The Penguins have been outscored and outshot on their own power play through the first two games of this series.
The Penguins are 0-for-7 on the power play against the Flyers. With the overlapping penalties in Game 2, the Penguins have spent exactly 12 minutes on the man advantage this series. And in those 12 minutes, the Penguins have allowed a shorthanded goal and been outshot 4-3.
To not score is one thing. But to be outshot? Two games, seven opportunities, and they can only register three shots on goal? And allow four?
The Penguins have been getting attempts, but still not many. They lead 16-5 in shot attempts on their power plays, and 10-4 in unblocked attempts. But they're getting very few of those attempts on net, while committing turnovers and mistakes that lead to Grade-A chances the other direction.
I asked Rickard Rakell on Tuesday what has been going on for them on the power play.
"First of all, I think we're breaking out the puck too much," he said. "We're going back for the puck and haven't really been able to gain the zone with possession and set our power play up for success. It's feels like they're putting a lot of pressure on us, and we're not doing a good enough job to establish pressure and help each other to create,. Five-on-five, it's the same thing there, to get on the inside and create second opportunities. So it's definitely something that we're going to talk about a lot to improve for this next game."
The power play was a strength of the Penguins in the regular season, finishing seventh in the league with a 24.1% success rate. The Flyers' penalty-kill wasn't a strength, finishing 22nd in the league at 77.6. While the Flyers have largely improved since the Olympic break, their penalty kill has even taken a dip since the break, falling to 26th in the league at 74% in that span. There's no way to justify the Penguins being this bad on their own power play in these games, and they know that.
"It's just not the way we've operate all year long," Kris Letang said. "Our power play not only put us on the board, but was actually giving us momentum every time we stepped over the boards. We have to get back to that. We have all the talent that we need, and we have the players to make the difference."
Those players need to start executing, or it'll be a quick series.
THE ASYLUM
Still looking for answers on power play
The Penguins have been outscored and outshot on their own power play through the first two games of this series.
The Penguins are 0-for-7 on the power play against the Flyers. With the overlapping penalties in Game 2, the Penguins have spent exactly 12 minutes on the man advantage this series. And in those 12 minutes, the Penguins have allowed a shorthanded goal and been outshot 4-3.
To not score is one thing. But to be outshot? Two games, seven opportunities, and they can only register three shots on goal? And allow four?
The Penguins have been getting attempts, but still not many. They lead 16-5 in shot attempts on their power plays, and 10-4 in unblocked attempts. But they're getting very few of those attempts on net, while committing turnovers and mistakes that lead to Grade-A chances the other direction.
I asked Rickard Rakell on Tuesday what has been going on for them on the power play.
"First of all, I think we're breaking out the puck too much," he said. "We're going back for the puck and haven't really been able to gain the zone with possession and set our power play up for success. It's feels like they're putting a lot of pressure on us, and we're not doing a good enough job to establish pressure and help each other to create,. Five-on-five, it's the same thing there, to get on the inside and create second opportunities. So it's definitely something that we're going to talk about a lot to improve for this next game."
The power play was a strength of the Penguins in the regular season, finishing seventh in the league with a 24.1% success rate. The Flyers' penalty-kill wasn't a strength, finishing 22nd in the league at 77.6. While the Flyers have largely improved since the Olympic break, their penalty kill has even taken a dip since the break, falling to 26th in the league at 74% in that span. There's no way to justify the Penguins being this bad on their own power play in these games, and they know that.
"It's just not the way we've operate all year long," Kris Letang said. "Our power play not only put us on the board, but was actually giving us momentum every time we stepped over the boards. We have to get back to that. We have all the talent that we need, and we have the players to make the difference."
Those players need to start executing, or it'll be a quick series.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits!
We’d love to have you!