After struggling to unexpected levels last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are putting a focus on revamping their power play in training camp.
A big reason that the Penguins just missed the playoffs a season ago is due to their struggles on special teams, specifically the power play. It was a real shock for head coach Mike Sullivan’s squad, as a unit led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin should often be a dominant force offensively. Ultimately, Pittsburgh had a 15.2% success rate — only better than the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski wrote about the changes in training camp, as the first power-play unit has Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Kris Letang. With Erik Karlsson out of action, it remains to be seen if he will slot in as one of the five.
But Kingerski highlighted the biggest change for the power play being behind the bench with new assistant coach David Quinn — the former head coach of the San Jose Sharks.
“New ideas and thinking immediately hit home,” Kingerski wrote. “Gone was the firm bumper position, in which a forward staked claim to the middle of the ice and distributed the puck. The Penguins instead had a player in the slot to create traffic and puck support. Expect a few more tweaks and alterations over the coming weeks.”
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The Penguins are back on the ice for preseason action Tuesday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
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