Power Play Strikes Twice in Victory Over Arizona

When talking about Pittsburgh’s struggling power play the other day, Sidney Crosby said with a wry grin, “we’ll take it any way we can get it at this point… let's just get one in, and then hopefully, we can start to get a little more confidence.”

The Penguins finally broke through in a big way on Tuesday against Arizona, with Jake Guentzel converting their first opportunity early in the game. Jeff Carter then got another in the third period, which stood as the game-winner in Pittsburgh’s 4-2 victory.

“Obviously, Sid made a good play, just trying to put pucks on net,” Guentzel said of his tally. “Yeah, to get two [power-play goals] is huge, and obviously, nice tip by Carts.”

The power play has been a major focus – “not only of fans and media, as it should be, but every day internally,” Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas said.

Before Guentzel’s goal, it had been held off the board in 37 consecutive opportunities, with their last goal coming on Nov. 11 versus Buffalo.

It’s such a heavy feeling when the power play isn’t able to contribute, especially with the type of personnel Pittsburgh has, and confidence has been affected at various points while the Penguins fruitlessly tried to find solutions.

But as Head Coach Mike Sullivan said, “the power play has an opportunity to be a difference for us moving forward, and we believe they will. They're good players, and these guys care. They're proud guys, and they're working at it. We're gonna stay with it here.”

Both Dubas and Crosby said they felt like the guys were building confidence and momentum in the two practices they’ve had since their last game on Friday in Florida, as they were able to get a lot of reps with the new configurations.

Valtteri Puustinen, a 2019 seventh-round draft pick playing in his third career game, slotted in on the top unit along with Guentzel, Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson. With Puustinen being a right-handed shot, and possessing offensive instincts, the Penguins wanted to give him a shot with those guys.

He made an impact right away, earning the secondary assist on Guentzel’s goal, with Crosby getting the primary helper.

The second unit, which currently consists of Carter, Kris Letang, Reilly Smith, Lars Eller, and Vinnie Hinostroza, stepped up for another tally. That group definitely had a shoot-first mentality, with Letang’s shot getting tipped by Carter at the net-front.

“Honestly, I think the big thing tonight was—if you look at it, we were simplifying and we were shooting pucks. When things aren’t going your way, you tend to force plays,” Carter said. “If you simplify and you shoot and you go to the net, good things happen.”

Guentzel echoed Carter’s assessment, adding, “You've just got to shoot the puck. Nothing breaks coverage down more than shooting the puck. Both goals kind of came from that, and we’ve got to learn from that.”