Mike Johnston gathers his players to explain the next drill at practice Monday at Consol. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC
There’s a reflexive response when examining the Penguins’ recently putrid power play to gloss right over the most glaring problem. Or, I should say, problems:
• Sidney Crosby has two power-play goals in his past 35 games, including that oasis of an overtime blast Saturday night in Montreal.
• Evgeni Malkin has one power-play goal in his past 20 games.
• Chris Kunitz has two in his past 23 games.
• Kris Letang has none in his past 27 games.
These four players make up the foundation of the Penguins’ power play. They have for years, actually. And if they don’t score — which, clearly, they haven’t in quite some time — the onus falls to that fifth player, whoever that might be. And unless that fifth player is a 25-year-old firebombing Brett Hull, it won’t matter.
“We’ve got to score,” Crosby was telling me Monday after practice at Consol. “That’s the bottom line. We’ve got people who can score, and we’ve got to score.”
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January 12, 2015
Column: How to fix Penguins’ power play
by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Penguins
Mike Johnston gathers his players to explain the next drill at practice Monday at Consol. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC
There’s a reflexive response when examining the Penguins’ recently putrid power play to gloss right over the most glaring problem. Or, I should say, problems:
• Sidney Crosby has two power-play goals in his past 35 games, including that oasis of an overtime blast Saturday night in Montreal.
• Evgeni Malkin has one power-play goal in his past 20 games.
• Chris Kunitz has two in his past 23 games.
• Kris Letang has none in his past 27 games.
These four players make up the foundation of the Penguins’ power play. They have for years, actually. And if they don’t score — which, clearly, they haven’t in quite some time — the onus falls to that fifth player, whoever that might be. And unless that fifth player is a 25-year-old firebombing Brett Hull, it won’t matter.
“We’ve got to score,” Crosby was telling me Monday after practice at Consol. “That’s the bottom line. We’ve got people who can score, and we’ve got to score.”