The Pittsburgh Penguin power play went 1 for 8 on Sunday.?? A staggering 12.5% not good by any standards especially when you throw in the fact we had a 5 on?3 also.? The one goal we scored was on a 5 on 4 when Ryan Whitney was not on the ice, but the skilled players were.??It was the only power play he was not out for.?
What the coaches need to do is ask themselves: ?Why is Whitney?out there????
Is he out there?for his shooting ability???Whitney’s shooting percentage is 4.8% and he has 2 goals?in the 28 games he has played.? 1 goal on the power play. ? While we don’t need to mention Gonchar, Goligoski and Letang all of who’s power play numbers?are far passed Whitney’s.? Let’s?talk about?Brooks Orpik.?? Ryan Whitney has played 158 power play minutes this year, Orpik has played 35 minutes on the power play, almost every minute on the second power play line.? Both have 1 goal.? Ryan Whitney’s overall shooting percentage this season is 4.8% compared to Orpik’s 7.1%.? This is Brooks Orpik we are talking about.? Just in case you care, Gonchar & Goligoski’s shooting percentages are both over 10%.
Is he out there for his defensive ability???? Ryan Whitney leads the defense with the worst plus minus at -15.? Heck, Ryan Whitney leads the team with the worst plus minus.?? Second worse on defense is Letang’s -6.??Letang was benched because of?his poor defensive play.
Is he out there for his play making ability??? This has to be why!? That pass he made to Mike Richards the other night that sent him on a breakaway was a beauty!? Whitney has five assists in 118 power plays.? I seriously do not know how you could possibly do worse with Malkin & Crosby out there.
The coaches either need to bring Goligoski back or move Malkin back to the point.? Having two players with good shots at the point would really open the ice up for the power play as the other team would really have to watch the point positions.?
?It is 9 days to the trading deadline and the Penguin coaches need to ask themselves if they can afford to lose any of the four games leading up to the deadline just to showcase Whitney for a trade.? If you are not showcasing him, then bench him.
Fleury needs a back uo that is capable of pushing him. He seems to stay focused more when there is a threat of losing playing time. Is Garon that Goalie? You just can’t tell yet. Is Blysma the type of coach that will even consider playing that card? I don’t believe that he is. Blysma is auditioning for a Head Coaching job for next season and it is never a good idea to go against the company line, that being MAF is the goaltender of now and the future.
We are scoring about 3.5 goals a game and giving up 4. I don’t think Letang is the answer in the defensive zone because there is no way he’s going to change Fleury from letting in from all most the blue line and he may not fix the PP or the PK (like Gill and Whitney have) but at least he’ll bring the puck up ice without throwing it into opposing players which could help the forwards. Letang also had (2) 2-goal games and if Blysma doesn’t think he practices with enough intent maybe he should be sent down to WB/S. Not Letang – Blysma.