The ebbs and flows of the Penguins' record this season often go hand-in-hand with the Penguins' power play's successes and failures.
When the power play is on, the wins follow more often than not. The same is true in the reverse.
When the Penguins' power play went through it's worst stretch of the season from Oct. 29 through Nov. 29, they went just 4-for-41 on the power play for a 9.8% success rate that ranked dead last in the league during that timeframe. They lost more often than they won during that stretch, going 7-5-3.
The Penguins' power play was one of the league's best for much of the month of December -- from Dec. 1-22, the Penguins went 14-for-38 on the power play for a 36.8% success rate that ranked fourth in the league in that time.
Since then, the switch has flipped. The Penguins' power play has struggled in its last three games and disappointing losses have followed as a result.
The Penguins managed to go 0-for-9 on the power play in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Devils at PPG Paints Arena.
Just simply breaking even on the power play wasn't enough -- the Penguins also allowed a shorthanded goal from Devils forward Nico Hischier late in the second period that broke a 2-2 tie. The goal came after Hischier easily blew past Evgeni Malkin off a rush:
It was the goal that stood to be the game-winner.
The Penguins are now winless in their last four games, with the last three losses being exceptionally concerning in their own ways. There was the 5-1 loss to the Islanders that Sullivan said "might have been our worst loss of the season." There was the 5-4 loss to the Red Wings the following night that included a blown four-goal lead after the first period. And now there's this game, where the Penguins' power play looked especially flat. The Penguin are a combined 2-for-12 on the man advantage in the last week. When you factor in the shorthanded goal allowed Friday, the Penguin have the 28th-best power play in the league in that time.
To keep this skid from turning into anything larger, the power play needs to get back on track for starters.
"I just think we weren't as sharp," Mike Sullivan said on the team's performance on the power play tonight. "We were trying to work through it. It's hard to be critical of this group. They've been pretty dynamic for the last 10-plus games or so. The power play has been winning games for us. When you look at how our team's played here over the last stretch of games, probably the last six or seven games, I think the script has flipped a little bit."
I asked Bryan Rust what specifically went wrong with the power play in this game, and he said that the Penguins simply weren't getting enough pucks -- or bodies -- to the net.
"They did a good job of getting in lanes," Rust said of the Devils. "We were a little bit slow, maybe we didn't make enough plays. But our power play has been good for awhile and it's just unfortunate that we had a little bit of an off night."
The Penguins spent a total of 16:27 on the power play and attempted 24 shots during that span, 12 of which made it to the goal. The shot attempts they did get did come from some pretty prime places too, with many coming from inside the slot or just outside the crease:
There were just too few of those quality chances. When the Penguins' power play is at its best they're getting screens and tip-ins and rebound attempts from a net-front presence that was just more lacking tonight.
"We didn't manage to settle it down and go into our set plays," Rickard Rakell said. "They did a good job of putting a lot of pressure on us. The chances were still there but we didn't manage to put it in the net. It's tough to win hockey games when you get that many chances and it doesn't go your way. You start to lose your confidence. When you're a confident power play it seems to go in."
Sullivan acknowledged the power play's struggles after the game as of late, but pointed out that the power play isn't the only reason for these last few losses. The team needs to be better at even strength, too.
"Yeah, our power play - we'd like it to be better," he said. "But it's been pretty darn good for a while. I think we've got to think in terms of how do we do a better job controlling 5-on-5 play, and create the balance that we need through our lineup. Because it's been a number of games now where it's been absent, and we've got to be better there."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Ty Smith made his long-awaited Penguins debut. I have more on his night here.
• Evgeni Malkin went into beast mode for the Penguins' opening goal in the first period. He stripped Dougie Hamilton of the puck in the Penguins' end to create a breakaway opportunity for himself:
The goal was Malkin's 1,180th career point in the NHL, moving him past Sergei Fedorov for the second-most points among all Russian-born players in NHL history. The guy who has over 800 goals -- Alex Ovechkin -- obviously holds the No. 1 spot with 1,452 points.With the goal Malkin
• Hamilton thought he tied the game early in the second period with a rocket of a shot from the right circle but the goal was immediately waived off for goaltender interference after Erik Haula made contact with Tristan Jarry. Lindy Ruff challenged the goal but the call was confirmed after review, giving the Penguins a power play.
