Star Acquisition Suffers a Huge Blow After Getting Demoted
New Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas made the biggest move of the offseason when he acquired Erik Karlsson from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move has worked out okay so far, but now it is starting to look a little bit worse.
Karlsson Taken Off Penguins Top Powerplay Unit
Coming off his career-year 101 point season, some fans in Pittsburgh were expecting that level of production from Karlsson from day one. He has not been particularly close to that level of production so far, but he is still producing just under a point-per-game pace, still very strong production for a defenseman.
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However, just four of Karlsson's 19 points have come on the man advantage. As a result, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has started to mix things up at practice by putting Kris Letang back on the top unit.
Letang has 13 points this season, none of which have come on the power play.
Penguins Power Play Costing Them Important Games
The Penguins currently own the NHL's 26th best power play unit as it is click at just 11.9%. It can be seen as one of the biggest reasons the team has struggled so far this season.
There is no reason a team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, and Kris Letang on it should have such a pathetic power play and yet here we are. Sullivan has been patient with his players but his move to switch things up on the man advantage comes at a time when the team desperately needs to find some more consistency in that area of the game.
A power play goal or two in their next game could go a long way to solving the team's issues. If they can find their groove again and perhaps regain some lost confidence, maybe the team can start to pull ahead in the standings.
| POLL | ||
3 DECEMBRE | 165 ANSWERS Star Acquisition Suffers a Huge Blow After Getting Demoted Who should be on the top powerplay unit? | ||
| Erik Karlsson | 95 | 57.6 % |
| Kris Letang | 70 | 42.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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