Pittsburgh Penguins Special Teams Off to Special Start
By Matt Shetler
The Pittsburgh Penguins special teams units were much maligned towards the end of the 2010 campaign.
The powerplay unit couldn’t score a goal to save their lives and despite a fantastic beginning to 2010, the penalty kill came back to earth a bit.
Add all that up and it equalled an early exit from the 2010 playoffs.
Getting both units fixed was at the top of head coach Dan Bylsma’s off-season priority list coming into the 2011-12 season.
So far, so good for both units.
While one of the main reason’s the powerplay struggled a season ago was the rash of injuries to star players. Yet while they aren’t completely healthy yet, the Pens have had some success early on with the man advantage.
After last night’s 4-2 home opening win over the Florida Panthers, the Penguins powerplay has converted on five of 19 opportunities. That’s a 26 percent rate that would be much better had the team not gone scoreless in four opportunities last night.
The Pens score a pair of powerplay goals in their first two games and netted one in Sunday’s shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Last night was the first time in the early season that the team was held off the board.
Regardless of that outcome, it looks like the powerplay could do some things early on and if that unit is clicking, the Penguins will be tough to beat on most nights.
As for the penalty kill, they got off to a great start in 2010 and are already on pace to have a great start to this season.
Many wondered how the PK would be effected with the loss of Max Talbot, but early on they haven’t missed a beat.
Bylsma has many talented forwards that can kill penalties effectively, including: Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal, Craig Adams, and Richard Park, who netted a big short-handed goal in the win against the Panthers.
The early results are good as the Pens have killed off all 15 opposing powerplays.
While the sample size is small, I will take the early success from both units. If it’s a sign of things to come, it could be a good year for Penguins hockey.
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