NHL Penalties are the big factor in Penguins' winless record

Pittsburgh has been short-handed too much because of the penalties.
CANONSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Eddie Olczyk has preached the virtues of strong five-on-five play in his first year as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and it shows.
But after three games -- and no victories -- it may be time to hit the bully pulpit on the importance of special teams play, too.
Despite their relative success at five-on-five, allowing only three goals in three games, the Penguins are 0-2-1 mainly because of their penchant for visiting the penalty box -- and their troubles killing those penalties.
"Sometimes brain cramps happen," Olczyk said. "Sometimes guys try to do too much and not read plays, but I don't think the penalties we've taken have been the result of anything we weren't doing at a specific time."
Short-handed goals
Pittsburgh surrendered three goals while short-handed in a 4-1 loss at Montreal on Thursday and, overall, five goals in 15 penalty-killing chances, a 33.3 percent conversion rate for opponents that is the second-worst in the NHL.
Against the Canadiens, Kelly Buchberger, Mike Eastwood, Nolan Baumgartner and Josef Melichar were on the ice for all three power-play goals.
"Maybe we're just a little too passive," Eastwood said. "We've got to know our assignments a little bit better, jump quicker and a little more often, but we're definitely giving them a little too much time to set up in our end."
Adjustment needed
Pittsburgh will have to quickly make an adjustment, or the power play percentage will take a turn for the worse today when undefeated Detroit (3-0) makes its annual visit to Mellon Arena.
The Red Wings have scored nine goals this season, eight on the power play, and are second in the National Hockey League behind Ottawa with a 36.8 percent conversion rate.
"We're going to have to be at our very best and play error-free hockey," Olczyk said. "They have some unbelievable players over there and they have guys that can do a lot of different things."
One is Nicklas Lidstrom. The reigning three-time Norris Trophy winner leads NHL defensemen with two goals and five points in three games and is tied for the leagues top spot with two power play goals and five power play points.
Hull can be imposing
Playing against a team that features Lidstrom, Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and Brett Hull can be imposing for any player. But it could be overwhelming for rookie goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who will be making just his second career start.
"It's going to be a good challenge for us," Fleury said. "They've got some big names there, so I'm going to try not to think about them because it can be intimidating."
It could be even worse if the power play chances start piling up."
"We have to readjust our penalty killing and make better decisions and stay out of penalty boxes as often as we can," Olczyk said. "It's got to be better instinct and better reads by a lot of players in our penalty-killing situations."
One thing that won't change is personnel. Eastwood and Kelly Buchberger, who was on the ice for three goals against Montreal, two on the power play, will remain the top penalty-killing unit.
"Our penalty kill hasn't been preventing teams from scoring and that's usually the difference," Eastwood said. "If you win the special teams war, you're going to win a lot of games and that's something we've got to get better at."