Penguins recognize improvement needed as 1 of NHL’s worst faceoff teams
The Pittsburgh Penguins, by most accounts, are one of the NHL’s best teams. Heading into Friday’s games, they ranked tied for third in the NHL in points and wins, 10th in goals for, fourth in goals allowed, ninth in power-play rate and eighth while on the penalty kill.
There is, though, at least one area in which the Penguins are decidedly not toward the top of the league rankings.
The Penguins’ faceoff win percentage (48.3) sits 28th.
“It’s always an area of importance,” captain Sidney Crosby said of faceoffs, “and I don’t think it’s just something you can flip a switch and all of sudden worry about faceoffs because there are 25 games left. That’s something we have been focused on all season long, making sure we are good in a lot of areas and a lot of details – and that’s one of them.”
Perhaps the most alarming part of the Penguins’ failure in the faceoff circle is that it is trending worse and not better. Losing 28 of 46 of their draws during Thursday’s 4-0 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs dropped the Penguins’ faceoff rate to 46.3% over their past six games and 47.1% over their past 24 games dating to Dec. 21.
Thursday, getting dominated at the dot had tangible and clear repercussions as three of Toronto’s goals were moments after a win on the draw in the Penguins’ zone.
“Faceoffs are important,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “As I have said on a number of occasions, anything in my mind that happens 50, 60, 70 times a game is important, so we certainly want to be good in that detail of the game.”
Sullivan noted that outside of veterans Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins’ centers are younger and lacking in NHL experience. He said that recently retired center Matt Cullen, who’s now in the Penguins’ development department, has been “spending lots of time” with Teddy Blueger and Sam Lafferty in an effort to improve their skills on draws.
That alone, though, won’t matter much if the Penguins aren’t better immediately after possession is gained — regardless of which team gets it. Razor-thin margins at the NHL level suggest that even the best and worst teams are no better or worse than a 55/45 proposition. That makes what happens in the moments after a faceoff critical.
“If we lose it, we have got to defend hard, and we have got to pay attention to the details of defending,” Sullivan said. “And when we win it, we have to be on the same page so we are able to take advantage of the puck possession we won off the faceoff, regardless of what zone we are in.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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