Karlsson replaced Letang at the point to begin training camp. He was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in a three-team trade involving the Montreal Canadiens on Aug. 6, after winning the Norris Trophy voted as the best defenseman in the NHL. He had 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists), 27 on the power play (five goals, 22 assists), last season.
Later in camp, Letang was dropped to the second unit. He led Pittsburgh defensemen with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) and 21 power-play points (six goals, 15 assists) in 64 games last season.
Pittsburgh used four forwards since, going with Rust, Smith and Rickard Rakell in place of Letang, but recent struggles have reintroduced the thought of Letang with Karlsson.
"That's one of the reasons we explored that option in practice today," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We've had Kris and 'Karl' on the power play earlier in the year. Different spots, but we had them on the power play earlier in the year. We chose to go with the four-forward look.
"We think, at this time, a little bit of change is warranted at this point to try to get some different results."
So far, the results include seven goals scored, six at 5-on-4 and one at 5-on-3, and four allowed for a plus-three goal differential with at least a man-advantage, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for last in the NHL.
"I think just the fact that we got two D out there, we don't want to be giving up goals," Crosby said. "We obviously want to be getting momentum, but we don't want to be giving up goals. So, hopefully, that gives us a little bit more peace of mind and more confidence to make plays knowing that we've got two defensemen back there. If anything, it probably simplifies it."
Crosby, in his 19th season, leads the NHL with 12 goals at even strength. Guentzel leads with 24 even-strength points (nine goals, 15 assists), just ahead of Crosby (22).
On the power play, Crosby has just two goals. Guentzel has three assists without a goal. Malkin leads the Penguins with six power-play points (two goals, four assists), ahead of Karlsson (four points; two goals, two assists) and Smith (four points; one goal, three assists).
"These guys care an awful lot about this thing," Sullivan said. "They take a lot of pride in it. They're real good players. … They're very invested, so we're going to work with them here to work through it."
A more direct approach could help, Sullivan said. In the past 10 games, Pittsburgh has 36 shots on goal on 26 power plays, an average of 1.4.
"I think an important aspect of the solution is just to become a simplified version of themselves," Sullivan said. "Put pucks at the net. We have to go to the net. I think we can be a little bit more predictable for ourselves with some of our movement."
And if that doesn't work?
"We're going to keep trying," Karlsson said. "We're going to keep trying until we get it right."
