FLPensFan wrote:
-- Will still continue to pound this home until it happens....Penguins need to bring in a PP specialist coach. Someone who continually managed a top 10 power play in the league. Sullivan and Recchi are clueless, and seem to be giving into the demands of where players want to play, instead of what might produce best. More movement and cycling of players seems to be a key element I notice on more successful PP teams.
I agree they've struggled, but they had 14 shots last night. The most thy had during any game this season was 11 twice. So we've got to give Price his due as being a big part of the reason. I'm mystified with why they seem to have decided it's time to integrate McCann onto the PP. And why not give Marleau a little time on the 2nd unit? He's the biggest winger on the team, and they could use a little size once in a while.
You're suggestion about bringing in a PP specialist brought to mine that they have access to perhaps the greatest PP mind of all time.
https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/eddie ... e/c-699736* POWER-PLAY MIND
A lot of coaches have something in particular they’re known for. Johnston is known for being one of the finest power-play coaches in the game.
During his time with Pittsburgh, he instituted basketball “picks” into his power-play formation. He learned that back in his playing days with Boston through his buddy Tommy Heinsohn, the legendary Celtics player and coach.
“The Celtics were the biggest basketball team back then (and we knew) Tommy Heinsohn and those guys,” Johnston said. “We were over having a few beers with Tommy a few times and they did a lot of picking in basketball as they do today. We sat there and he showed me a little bit and I went over to practice a couple of mornings with the basketball guys to see how they ran the picks.
“And I ran picks all the time in hockey and we broke the record when I was coaching in Chicago, and then I broke my own record three times after that here. But I ran picks all the time. Scotty Bowman was a close friend of mine. He was coaching in Buffalo when I was living in Montreal. He would come to me in the summertime and say, you know when you set those picks? And I would say Scotty, you know we don’t run picks. Guys run into our players all the time (laughs). He would get upset a little bit. But I would run picks all the time.”
Johnston added that Pat Boutette and Terry Ruskowski were his key players in terms of setting picks on the ice.
“They’d be my low guys for picks. They knew the picks right away,” he said.”That means one guy was always open if you ran the picks properly. If you ran them down low or you ran them with the high guys. That was very important. I watch some clubs today and every so often they’ll set picks. The referees let them go. As long as you can camofluage it a little bit like they’re running into you as you’re turning around and blocking them out, that’s the key.”
https://records.nhl.com/records/team-re ... one-seasonIn '82-83, the Pens set a then record 99 PPG in a season in EJ's 1st year as coach. It's still the 21st highest total. He was also coach of the '95-'96 team that is currently 7th all time with 109 goals. He was the GM of the '87-'88 team who is tied for 3rd all time with 111 PPG, and he was relegated to asst GM in '88-'89 when the Pens set the all time record of 119 PPG.
Not really relevant to the current team, but made me think of it when you mentioned a PP specialist. And maybe points out to some younger fans that EJ wasn't as incompetent as many want to suggest. He had great powerplays.