When Kyle Dubas did his season-opening media availability on Monday, the power play inevitably came up as a topic of conversation.
“I know a lot will be written and watched, especially if the first power play on Wednesday night doesn’t go well and the fans get antsy – that’s just the nature psychologically with power plays, and interaction with the fan base in every single city,” Pittsburgh’s President of Hockey Operations and GM said with a smile.
“I think in our case, because of the talent that’s there, I think it gets a little bit more pronounced. The narrative becomes, how can these guys not find a way to put it together? I think it’s on the players, it’s on the coaching staff, it’s on us to continue to work our way around it. They know that it’s important to get it going.”
The Penguins finished 31st in the league in that area of the game during the 2023-24 campaign, despite boasting numerous Hall of Famers and proven goal scorers in this league, as Dubas alluded to. Bryan Rust called the power play ‘abysmal, for lack of a better word.’ But after having time to regroup and re-evaluate, the Penguins are feeling confident about the man-advantage moving forward.
“I think we all know that we're a much better team and have much better player personnel than we showed last year. I strongly believe that the power play is not going to be something that's going to be discussed in a bad way this year, hopefully,” Erik Karlsson said.
According to head coach Mike Sullivan, a new mindset and new assistant coach David Quinn have the man advantage in a “completely different place” compared to last season.
“We've really liked what we've seen to this point,” Sullivan continued. “I think some of the ideas that Quinny’s brought has really helped us get on the right track here, and we've had some success in the preseason. Hopefully, they can build on that traction.”
The personnel on the top unit hasn’t changed, with the same guys in the mix, but their deployment has. Sullivan said he and Quinn talked at length in the offseason about what direction to go, and they’re going to start with both Karlsson and Kris Letang for a two-defensemen look.
During practices, Letang has operated as the quarterback, while Karlsson’s worked on the left half wall. While Karlsson said he’s slightly rusty from being sidelined for most of camp with an upper-body injury, and it’s something that will take some getting used to, “at the same time, it feels very comfortable out there. I'm surrounded by a great group of guys, and everybody's motivated and excited to get going. I'm going to try and do my part to the best ability that I can, and start building on something.”
Sidney Crosby said defensively, it’s good to have a pair of blueliners out there to help negate shorthanded opportunities. Offensively, “they’re pretty much rovers anyway, at this point,” he said.
“They're both right-handed shots, both guys that can shoot the puck and make plays. Just having those guys in those positions, I think you’ve either gotta be ready to shoot yourself or be ready for things around the net with the way they shoot it.”
Overall, the points of emphasis for the entire group are this:
Crosby: “I would say just trying to get the puck moving, you know? Let the puck do the work. We’re guys that I think sometimes maybe look to make plays, and if we can have that attack mentality and take the shots when we’re there; but get the puck moving so that when there are lanes we can take advantage of them… we’re going to have to continue to progress, but I think the puck’s been moving pretty well, and we’ve been predictable for each other.”
Letang: “Execution is a big emphasis. Obviously, you want to be able to execute plays and be able to go tape to tape, being fast… but also being able to use the entire ice on the power play, not only utilizing a couple spots on the ice or just one side. You want to use the entire zone.”
Rakell: “I think just a new mindset coming into this year, more attack mentality, and create scoring chances in different ways. Like, what happened last season is in the past. We tried to create a new identity, try to create something better this year. So, I think throughout these first few games, having practiced a little bit here in training camp – we’re all excited and hungry to see what we can do in actual games.”
But no matter what happens early in the year, Dubas cautioned that the Penguins can’t get too high or too low. He’s hoping they can create chances, get in sync with each other, and keep stacking good games, weeks and months.
“It’s a process for me. I’m not going to get too hopped up about it in the first week or month,” Dubas said. “Sometimes, you get hot at the beginning. Sometimes, it’s rough. But I think in the end, knowing the amount of focus they’re putting into it, they’ll find a way.”
