Can the Penguins fine-tune a lagging penalty kill before facing the Rangers' dangerous power play?

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ regular-season finale Friday, a 5-3 home win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, was full of reasons to celebrate.

Namely, they got a win to close the 2020-21 schedule. Such an accomplishment was hardly a guarantee in recent weeks as the Penguins ended the campaign with a pockmarked 7-9-2 stretch.

Additionally, the victory formally secured them third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Throw in a handful of personal accomplishments — defenseman Kris Letang set a career high with 68 points while forward Evan Rodrigues played all 82 games for the first time in his career — and there was plenty to feel good about after the game.

Even with that enthusiasm, coach Mike Sullivan offered a fair critique of his team in one aspect.

The penalty kill.

In the third period, the Blue Jackets scored two power-play goals to make the contest a bit more competitive than it probably should have been.

Sullivan was blunt in assessing his team’s short-handed play.

“I don’t think our penalty kill was as good tonight,” Sullivan said after the game. “Our penalty kill needs to get better. That’s an area where I think we’ve slipped over the last couple of weeks. A lot of it is just attention to detail and commitment and things of that nature. That’s one area where I didn’t think we were as good tonight and we had to be better.”

The Blue Jackets finished the regular season with the league’s 24th-best power play with a conversion rate of 18.6% and provided a stiff challenge to the Penguins’ penalty killers.

Up next in the first game of the postseason?

The New York Rangers, who boast the NHL’s fourth-best power play with a success rate of 25.2%.

Suffice to say, this presents a significant challenge to a group of penalty killers who, as Sullivan suggests, have struggled as of late.

In fact, the Penguins allowed opposing power-play goals in their final four games of the regular season that included three opponents — the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers and Blue Jackets — that did not qualify for the playoffs.

During Sunday’s practice in Cranberry, the Penguins devoted some of the roughly 50-minute session to their penalty kill.

“A big part of the penalty kill is pressure, trying to force teams to make plays they don’t want to make,” Letang said. “The rest is battles, blocked shots, stuff like that. We can increase our collective game as a whole for the playoffs.”

The Rangers’ top power-play unit for most of the season has been composed of forwards Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Mika Zibanejad and defenseman Adam Fox.

Kreider broke out this season with a 52-goal campaign, including a league-leading 26 power-play goals. Meanwhile, Fox appears to be the fulcrum of the unit. Last season’s Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman, Fox is relied upon to get the puck up ice for offensive-zone entries as well as directing traffic within that realm of the rink.

Fox was fourth in the NHL this season among defensemen in power-play points with 33, all assists.

“Fox might not have a power-play goal, but he’s a huge part of how it works and how it operates (with) his ability to scale the blue line, the deception that he has, his ability to get pucks through (to the net),” Sullivan said. “Chris Kreider has had a career year with respect to goals; a lot of them have been on the power play. When you look at the types of goals that he’s scored, a lot of them have been from a foot and a half from the blue paint. Fox is one of the guys that helps deliver the puck there.

“There are certain things that we’re going to have to be aware of. We have a big challenge ahead of us with respect to their power play. It’s been one of the better power plays in the league. We’re going to have to make sure we’re locked in and get the job done.”

Part of that will entail sprucing up some aspects of their own penalty kill, which enjoyed a strong overall campaign in 2021-22, even with a late-season lag.

The Penguins finished the season with the NHL’s third-ranked penalty kill, a conversion rate of 84.4%.

Sullivan declined to identify — publicly, at least — elements of the penalty kill that need refinement. But he acknowledged they exist.

“There are specifics, and we’ll discuss that with our group,” Sullivan said. “But a lot of it boils down to details. That’s the important aspect of it, and we’ll work with our guys with respect to those details and what’s important and how we can have success as a (penalty-killing unit).

“This group of players has done a terrific job for the majority of the year on the penalty kill. It’s been one of the strengths of our team. As of late, we haven’t been quite as good, but I know we’re capable of being a whole lot better. … I know these guys are a committed group.”

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