If there was ever a time for the Penguins’ power play to find its way, Tuesday night would have been a good place to start.
The Penguins’ 30th-ranked power play was presented with a trio of opportunities against the New York Islanders’ historically bad penalty kill, which entering the evening was on track for the sixth-worst success rate of any team in NHL history at a 70.7% clip. New York’s struggles down an attacker in part led to its previous head coach, Lane Lambert, being fired and replaced by Patrick Roy earlier this year.
No matter. The Penguins fired blanks on each of their three chances during a 5-4 overtime loss at PPG Paints Arena.
“We knew they were adjusting to a few new systems, with the new coaches there,” Matthew Phillips said. “I felt like we still had a couple really good looks and good moments on the power play. It's difficult, just another one-goal game.”
It wasn’t simply that the Penguins couldn’t sneak a puck past Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin. The Penguins’ failed first power-play opportunity allowed New York to take its first lead of the night.
Mathew Barzal, who early in the second period was waiting in the penalty box after being called for hooking, took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to spring free for a breakaway goal just after his infraction expired, making it 2-1 in the Islanders’ favor.
Only a few seconds prior, Lars Eller sought to center a pass from the goal line extended to Jeff Carter at the net front. The puck deflected off New York’s Ryan Pulock toward the left half wall, then ricocheted up the boards to Barzal.
"We had an unfortunate bounce at an unfortunate time that led to a breakaway,” Eller said. “But other than that, I wouldn't read too much into [three] power plays.”
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, however, provided some positive takeaways from another rotten night by his team’s power play. He was pleased with the amount of offensive-zone time his group generated, 3:40 out of a potential six minutes, per Sportlogiq.
The Penguins not only possessed the puck in their offensive zone for a tick under two minutes, but also had a couple of quality looks. One such came from Bryan Rust, who stationed himself at the backdoor of New York’s net early in the Penguins’ first power-play chance.
Yet instead of firing a one-timer, a somewhat hesitant Rust unsuccessfully saucered a pass toward the crease that was easily picked off. Frustrated, Rust shook his head downward while the Islanders easily cleared.
“Those types of books are high-quality looks,” Sullivan said. “I thought [we] got a handful of those tonight, and I think that's something to build on. No, we didn't score, but there was a lot to like with what's going on.”
Sullivan wasn’t alone with his postgame confidence, Phillips joining him with that sentiment. Of course, Phillips was claimed off waivers this past weekend.
“I've only been here for three days, but I've seen a lot of good things and it just seems like the puck’s just not quite going in,” Phillips said. “But, sometimes you go through stretches like that, and tonight just didn't go our way.
“But I feel like we play like that, it's going to go our way more often than not.”
Yet 53 games into the Penguins’ season, the inverse has much more often been the case. While the Penguins can be pleased with their process when having a man advantage Tuesday night, the reality is that they’ve played an integral part in helping the Islanders avoid seriously challenging the 1979-80 Los Angeles Kings for the worst penalty kill in league history.
After all, the Penguins have gone a collective 0 for 10 on the power play in three games against the Islanders this season, including their most recent donut in an overtime defeat.
Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1.
First Published: February 21, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: February 22, 2024, 3:15 a.m.
