An area in which the Penguins have struggled this season as a whole is the faceoff circle.
The Penguins rank No. 22 in the league in faceoffs, winning 48.1 percent of all draws. They win 49.1 percent of all faceoffs on the power play, ranking No. 26 in the league, and just 40.1 percent of all faceoffs on the penalty kill, ranking No. 28 in the league.
How are individual forwards faring at draws this season, and are there any particular situations in which the different centers excel or struggle at faceoffs? Let's break it down.
SIDNEY CROSBY
Only two of the Penguins' regular centers are winning more faceoffs than they lose, and Sidney Crosby is unsurprisingly one of them, winning 54.1 percent of all faceoffs.
An interesting trend with Crosby this season is being better at defensive zone faceoffs than he is at offensive zone faceoffs.
Beginning in 2015-16, the NHL modified the rule that determines which player puts his stick down first in faceoffs. Previously, the visiting player always had to put his stick on the ice first before a faceoff, and the home team player would follow. The old way would give the home team's center an advantage for each faceoff. Now, the visiting player only always has to put his stick down first when the faceoff is at center ice. For the other faceoff spots on the ice surface, the defending has would have to put his stick down first, giving the aforementioned advantages to the offensive player. As a result, players typically have more faceoff success in the offensive zone than they do the defensive zone.
Last season, that was true for Crosby, winning 59.1 percent of all offensive zone draws and 52 percent of all defensive zone draws. This season, those numbers are almost flipped. In 2021 he's won 53.9 percent of all offensive zone faceoffs, and 58.2 percent of all defensive zone faceoffs. Of players around the league who have taken at least 100 defensive zone faceoffs, Crosby ranks fifth in success rate.
And while the Penguins as a whole lose more faceoffs than they win on the power play, Crosby still finds success, winning 51.8 percent of draws on the man advantage.
EVGENI MALKIN
Last season was the first of Malkin's career in which he finished with an overall faceoff percentage of at least 50 percent, finishing with a mark of 50.3. He's seen a drop off this season, winning just 42.5 percent of his draws.
Like Crosby, Malkin is faring better in the defensive zone this season, something that wasn't the case last year. Last year Malkin won 52.4 percent of offensive zone faceoffs and 49.5 percent of defensive zone faceoffs. This year, h's winning 42.5 percent in the offensive zone and 46.3 percent in the defensive zone.
Malkin isn't typically called upon to take draws on the power play -- usually only if Crosby is out of the lineup, or gets tossed from the circle -- but when he has had to take power play draws this season, he's done well. He's taken 11 faceoffs on the man advantage, winning seven and losing four for a rate of 63.6 percent.
TEDDY BLUEGER
Blueger is the only regular center other than Crosby winning more faceoffs than he loses, just barely making the mark at 50.2 percent.
For Blueger, though, that's a big improvement, after he won 45.2 percent in 2019-20 and 44.6 percent in 2018-19.
Blueger especially struggled in the defensive zone last season, winning just 43.1 of defensive zone draws. Not ideal, given how often his line would start in the defensive zone. He's improved in that area this season, now winning 47.8 percent of defensive zone faceoffs.
Like last season, when he won 48.5 percent of all offensive zone faceoffs, Blueger does much better when he has the advantage of putting his stick down second. This season, he's winning 53.1 percent of offensive zone draws.
Blueger has struggled with shorthanded draws. The league average for shorthanded faceoffs is 45.2 percent, since penalty-killing centers are usually up against opponents' top centermen. Blueger is below league average for shorthanded draws, winning only 40 percent.
An interesting trend with Blueger is how he fares against centermen with different handedness. The league average for a left-handed centerman facing off a left-handed centerman compared to a right-handed centerman is small, a different of just .2 percent. With Crosby and Malkin, they don't see much of a difference in success rate depending on the handedness of their opponent in the faceoff circle. With Blueger, though, there's a big difference. When he faces off against other left-handed centers, he wins 53.1 percent of all faceoffs. When he has to face a right-handed center, he only wins 47.1 percent.
That could be a difference-maker at the end of a close game when deciding what line to put on the ice. If a faceoff win is in the offensive zone against a left-handed center, Blueger does much better than if it's a defensive zone draw against a right-handed center.
MARK JANKOWSKI
Jankowski hasn't been great at faceoffs overall this season, and he's also seen a drop off from his numbers from last season in Calgary. This season he's won 42.9 percent of his draws.
Last season, Jankowski's overall mark was 44.7 percent, with not much changing depending on the zone he's in -- he won 43.8 percent in the offensive zone, and 42.6 percent in the defensive zone.
This season, he's nearly the same in offensive zone draws, winning 43.2 percent. He has, though, significantly improved in defensive zone faceoffs, now doing better when he has to put his stick down first, and winning 48 percent in the defensive zone. For a player who sees most of his shifts start in the defensive zone, that's not bad.
Jankowski is a bit better than Blueger at shorthanded faceoffs, too, winning 41.9 percent. Still below league average, but not awful.
Like Blueger, Jankowski's success rate varies greatly depending on the handedness of his opponent. Jankowski is left-handed, and wins 45.8 percent of faceoffs against other left-handed centers. Against right-handed centers, he only wins 39.3 percent.
SAM LAFFERTY
Lafferty has done well with faceoffs when he's played as center this season.
He wasn't in the NHL full-time last season, and only took 236 total faceoffs, but won 49.6 percent of them. He's taken 54 draws so far this season, and won 48.1 percent.
Only eight of Lafferty's faceoffs have come in the offensive zone, and he won three and lost five of them. Most of his faceoffs -- 35 of his 54 -- come in the defensive zone, and he's done really well there, winning 54.3 percent of defensive zone draws.
Lafferty is the only right-handed player among the group of centers this season, and he sees a difference in success rate depending on the handedness of his opponent. When he's facing off another righty, he wins 53.8 percent of his faceoffs. Against a left-handed center, he wins 46.3 percent.
