The are plenty of reasons why the Penguins' once-promising Stanley Cup odds have quickly become murkier than the Monongahela River after a rainstorm. You don't drop eight out of 11 games while getting outscored by a combined 42 to 28 through bad puck luck alone. But a primary reason is a nearly pulseless power play unit. With a man (or two!) advantage, Pittsburgh has converted at a 11.9 percent clip during a wretched stretch of play that started against the Maple Leafs on February 20.
However, unlike some of the other problems that have knocked the Penguins from atop the Metropolitan Division to a more perilous third place, the power play has been off all year. The team is converting just 19.9 percent of the time on the season, which ranks 16th in the NHL. This, from a group that cashed in 24.6 percent of the time in 2018-19 (fifth in the league) and a franchise and league-best 26.2 percent in 2017-18. Here are a gloveful of reasons why the typically stellar Penguins PP is failing to rack up goals in 2019-20.
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