As the new-look Penguins settle in this season, they have a lot to work on following their 2-3 start – and special teams is a big area of focus.
Both the power play and penalty kill have had significant makeovers, as new personnel look to deliver those units back to the top of the league after finishing in the middle of the pack last season.
Pittsburgh’s 2-for-13 start on the man-advantage hasn’t been ideal, but Erik Karlsson cautioned during training camp that it would be a process for guys to settle into their roles.
“It's going to take a little bit of time before we find our identity and what we're trying to accomplish out there,” said the superstar defenseman. “There’s going to be some bumps in the road and some learning lessons, even though we know we're seasoned veterans.”
At Monday’s practice, Head Coach Mike Sullivan tweaked that top unit for the first time in this young season, having Bryan Rust replace Rickard Rakell.
Sullivan hopes that Rust provides a spark to the group, as the rest of the forwards on that first unit – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jake Guentzel – are all playing terrific during 5-on-5 play, but have struggled to translate that onto the man-advantage.
“I think the biggest thing is Rusty’s puck retrievals,” Sullivan said. “He's really good at tracking down loose pucks, rebounds, 50-50 pucks that are up for grabs. A big part of a successful power play is you're going to retrieve those, so that you sustain zone time.”
Rust hopes that he can be a difference-maker on special teams with those facets of his game, while also continuing to produce.
“Work for those guys out there,” he said. “Those guys are world-class talents and if I’m out there, I’m out there working hard, trying to get to the net and make plays when they’re there.”
Rust’s elevation from the second power-play unit – which currently features Rakell, Reilly Smith, Radim Zohorna, Jeff Carter, and Kris Letang – potentially opens up more time for others on the penalty kill, as he had been seeing more shorthanded reps this season. The addition of Karlsson has also freed up Letang to appear more on the kill, with Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel some of the other familiar faces.
As for the new faces, that group includes Ryan Graves, Lars Eller, Noel Acciari, Matt Nieto and Smith, who are all averaging over a minute-plus in shorthanded situations.
“We’re just still hammering down some systems,” Acciari said. “It’s been good, but there are some things we can tighten up and be better at. We’re working on that.”
An example of that is when Graves or his teammates expand the box to make a play on the puck. They want to keep a solid foundation, even when play is destabilized.
“We want to work in unison, especially when you’re trying to apply pressure,” Graves said. “And when you want to do that, you can’t have just one guy, otherwise you get kind of get stretched out. As the year goes on, we’ll try to get more connected.”
The renovations have shown potential, as Pittsburgh has killed 12 of the first 15 penalties faced this year, with one of those goals coming on an empty netter.
“The penalty kill can be something you don’t notice, but if you do notice it’s not always a good thing,” Graves said. “It’s one of those things, it’s not always as pretty but it’s equally as important.”
While the new guys will take time to settle in, Graves recognizes that where they end up will go a long way in determining Pittsburgh’s success.
“It’s something that you need to win, and we’re all here to win, so it’s something that’s good to be a part of,” he said.
