There was a lot to like about the Penguins' 6-2 win over the Flames on Saturday night. And the play of the second power-play unit of Kris Letang, Matt Grzelcyk, Philip Tomasino, Kevin Hayes and Michael Bunting is near the top of the list.
The Penguins went 3-for-5 on the man advantage in the win, with all three goals coming from the second unit. The first came from Bunting, picking up a rebound off of a Grzelcyk blast from the blue line:
"Our mindset going over the board, I think it's just creating chances with shooting," Letang said. "And I think we did a pretty good job. (Bunting) was pretty good today around the net. We kept it simple."
Each unit received roughly four minutes of power-play time, with the players on the second unit almost all receiving slightly more than the top unit. The difference is stark -- 11 shot attempts for the second unit, four for the first. Nine shots on goal for the second unit, three for the first. Three high-danger attempts for the second unit, one for the first.
Creating chances with shooting on the power play ... what a novel experiment.
Seriously, though, the Penguins' power-play ranks 11th in the league at a 23% success rate -- a massive improvement from last year's 15.3% that ranked 30th. The turnaround goes beyond just shooting more, and Mike Sullivan credited David Quinn for his work with that group in a particular facet.
"We're top 10 in the league in (zone) entries this year, which is a major improvement," Sullivan said. "And when you have successful entries, you're going to give yourself a chance on the power play, because you can establish zone time. And so I think (Quinn) has had a significant influence on both groups."
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
1:03 am - 12.01.2024PPG Paints ArenaSecond power-play unit 'kept it simple'
There was a lot to like about the Penguins' 6-2 win over the Flames on Saturday night. And the play of the second power-play unit of Kris Letang, Matt Grzelcyk, Philip Tomasino, Kevin Hayes and Michael Bunting is near the top of the list.
The Penguins went 3-for-5 on the man advantage in the win, with all three goals coming from the second unit. The first came from Bunting, picking up a rebound off of a Grzelcyk blast from the blue line:
Tomasino got the next one, burying Letang's feed from behind the net:
Letang scored the third goal for his unit, capitalizing on a one-timer set up by Grzelcyk:
"Our mindset going over the board, I think it's just creating chances with shooting," Letang said. "And I think we did a pretty good job. (Bunting) was pretty good today around the net. We kept it simple."
Each unit received roughly four minutes of power-play time, with the players on the second unit almost all receiving slightly more than the top unit. The difference is stark -- 11 shot attempts for the second unit, four for the first. Nine shots on goal for the second unit, three for the first. Three high-danger attempts for the second unit, one for the first.
Creating chances with shooting on the power play ... what a novel experiment.
Seriously, though, the Penguins' power-play ranks 11th in the league at a 23% success rate -- a massive improvement from last year's 15.3% that ranked 30th. The turnaround goes beyond just shooting more, and Mike Sullivan credited David Quinn for his work with that group in a particular facet.
"We're top 10 in the league in (zone) entries this year, which is a major improvement," Sullivan said. "And when you have successful entries, you're going to give yourself a chance on the power play, because you can establish zone time. And so I think (Quinn) has had a significant influence on both groups."
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