With the Penguins acquisition of skilled winger David Perron from Edmonton last week, one of the more interesting dynamics is where he will fit in on the power play.
The team’s play on the man advantage, which was such a big part of the team’s early-season success, has cooled of significantly. In their last ten games, the Penguins are 3-for-31 on the power play. Steve Downie and Nick Spaling, who aren’t likely to be major power play contributors going forward, scored two of those three goals.
“Originally, on that top power play unit, we had [Patric] Hornqvist in the slot for the majority of the time,” said Penguins head coach Mike Johnston. “We like a right-hand shot in the slot.”
The three forwards on the current Penguins power play (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, are Chris Kunitz) all shoot left-handed. Perron is a right-handed shot and can play either wing, similar to recently departed James Neal. Neal was a beast for the Penguins on the power play, scoring 38 goals with the man advantage in 179 games over the last three seasons.
Neal is, of course, blessed with one of the best shots in the league; something that Perron doesn’t posses. Can the Penguins still use Perron in the same role Neal filled?
Here are some of James Neal power-play goals from the last two seasons. You can see how he was placed in the high slot to create passing lanes between himself, the two point men, and the center on the wall, which lead to shooting opportunities.
In Perron’s season and a half with Edmonton, he was mostly deployed around the net, scoring on plays from the side of the crease and on deflections. That role is currently over-served on the Penguins, with Kunitz and Hornqvist both playing in the front of the net on the power play earlier in the season.
Even going back farther to his days with the Blues, most of Perron’s power-play time seems to be spent in or near the blue paint. That doesn’t mean that he’s not capable of filling a Neal-type role on the Penguins power play, but if he can’t it presents the Penguins with a dilemma.
Should Perron take Kunitz’s spot in front of the net? He has already replaced Kunitz on Crosby’s left wing at even strength, but Kunitz is second on the team with six power-play goals.
If Kunitz and Perron both play in front of the net and Malkin moves back to the point, what happens when Hornqvist returns from injury? Hornqvist is also a right-handed shot and an elite net-front presence.
Most coaches would say that having six talented players for five spots on the power play is a good problem to have, but for Johnston and assistant coach Rick Tocchet, who runs the power play, it is important that the problem gets solved correctly.
The Penguins are 15-1-1 this season when scoring at least one power play goal. When they fail to score on the power play, they are only 9-9-4.
With only two games this week and two games next week, the Pens will have plenty of practice time to bring Perron up to speed, wherever he plays. Hopefully he’s able to turn things around for the Penguins slumping power play unit.
