The ups and downs of the Pens power play

As I said in my last post, I was going to break down what made the Pens power play so successful and what's happened to it now.

Heading into the first game of the season, I hadn't watched any Pens preseason games.  Everything I was seeing was going to be fresh and brand new.  When the Flyers took their first penalty, I assumed the PP was going to be no different from last year.  Boy was I wrong.  What I saw was the Dan Bylsma system to a T: puck possession.  The power play didn't run through one guy like last year with Gonchar.  Instead I saw Sid to Malkin to Comrie to Gogo to Malkin to Sid to Gogo...you get the idea.  With Kunitz parked in front of the net (I actually loved Tangradi in front of the net, but that's neither here not there), that devoted one player on the penalty kill to attempt to dissuade him from standing in front of the net.  That left 3 penalty killers against the Pens four most talented offensive players, two of those players being world class talents.  Advantage: Pittsburgh. But the puck movement wasn't the only great thing, there was player movement too.  Last year you saw Crosby and Malkin and Gonchar all parked on the right side with the one guy standing on the left looking for the seam pass.  A simple diamond formation would kill that strategy.  Now, the PKers have no idea where to go.  Crosby could be waiting for a one-timer on the right side and then all of a sudden wind up on the left looking to shoot.  Malkin, who now plays the left point, could be down at the goal line stick handling.  What that does is draw defenders away from where they should be defending, leaving players even more open leading to great chances.

More recently, the power play is having flashes of last year.  Crosby, Malkin and Gogo all parked on the right, Kunitz in front, Letang on the left and everyone is looking for that one-timer or that back door play, you know, the pretty plays, plays that make highlight reels.  That wasn't the power play of earlier this season.  Earlier, they just wanted to score.  Now they want to look good doing it.  That strategy isn't going to work.  Tonight's 5-on-3 showed that.  That power play out of any of them should have had movement.  They're gonna leave Kunitz alone in front but that still leaves their three against our 4.  That's still an advantage.  But by standing still, you make yourself predictable and that's why the Pens couldn't win tonight.  They know they needed to score on that PP, maybe that's why they did what they did.  Whatever the reason, it needs to get fixed and fast.