PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The change to the power play in the Montreal game right before the break was not just a one-off. The Pens are shaking up the power play and keeping Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin to the second unit.
Those are two of the league’s premiere players over the last decade and sent to the bench. Pens head coach Mike Sullivan admitted to some ‘candid conversations’ and said the moves are nothing other than to put the team in the best chance to win and they felt a change was necessary.
Maybe overdue, the Pens power play with Malkin, Karlsson, Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust was 31st in the league through its first 46 games. To put that in perspective, the Pens team in 2005-06 that won 22 games hit at 18.99% on the power play. This Pens team with visions of making a Stanley Cup run is hitting at 13.3%.
Sullivan said he was as patient as he could be. He knew there would be some growing pains and said they waited ‘a long time’ to ride the top unit. They have waited long enough and they need results no matter who gets moved from the first team. Change was necessary.
“We are trying to create two units that we think can have success,” Sullivan said bluntly. “I think we’ve gone a long time trying to ride a top unit and we don’t feel that we’ve had the success that meets our own expectation inside our locker room. We just feel like at this particular point in time that change in necessary.”
Kris Letang and Reilly Smith join Crosby, Guentzel and Rust on the number one power play going forward. The second unit it Malkin, Karlsson, Lars Eller, Rickard Rakell and Jeff Carter. This new group had a pair of opportunities against the Canadiens and went 0 for 2, but Sullivan is going to stick with it, at least for now.
“Trying to get all the pieces to fall into place and getting everybody to feel the way they want at the right time and together,” Karlsson said. “That’s what we are doing right now. We haven’t gotten there yet.”
“They understand,” Sullivan said. “I think they get it. When we don’t have success, change is inevitable.”
It’s hard to believe a group with a combined 448 career power play goals have combined for just 20 so far this season. The coaches were patient, probably overly, can they be at least average?