Pens' Special Teams Need, Well, Special Play vs Caps

Before we continue, let’s once again take a moment to savor our Round 1 series win against the New York Rangers, who have become hated rivals after the last couple of postseasons. After two consecutive years of disappointing first round exits courtesy of the Rangers, the Penguins got a decisive and convincing revenge. Third time’s the charm, wouldn’t you say?

Then again, while revenge is sweet, the Penguins still have a ways to go. They’ve only earned four of the sixteen wins to get their hands on Lord Stanley’s fabled cup, and the next obstacle between them and the Conference Final are the even more hated rivals, the Washington Capitals.

The Capitals were matched up with our MOST hated rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Caps, heavily favored heading into the series, won the first three games but then struggled in Games 4 and 5 (and I guess even 6) to figure out Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth, who returned from injury in Game 4 after the Flyers started Steve Mason for the first three games. Neuvirth was easily one of the biggest reasons the Flyers avoided a sweep. In Game 5, for example, which the Flyers won 2-0, Washington peppered Neuvirth with 44 shots, none of which got past the Philly goalie, while the Flyers managed a pathetic 11 shots on goal, getting tallies off of a fluky bounce past Caps goalie Braden Holtby and an empty-netter.

But Washington survived the rally in the end, and one of the biggest reasons why they jumped to an early lead over the Flyers and eventually finished them off is because of their excellent special teams. In this series, the Capitals were 8-for-25 on the man advantage, with forward Alex Ovechkin contributing two and defenseman John Carlson chipping in three. Five of Washington’s power play goals were scored in Game 3 of the series. Meanwhile, the penalty kill also became a key factor in downing Philadelphia. Of the Flyers’ 23 power play chances during the series, they only managed to capitalize on one. So while the power play completely baffled Philly’s penalty kill squads, the Caps penalty kill completely shut down the opposing power play team.

Of course, the Pittsburgh Penguins were also impressing in those aspects during their first round series. Special teams were also a key factor in the Penguins advancing to Round 2. Admittedly, the power play was looking to be a liability more than anything else coming into the playoffs. Although the Penguins cruised into the postseason playing their best hockey of the season, the power play seemed to be at its worst, and most of Pittsburgh’s offense had been coming from 5-on-5 hockey. Heck, you could even have said that the Penguins penalty kill would have been more likely to score than the power play.

That all changed when the Penguins squared off against the Rangers. In every single game of the five-game series, the Penguins notched at least one power play tally. The Penguins power play went 8-for-21 against New York, and it probably helped quite a bit to have Evgeni Malkin’s firepower back in the playoffs, as Geno has always been a huge force behind the power play. Whether or not it was his absence that was plaguing the Pens, his return coincided with a turnaround of the man advantage squad for Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the penalty kill is one I personally believe is one of the best suited for clashing against a power play like the Caps. If offense is the best defense, this PK is a good example of that. With penalty killers as speedy and dangerous offensively as Matt Cullen, Carl Hagelin, and Eric Fehr, it’s really not surprising that the Penguins killed 17 of 19 Rangers power play opportunities, and one of those New York power play goals was from a 5-on-3 in Game 1. The Penguins’ penalty kill even contributed a goal in Game 1, from Tom Kuhnhackl.

By now you’re probably wondering how two teams who obviously have gotten solid play from their special teams this season are going to match up against each other.

It’s going to be an interesting matchup for sure, especially in this aspect. Will the Penguins’ superb penalty kill prove to be the answer to a seemingly unstoppable Capitals’ power play? Will the Caps’ anticipative penalty kill slow down a Penguins power play revitalized by the return of Evgeni Malkin? Before I get into that, let me give it to you plain and simple: the Penguins’ special teams need to be extra special if they’re going to get past the Caps.

So let’s explore their chances against the Capitals’ power play and penalty kill. Obviously, both teams used a lethal power play to kill off their first round opponents. The Capitals power play has posted a solid 29.6% success rate so far this postseason, which ranked 3rd among all the teams in the first round. The only power plays with better success rates were those of the St. Louis Blues (31.2%) and - ready for this? - the Pittsburgh Penguins themselves, who led all 16 teams with a power play that posted 38.1% in the first round.

Which side’s special teams will be more successful this series? Hard to say. Neither team is going to have as easy a time scoring power play goals as they did in the first round, that’s for sure. But here, I’m going to give the Penguins the benefit of the doubt, and it’s not really bias here either. It’s simply because I think that while the Capitals found it easy to predict every move of the Flyers’ power play, it’s not going to be as easy going against the Penguins power play. Pittsburgh has gotten much better at setting up their power play and getting some good looks on net, and I think we can rely on some more unpredictable play than the Flyers. As long as the Pens don’t get too fancy and take shots when they get good looks, their power play should turn into a major strength for them. And as for the Penguins killing any Capitals power plays, I really like the looks of our penalty kill at the moment; of all the penalty kills to try and stop the Capitals, Pittsburgh has one of the best options. The aggressiveness, pressure, and speed of our penalty killers is an appropriate challenger for the Caps’ power play. If the Penguins can block shots as successfully as they did against New York, that would also be a big help; Ovechkin rarely fails to miss an opportunity to score from his favorite spot at the top of the right circle, and Carlson is excellent at unleashing deadly, accurate bombs from the blue line. If the Pens apply the right amount of pressure at the right times and can turn some shot blocks and forced turnovers into shorthanded opportunities, the result could be some shorthanded tallies and, at the very least, would take way power play possession for the Caps, which is probably the best way to avoid allowing Washington to capitalize.

Essentially, no matter which way the special teams clashes go, it’s pretty clear that this series is going to be hugely affected by which team is more successful at scoring on the power play and killing penalties. Special teams was listed as a reason why both teams advanced past the first round, and those squads can certainly be nothing short of special if they want to win the series for their team. From the perspective of the Pens, while the Caps are certainly huge threats on the PP, and like to shut teams down on opposing power plays, Pittsburgh can match and even best those threats. Malkin was named by a lot of people to be X-factor for the Pens this series, and contributing on the power play will definitely help him live up to those expectations. Meanwhile, I’ll definitely back a penalty kill that sees time from Cullen, Fehr, Hagelin, Kuhnhackl, and D-corps that have shown some solid play so far this postseason. Ladies and gentleman, the “special” in special teams is taking on a whole nother level of meaning for our 2016 rematch of the iconic 2009 Pens-Caps series.