New Look to Penguins Power-Play (Add a Dash of Kennedy & Cooke)

We knew it was coming; hell, Therrien SAID it was coming and according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Penguins power-play will have a new look (with some "grit" thrown into the mix).

Here are the new powerplay units as they were set up in practice today (and I'm kinda liking them; it's seems to be a simple solution to one big problem; almost like, "why didn't anyone think of this before?!"):

FIRST UNIT
Right point: Malkin
Left point: Goligoski
Half-wall: Crosby
Down low: Satan
Front: Kennedy

SECOND UNIT
Right point: Letang
Left point: Boucher
Front: Staal, Cooke, and Sykora

“One thing we’re really missing is gaining puck control,” said assistant coach Mike Yeo, who is in charge of the power play. “At the end of the day, a lot of times, it’s your battle level, your ability to protect the puck and how hard you work to support the puck. These guys (Kennedy and Cooke) are willing to get into the corners, win those battles, and give us a better chance to get puck control. Along with (Staal), they’re also willing to get in front of the net.”

Although, as coach Therrien said, it's not always about the end result but the "jump" the players / team get(s) from working hard during the power-play that may make all the difference (and whether or not the opposing team takes advantage of the "boost" they could get from Penguins play that's lacking as in the Penguins previous game against the Vancouver Canucks).

“It’s not always about the result,” Therrien said. “We need momentum from the power play, and right now it’s the opposite. We’re losing all the momentum — and when you lose it, it’s tough to get it back.”

We all know that Kennedy and Cooke have no problems fighting for the puck ("puck-retrieval ability and grit" in the words of Joe Starkey), so this could be good and I'm really anxious to see these units in action tomorrow!!