• Blueger got called for tripping shortly after the Devils' disallowed goal, putting the Penguins on the penalty-kill. Jack Hughes scored on the ensuing Devils power play, only the sixth goal the Penguins' penalty-killers have allowed since Teddy Blueger returned to the lineup on Nov. 15:
The Penguins went 5-for-6 on the penalty-kill and have a 90.8 success rate since Nov. 15.
• On the Hughes goal, Sullivan wasn't happy with Trent Knorr dropping the puck for a faceoff early and made his displeasure known. He got a bench minor penalty for abuse of officials, which was served by Danton Heinen. The Penguins killed off the penalty.
• Jeff Carter put the Penguins up 2-1 after a great play by Joseph to carry the puck into the offensive zone with a burst of speed and blew past two Devils in the process. Joseph lost the puck for a moment while driving to the net and Carter recovered it. Carter looked like he was trying to put the puck off Joseph for a redirect, but it went in off of a Devil to give the Penguin the lead:
• The Devils tied the game back up with this shot from Hamilton. Jarry was screened by Jan Rutta and Miles Wood on the play:
• Hughes scored an empty netter with five seconds left to seal the Devils' win.
• Rust and Rakell switched spots late in the game, with Rust going back up to the top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Rakell going back to Malkin's wing. The top line had been outshot 2-7 and outscored 0-1 with Rakell on it in the 7:43 before the switch. The top line only played 2:43 intact with Rust after the switch and shots were even at 1-1.
• Friedman had himself quite a little game in his second game since the recall. He was getting under the skin of opponents early on, and his four hits tied for the team lead. He had this hit early in the game:
💥 @friedsyy 💥 pic.twitter.com/klHcdVvoxb
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 31, 2022
• Ryan Poehling returned to the lineup after being sidelined with an upper-body injury since Dec. 20, a nagging upper-body injury that he actually sustained at the beginning of the month.
• With Poehling -- a capable center -- getting back into the lineup, the Penguins shuffled up their bottom six a little bit. Blueger was bumped up to third-line center, which allowed Carter to be shifted over to the right wing on that line. Poehling centered the fourth line, and Drew O'Connor was a healthy scratch.
• The Penguins sent forward Drake Caggiula back to Wilkes-Barre just before the game in order to clear the roster spot necessary to activate Poehling from injured reserve. Caggiula didn't appear in any games during this recall.
• The Penguins fall to 0-1 in the post-Blueger haircut era. The flow that he worked on all summer is gone:
PENGUINS
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at PPG Paints Arena:
1. Jack Hughes, Devils C
2. Nico Hischier, Devils C
3. Dougie Hamilton, Devils D
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Jeff Petry remained sidelined with the left wrist injury he suffered in the Penguins' game against the Sabres on Dec. 10. He skated before the Penguins' morning skate but only used his right hand on a shortened stick. He didn't use his left hand.
• Forward Josh Archibald missed his fifth game with an undisclosed lower-body injury sustained in the Penguins' game in Raleigh, N.C. on Dec. 18
• Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel missed his second game with an upper-body injury sustained int he Penguins' game in Elmont, N.Y. on Dec. 27. He skated with Petry prior to the morning skate Friday.
• Defenseman Kris Letang missed his first game with a lower-body injury sustained in the Penguins' game Dec. 28 against the Red Wings. Sullivan said Friday morning that he is day-to-day.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Rickard Rakell
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn - Teddy Blueger - Jeff Carter
Danton Heinen - Ryan Poehling - Kasperi Kapanen
Marcus Pettersson - Jan Rutta
P.O Joseph - Mark Friedman
Brian Dumoulin - Ty Smith
And for Lindy Ruff's Devils:
Tomas Tatar - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Erik Haula - Jack Hughes - Dawson Mercer
Yegor Sharangovich - Jesper Boqvist - Alexander Holtz
Miles Wood - Michael McLeod - Fabian Zetterlund
Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton
Kevin Bahl - Damon Severson
Nikita Okhotiuk - Brendan Smith
THE SCHEDULE
The Winter Classic against the Bruins is up next. The Penguins will practice at Fenway Park in Boston late in the afternoon on New Year's Day. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m. on Jan. 2. Danny Shirey and I will both be making the trip.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.
