CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- When one is part of a power play that includes Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, there is a temptation to get the puck on their sticks as much as possible. It's only natural.
But it's not always the prudent move.
Kris Letang may have been a little guilty of that lately.
When Letang scored his third power play goal of the season on Thursday against the Kings -- yes, it was Letang's goal after he was credited with it a day later -- it came with him manning the point on the second power play unit:
Two of Letang's three power-play goals this season have come with him playing on the No. 2 unit. Not surprisingly, Letang was back practicing with that group on Friday as Justin Schultz skated with the first group. Whether Letang will be with the No. 2 unit on Saturday when the Penguins host the Maple Leafs at PPG Paints Arena remains to be seen
But Mike Sullivan said he likes Letang on the second group because he takes ownership of it and uses his shot more often, instead of deferring to Crosby, Malkin and Kessel.
"I think he freelances a little bit more and that's when Tanger is at his best," Sullivan said. "He looks to shoot the puck more, and whoever is up top there, whenever you're on that first unit, there's a little bit of pressure to get the puck to the other guys for obvious reasons. We think (the second group) is a good unit too. There's some good players there. Regardless of which way we go, we have options."
The Penguins power play is currently converting at 26.6 percent, after going 1-for-4 on Thursday against the Kings on Letang's goal. That success rate would be the highest since the 2012-13 Capitals clicked at 26.8 percent.
Quarterbacking the No. 1 unit is hardly uncharted territory for Schultz. He did it for the second half of last season after Letang went down with a season-ending neck injury and helped the Penguins to their second straight Stanley Cup. Last season, 20 of Schultz's 51 points came with the man-advantage. This season, he has 17 points with seven assists on the power play.
"He's shown he's very good along that offensive blue line," Sullivan said. "He scales the line extremely well. He distributes the pucks. He's got a good shot. He's a similar guy to Tanger. We can use both of them."
Also, and don't underestimate this: It allows Sullivan to limit Letang's minutes. The 30-year-old has been logging 23:20 per game -- nearly five minutes more than any of his teammates -- and the 11th most of any player in the league. And he's been used in all situations.
"He defends for us, he kills penalties for us, depending on how the game goes," Sullivan said. "We're trying to manage the minutes back there so we can keep everybody at their best. Whether we have Tanger on the first unit or we have Schultzie on the first unit, we feel like we have a quarterback up top that's really good at it and we don't feel like we lose anything regardless of which guy is up top there."
