Penguins’ surging power play to face Bruins’ NHL-best penalty kill
The Pittsburgh Penguins have as many power-play goals over their past three games (five) as they had over the course of their first 12 games of the season. The five power-play goals they had in three wins over a recent five-day span were more than they managed during the entire month of February (four).
The current run of five over three games matches the most over a span that short since they had six over three games from March 10-14, 2019.
But maintaining that run won’t be easy. The Penguins’ next two games are against the team with the NHL’s best penalty-killing unit, the Boston Bruins.
“They do a great job of pressuring,” defenseman Mike Matheson said of a Bruins’ penalty kill that has an 89.5% success rate this season. “They have guys that have done it for a long time and have great instincts on the PK, so I think every time we get a (power-play) chance, it all comes down to out-working them.”
The Bruins have allowed only one power-play goal against in 16 opportunities over their past six games. They have not allowed more than a single PPG in any of their past 28 games, killing 89.7% of opposing chances in that time.
“They do a lot of things well. That’s why they’re the top penalty-killing unit in the league,” Sullivan said.
Two games into using McCann on the top power-play unit, the #Penguins have scored four goals and have multiple power-play goals in consecutive games for the first time in over a year. https://t.co/1eBNDSYMp7
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) March 28, 2021
Boston’s No. 1 PK center, Patrice Bergeron, is second in the NHL in faceoff win percentage overall (61.9%) and while short-handed (61.5%).
The Bruins also are tied for second in the NHL in short-handed goals (five).
The Penguins are 1 for 17 against the Bruins on the power play this season.
“They’re a good shot-blocking team, they make good decisions, they’re a pressure kill and so we are going to have to be at our best,” Sullivan said. “It’s going to boil down to effort and execution, as it always does. … We’ve got to take what the game gives us. We’ve got to think about shooting the puck when the opportunity presents itself and then creating from there.
“It will be a big challenge for us, no doubt.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.