No one ever said the Penguins lacked talent. How can you when two of the league's best players share a spot on the power play? How they applied that talent; well, that was always he question.
Fans have disseminated, dismantled and discriminated the power play over the years. For all he did over the years for the Penguins, Mike Yeo was always the name you saw listed as a culprit, the guy who had every finger pointed at him when the Pens came up short on the man advantage.
Pittsburgh ranked 19th on the power play last season, keeping them just out of the bottom third of the league. But again, when you look at the 2009 roster and see names like Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz and Gonchar, you're left to wonder Why. Maybe even How.
A recent article in the Tribune-Review suggests Mike Comrie may be earning his way to the top power-play unit. Duffman put on a good show during the preseason, scoring four goals and five points over four games. This could prove to be a lethal team on the man advantage if Comrie continues to show that level of intensity and ultimately develops that chemistry with Sid and Geno.
As for defensive pairings, you'd have to assume Dan Bylsma will continue to work Kris Letang at the point, but how confident is he in using Alex Goligoski on that first unit?
I know we saw a number of pairings throughout the preseason, but Gogo and Letang seems to be the duo getting the most work on the blue line. There's even a chance that Malkin could stand as the wild card on the power play and perhaps pose as the fourth forward at the point while the Pens try to work someone else into the front three. Evidence already suggests DB is looking for new ways to work with him, taking him out of his customary spot on the right boards and working him on the point, an area he became familiar with when the Pens were without Gonchar two seasons ago for a good part of the season.
If you're tossing out the first unit on the first power play tomorrow, who are you sending out?