Penguins Are Hoping to Find Success in 2024
The power play is finally back
The Pittsburgh Penguins are desperately trying to climb back into the playoff picture having won four out of their last five games. Their most recent win over the Carolina Hurricanes on December 21 was nothing fancy, however they did what they had to do to win. They kept it simple, they limited the odd-man rushes and they got good goaltending. The Penguins must now figure out how to carry their recent success over into the second half of the season, but there are still some areas of their game that need some major work.
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Penguins On the Right Track
A big area of concern for the Penguins throughout the past month has been their power play. Players were constantly being switched on and off the unit while the coaching staff was trying to find some success. Finally, on December 12 against the Arizona Coyotes Jake Guentzel ended the drought and scored a power play goal for the first time in 38 tries. Once again, Pittsburgh did not do anything fancy to score that goal. They moved the puck quickly and efficiently and caught the Coyotes out of position.
One crucial component to Guentzel’s goal was Valtteri Puustinen. He was active along the wall and made a good pass down low to Sidney Crosby who was able to get the puck to Guentzel. Adding Puustinen to the top power play unit was the right move. He has been the boost the team has needed on offense especially with the absence of Bryan Rust. For the past three seasons, he has been a top goal-scorer in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and has hit the 20-goal mark in the last two years. If he continues to be an asset to the lineup, the Penguins should definitely keep him around even after Rust returns.
In a surprising turn of events, Jeff Carter scored the second power play goal showing a glimpse of the player he used to be. He was positioned perfectly in front of the net and made a beautiful deflection off Kris Letang’s point shot. It is no secret that Carter has not positively impacted the team in a long time, however in this game he showed why the Penguins should keep someone who has a shoot first mentality in front of the net during the power play.
Penguins Depth Still Coming Up Short
The final score in the game against Carolina was 2-1. Both of the Penguins goals were scored by Crosby. On December 18, Pittsburgh defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-3. Crosby, Guentzel, Reilly Smith and Evgeni Malkin were the goal scorers in that game. Pittsburgh is still not getting regular depth scoring which is something that is going to catch up to them sooner rather than later.
Jansen Harkins looked pretty solid against the Hurricanes with 9:45 of ice time. He was skating hard and getting pucks to the net. He definitely looks like he is playing a different game than he was in the first four games of the season, but can he be a scoring threat? It might be time for the Penguins to give him a longer leash and find out.
Noel Acciari is a vital part of the Penguins penalty kill. He is probably the reason Carolina did not score on their power play in the last six minutes of the game. There is no denying that he plays solid defense, however he has only scored two goals this season. His last goal came on November 25 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The physicality he brings to the game is crucial, but Pittsburgh has to find a way to get more offensive production out of him.
Drew O’Connor is another player who has been slightly underperforming for Pittsburgh. He was signed to a two-year, $1.85 million contract back in August and showed promise early on. He is a strong skater and is pretty good at generating offense. He is also a good, physical player who is not afraid to battle for the puck. He has two goals and six assists on the year which is simply not good enough for a team with playoff aspirations. The Penguins believe he has the potential to get better and will be looking for him to do so in the second half of the year.
Penguins Look to 2024
The Penguins have had some great performances through the first half of the season, but have also had some really bad ones. Now that special teams has gotten back on track, Pittsburgh has to find a way to get more production from their depth. The goal for this season has been clear since day one, and the team has some work to do if they want to see the postseason in 2024.