Penguins Praise Work of their Power Play

PITTSBURGH - In the early stages of the season, the power play units of the Pittsburgh Penguins were miserable to watch.

Both power play lines continuously failed to get anything done production wise and it began to cost the Penguins games.

Something clicked, though, as the power play has picked up at least a goal in nine straight contests.

During that run, the Penguins are 8-1-0 forcing everyone to take notice that the power play has not only gained some ground, but become game changers.

The Penguins power play has began moving the needle for the team and swinging momentum into their favor.

“You take every game as a separate entity and a new challenge,” associate coach Todd Reirden said. “Our guys really invest quite a bit of time, and we do it together in terms of our preparation.”

Reirden is the coach in charge of the Penguins power play and is in his second stint behind the bench in Pittsburgh.

The last time the Penguins power play had a run like this was about 10 years ago when Reirden was in his first run with the team.

“It’s fun to remember back to 2012 and 13 when we had a run like this,” Reirden said. “I’m just so fortunate to be able to be a part of this organization and work with players, few of them that were on that power play then that are still on that power play.”

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang were all key figures in the Penguins power play success 10 years ago, much like they are now.

The power play was once laughably bad, but now has the ability to be game changers night after night.

In 109 man advantage opportunities the Penguins have capitalized 25 times on the power play for 22.94%.

It's still a middling percentage in by the league's standards, but far better from where they were.

Even when playing from behind, like the team has had to do on a few occasions, the power play has swung momentum.

“We weren’t as good as we’d like to be in the first half of the game,” Bryan Rust said. “Getting those power play goals gave us a shot in the arm.”

With the power play rolling along, the Penguins look like a nearly perfect team.

The Penguins are a squad that if they can figure out their minor kinks, they should remain one of the toughest teams in the NHL.