Tim Benz: Empty those ‘half full’ glasses. The Penguins can finally toast the power play
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After his team’s 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday night, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan leaned into a tried and true analogy when discussing the impact of his team finally scoring a pair of power-play goals.
“Seeing the glass half full a little bit and trying to celebrate some of the small successes along the way, I think, is a really important aspect,” Sullivan said.
Glass half full? Two power-play goals are the equivalent of the cup running over for these Penguins. They entered Tuesday night’s game in an 0-for-37 slump before Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter managed to score with the man advantage. Their last power-play goal was registered on Nov. 11 against Buffalo. Their last contest with two power-play goals was on Nov. 4 during a 10-2 romp over San Jose.
“It just feels good to get one going in,” Jake Guentzel said. “I’m just trying to put pucks on net. To get two is huge.”
Indeed. A month’s worth of power-play failure was weighing on this team. So whatever libation was in that half-full glass, Sullivan and company should chug it back and pour another in celebration.
“They made good decisions. There was pretty good execution. It’s a little bit of a different scheme than we’ve had all year, and these guys have been working at it here the last few days, and I think they believe in it,” Sullivan said. “The care factor is high with these guys. It means a lot to them. They understand the responsibility they have with the power play. To see these guys get rewarded tonight is terrific.”
Part of that “different scheme” may be more of an emphasis on making plays from below the goal line and working the puck back out. Guentzel’s goal was set up by Sidney Crosby down low. The second goal was scored with the second unit on the ice. Carter deflected a shot in front of the net. The play originated with Lars Eller walking the puck below the goal line, then moving it up high.
Things you love to see:
1. Early leads
2. Power-play goals
3. Jake Guentzel smilingGuentzel has points in 16 of his last 18 games (9G-12A) and has notched a point in 22 of 27 games this year. pic.twitter.com/LwGcqBa4oz
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2023
BIG JEFF CARTER. BIG POWER-PLAY GOAL. pic.twitter.com/JJpEvAGCJ3
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 13, 2023
Let’s be honest, though. If the Penguins had managed to score on the power play by having Iceburgh shoot a puck from the 200 level with his T-shirt cannon, they would’ve taken it.
The most important thing for Sullivan appears to be the fact that he can use a little positive reinforcement now. For a change, tape review of the power play can include pointing to things that the man-up unit did right instead of constantly pointing out where things were going wrong.
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“Confidence is such a big part of it. As world-class as these athletes are in the NHL, my experience has been over the years with lots of players when things don’t go the right way, everybody gets affected by that. It’s just human nature. So, (we’re) trying to walk the line of seeing things for what they are and trying to identify areas to get better and assess it the right way,” Sullivan said.
The Penguins may have found a perfect spot to build upon that momentum for their next game. They are in Montreal on Wednesday night. The Canadiens have faced 102 power plays on the season, which is the third-most in the NHL. Their 27 power-play goals allowed is the most in the Eastern Conference and tied with San Jose for the most allowed in all of hockey, and their penalty kill (73.5 %) is 28th in the league.
So maybe Sullivan’s cup will be more than half-full by the end of the evening.
Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer of the Penguins radio network discuss the Penguins’ win over Arizona, Logan Cooley’s debut, and the end of the Pens’ power-play drought.