The Pittsburgh Penguins have been among the NHL's leaders in power-play efficiency over the last three regular seasons. With a 25.4 percent conversion rate, the Penguins have the best power play in the league as players head to Sochi to take part in the Winter Olympics.
Pittsburgh clicked about as often during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, scoring 24.7 percent of the time across 48 games, and it had the fifth-best power play in 2011-2012 at 19.7 percent. Despite this clear capability with the extra man, the Penguins have come up short in four consecutive playoff runs.
Could sagging power-play numbers be the culprit?
Looking back at the disappointing 15-game postseason run that saw the Penguins swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final last year, the power play doesn't seem to be an issue on the surface. The Penguins maintained an outstanding 21.3 percent conversion rate on the power play during the postseason, which is right in line with how they'd been performing all year.
This percentage doesn't paint a complete picture though. While the Penguins managed to to ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Franklin Steele
Will Pittsburgh Penguins Spectacular Special Teams Hold Up in the Postseason?
February 9th, 2014 by Franklin Steele Leave a reply »
Advertisement