Matt Calvert #11 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates his shorthanded goal with Jack Johnson #7 and Artem Anisimov #42 during the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Two of the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 19, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)
The Blue Jackets have taken home-ice advantage from the Penguins via, in part, an unusual formula: Commit penalties, then score shorthanded.
The Blue Jackets netted a shortie in each of the first two games. The Penguins have scored three power play goals, but that’s an inadequate edge. The Penguins’ power play (a putrid 1 for 8 in Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss) too often looks disheveled, and the result is momentum too frequently handed to Columbus.
Matt Calvert’s second-period short-handed goal got the Jackets back into Saturday’s game by halving their deficit. The Penguins were never the same after.
The Penguins’ power play is improperly designed and overly complicated. True, it led the NHL with a 23.4 percent conversion rate. But that was during the regular season. The Penguins are paper champions, nothing better than a good regular-season team, and their power play is exemplary.
When you play the same team repeatedly and the opposition has spent hours dissecting what you do, complications are much easier to diagnose and disrupt. The Jackets clearly have the Penguins’ power play figured, and, as always, the Penguins’ frustration and immaturity takes a bad situation and makes it worse.
The Penguins pass cross-ice far too much and with insufficient penchant for putting the puck in a teammate’s wheelhouse for shots. They create too little traffic at the blue paint. They get inconsistent penetration with control.
The deployment of personnel is also a problem.
Evgeni Malkin should not play up top. That should be the simplest position on the power play. It's a reset point. Simple distribution. Simple shots. Remember Sergei Gonchar? Malkin’s style is too complicated, and he’s a defensive liability every time the foe counterattacks. That’s no knock on Malkin. He’s in the wrong spot.
Paul Martin must play up top. Martin personifies what’s required, and he’s good at gaining the zone with control.
The Penguins’ PP should be: Martin up top, Kris Letang or Matt Niskanen in the left circle, Malkin in the right circle, Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz down low. One right-handed shooter is a must.
That’s probably not what some of those involved prefer. Tough luck.
James Neal should be omitted. He had 11 power-play goals this season, a league-best 18 in 2011-12. But Neal isn’t playing well currently and isn’t part of the best power-play fit. Neal should be next choice if a forward falters or gets hurt.
The power play should attack off the rush more often. If space is available, don’t slow things down and set things up.
The power play should not force the puck to anyone. If you’re open, you get it.
The power play should shoot more often. Blast it from the circles. Everybody besides the shooter and Martin poaches around the net. Maximize traffic. Get more second opportunities. Don’t look for the perfect shot, because frustration abounds when it doesn’t come. Create momentum through zone time and pressure.
Do what the Flyers do: Grip it, rip it and crash.
At least one right-handed shooter is a must. Two defensemen are a must.
No one should embarrass themselves by citing what worked during the regular season. Over the past four playoff campaigns, the Penguins have proven how meaningless the regular season is. Playoff success requires a different level of grit, intelligence, flexibility and maturity.
The Penguins need to work on all that.
Letang is under fire after two straight bad games. But Letang is the Penguins’ best defenseman. Paul Coffey had the occasional nightmare, too. You’ve got to let Letang play through it. Give him confidence. Use him on the top power play.
The coaching staff’s treatment of Letang is exemplary of their style in general. With lesser talents, they nurture and cajole. With Letang, they just get mad.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).
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