one player other than Crosby that Sullivan's quick to cite when the subject of the power play arises. He feels strongly that, even with Hornqvist's decline in production, his net-front presence not only hinders opposing goaltenders but also prompts his teammates to take shots they otherwise wouldn't. And on a semi-related note, Justin Schultz is the other significant absence, as no one's better at slipping pucks through traffic.

So yeah, if starting from scratch, those could be three-fifths of the first unit. Kind of a big deal.

2. Leave Malkin on the half-wall.

This wouldn't be well received by the captain, and I respect that. Crosby's very comfortable on the right wall, and he's obviously got the credentials to make quite a case. Start here, because this concept might well die on this count alone.

But this is about the collective, right?

It couldn't be clearer in watching Malkin that, sacrilegious as this'll sound, he's just as dangerous, if not better than Crosby in that area of the ice. He can threaten with the longer-range one-timer, a weapon Crosby's never really had, and that can back off a box like ... well, like those Oilers backed off him up there before the feed to Letang. In that way, he can bring the same danger from the right side that Phil Kessel used to bring from the left.

Concurrently, Crosby's brilliant down low. Or working off the right edge of the goal line, to be specific. He does everything -- tips, redirects, cross-crease feeds, puck retrieval along the end boards, feeding the points -- better than anyone anywhere.

Again, I respect the dynamic. But it really ought to be broached.

3. Alternate third forwards.

Some opponents will hate having Hornqvist out there. Others will be more susceptible to what Jake Guentzel brings. Still other situations might call for Bryan Rust and his right-handed finish. And all three bringing different dimensions will make the power play that much less predictable and tougher to defend. Keep them all involved in PP1, not just PP2.

To make this clearer: The way Guentzel's broken through for two seasons now, we're way past the point where he shouldn't be the default third forward. He's got to be the first option. But there will be situations where the other two could prove valuable, and that shouldn't be discarded.

4. Stay with two D.

I don't know about you, but I'm not about to abandon the semi-steadiness that's happened this season related to short-handed goals. There've been only three this season, and that's palatable.

Letang and Schultz should both be on PP1, and both should be pushed to think shoot-first, particularly when one or the other drifts toward center point, as inevitably seems to happen. Get it through, and give three of the planet's most proficient finishers a chance to pounce on the chaos.

That said, I don't know how, but man, I'd love to see John Marino worked into this mix. He's already got a heavy burden for a rookie, but the next burden he can't handle will be the first. And his ability to get the puck through has been highly promising, in addition to putting it on net. And that's applied equally from the right or left sides.

It can't be any secret he'll replace Schultz outright by next season, as there's no chance the Penguins will keep Schultz from unrestricted free agency next summer. Wouldn't hurt to learn a little more, especially now while Schultz is out again.

5. Shoot the damned thing.

Hate to chime in with Joe Yinzer up in Section 216, but it really is that simple sometimes.

The Penguins have registered 154 shots on their 104 power plays, or a mere 1.5 with each. That ranks 27th in the NHL, and it's too far removed from their advanced possession metrics on the power play -- ranked 22nd in Corsi For percentage that tracks shot attempts for/against, 20th in generating high-danger chances -- to be an accident. They're in the zone far more often than they're putting pucks on net.

That's not going to get it done when some of the best shooters are watching from the press box, but it won't get it done with all hands on deck, either. And we've all witnessed how often this team's stars lapse on this, as well.

6. Start diving or something.

I'm almost not kidding.

Brandon Tanev's drawn a team-high 15 penalties, hardly surprising given that 'Turbo' tenacity. Guentzel's drawn 12, Hornqvist eight. But next on the list, bizarrely, is Marino, a defenseman, at seven.

Overall, the Penguins are averaging 2.89 power plays per game, 26th in the NHL. That extrapolates to 4:53 of power-play time per game, or nearly a minute and a half less than the league-leading Avalanche's 6:14.

One possible reason is that other forwards aren't doing enough.

Jared McCann, for example, brings enough bite to his game that he should have more than six. Zach Aston-Reese, who'll occasionally annoy opponents but maybe not as often as he should, has four. Beyond that, the roster has quite a few role-playing forwards who, when impeded, just play through. Dominik Simon and Dominik Kahun are both that way. Honorable as that is, maybe they shouldn't be.

Another possible reason -- you'll want to be seated for this -- is that the NHL's officiating is rampantly inconsistent.

To wit, Crosby's 17 games saw him get hacked and whacked into oblivion and draw only two penalties. Malkin's been a beast on the puck since his return, and he's drawn only four. Nothing will change that, as neither has anything to gain from diving, but these things, as with everything in this league, tend to even out. This will, too.

Think of it this way, for the broader context: A referee most commonly raises his right arm when a team sustains a lengthy possession in the attacking zone. Well, the Penguins' 53.18 Corsi For percentage is fourth-best in the league, which means they're among the best at doing exactly that.

It's all there. Just need some pieces back in place, others to snap to attention.

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