Powered up: Mario Lemieux is driving the Penguins' power play at a remarkable rate of efficiency, but injuries to the unit may become a speed bump - NHL

When the Penguins' power play was healthy and functioning at its dominant best, it was absolutely hypnotic. You could follow the moving puck from Mario Lemieux to Dick Tarnstrom, back to Lemieux, over to Alexei Kovalev and so forth until your eyes crossed. Then, before you knew it, one of them would unleash a shot, whether it was a one timer by Lemieux, a blistering wrist shot by Kovalev or a fully wound slap shot by Tarnstrom. Either off one of those shots or with the help of Martin Straka, Jan Hrdina or Aleksey Morozov down low, the puck was in the net.

The Penguins have an extraordinary 30 percent conversion rate on the power play, a big factor in a start that is well beyond expectations. At least that's how it worked for the first 22 games. The torrid pace cooled aider Tarnstrom broke his foot on November 29. A broken wrist suffered by Morozov last week added another speed bump to a previously smooth ride.

The driving force, of course, is Lemieux. The Penguins' owner/superstar leads the league in scoring and is on pace to win his seventh Art Ross Trophy for most points. He also has taken what was the 24th-best power-play unit in the league last sea son and turned it into the best.

"Everybody knows we have a great power play because Mario is in the lineup," Morozov says.

Lemieux's numbers are staggering. He has led the league in scoring since the second week of the season. Entering the week, he had 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points in 28 games. He is the only player in the league averaging close to two points per game. Of his points, nine goals and 24 assists have come on the power play, putting him on target to eclipse two career bests (58 assists and 80 points).

"They have some other weapons on their power play that are significant," says Maple Leafs assistant coach Keith Acton, who coordinates his team's penalty killers. "But when Mario's there to orchestrate it, that makes those other weapons what they are. He's the catalyst who's able to get them the puck, see the play and draw attention to himself to open them up. So it goes beyond just his physical capabilities; it's the fact that he draws a lot of attention and opens up those other weapons."

The Penguins, meanwhile, have lived and died by their power play--half of their goals have come with a man advantage. In the team's first 11 wins, the power play was successful 43.1 percent (25 for 58) of the time. During their recent six-game losing streak, the Penguins went three straight games without a power-play goal, the first time that has happened this season.

What's most surprising is that the Penguins largely have been using one unit. When healthy, Tarnstrom was manning the point at the top of the umbrella, with Lemieux and Kovalev along the boards. That would leave two more--picking from the trio of Morozov, Straka and Hrdina--to work down low and in front of the net. This unit often stayed on the ice for all but 20 seconds of a two-minute advantage. Lemieux and Kovalev still almost always remain for the duration of the penalty. Since the injuries began to hit, a variety of players have filled in with mixed results.

Though asking the unit to be on the ice that much seems like a lot to ask over 82 games, Sharks coach Ron Wilson says he doesn't see any reason Lemieux and Co. shouldn't stay on the ice for the bulk of the advantage.

"If they're capable of doing it, why wouldn't you have your players on the ice for an entire power play?" he says. "Mario minimizes his movements, and as far as I'm concerned, Kovalev's a horse. Most guys, if they're in good shape, can stay almost the full two minutes and still be effective."

It has been working. Before Morozov was hurt, four of the top six power-play scorers in the league were Penguins.

"The way we move the puck around and give different looks on the power play, it's real hard to adjust," Kovalev says. "We don't have a special play on the power play where we say, `This pass is going to go there, there and there, and somebody's going to shoot.' The shot will come maybe from the point, from the left side, from the right side. Or maybe we'll just throw it to the front of the net and make the goalie leave a rebound. We have no plan on the power play, which really makes it different compared to the other teams. Maybe that's why we're so successful, because we're just unpredictable."

Then there is Lemieux. Overcommit against him, and your own mother will be too embarrassed to watch the replays. Give him too much time and space, and he basically does whatever he wants.

"Personally, I think you have to be a little more patient than he is," says Devils penalty killer John Madden. "It seems like he waits and waits and waits with the puck, then he sees something open up and he delivers it. I think what happens is people wait, and then charge at him real quick, which allows the area behind where you just left to become open. Then he can throw a little saucer pass with that nice little touch that he has. You just have to be patient and keep him outside the dots the whole night."

Says Acton: "With Mario there, he has that ability, because he's a superstar, to exploit you many different ways. What makes him so good is that if you try to take one thing away, he'll find something else."

The Penguins' power-play numbers are even more impressive compared with last year's. After 26 games last season, the Penguins' power-play efficiency was a dreadful 8.1 percent, scoring 47 goals on 335 advantages. In comparison, Lemieux recently scored the team's 40th power-play goal on its 134th advantage.

Whether the power play can continue to thrive depends on how the Penguins adapt to injuries. Opposing teams also will adjust, forcing the Penguins to evolve. Lemieux says it will be difficult to maintain the 30 percent success rate. The Kings led the NHL last season at 20.7 percent.

"The last four or five years an average power play has been around 16 percent, and if you could get close to 20, it was a great power play," Wilson says. "Thirty percent is phenomenal. Thirty percent was a power play you based yourself on in the 1970s and early '80s. Then teams' penalty killing improved and goalies improved. So power plays dropped. Theirs is phenomenal."

Last season was marred by injuries for the Penguins, but no one's absence was felt more than Lemieux's. Limited by back and hip problems, he played in 24 games and produced two goals and 12 assists on the power play. Kovalev, Hrdina and Morozov were left to carry the unit.

"One guy can change the whole thing, especially him," Morozov says of Lemieux. "When he steps out on the ice, everybody feels different. Everybody wants to step up and do whatever it takes."

Waiver-wire wonder.

One player can make a difference, even if his name isn't Mario Lemieux.

Dick Tarnstrom, the 6-1, 200-pound Swede tossed onto the waiver wire by the Islanders and picked up by the Penguins, led all NHL defensemen in scoring with four goals and 21 assists after 21 games when he broke his foot blocking shot on November 29. He was the point man on the league's top power-play unit--19 of his points came with the man advantage--and immediately showed an uncanny ability to work with Lemieux.

In the first five games without Tarnstrom, the Penguins, didn't win and the power play slumped, working at 14 percent efficiency. The team hopes to have Tarnstrom back after Christmas.

"We miss him quite a bit," Lemieux says. "He sees the ice very well and makes some quick passes."

Tarnstrom wasn't always so highly regarded. The Islanders cut him because he isn't overly physical, and they already had Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik--two offensive defensemen who aren't known for their defense or physical play. After being picked up by the Penguins--his $475,000 salary made him an affordable gamble--Tarnstrom was scratched for the team's first game, a 6-0 loss to the Maple Leafs. A lineup shakeup that put Tarnstrom, 27, in for the next game paid off in a big way.

Penguins broadcaster Mike Lange compares Tarnstrom and Lemieux's power-play chemistry with the magic Lemieux and Paul Coffey used to produce.

"Tarnstrom's not a big, physical defenseman," Lange says, "but he has the ability for some reason to read off of Mario. It's not an easy thing to do. Some players force the puck to Mario. After they get it, they give it right back. ... You just have a guy who's going to make the right decision nine out of 10 times. When you have that kind of player with you, it just opens it all up for Mario, because he knows he can go to him because he knows he's going to make the right play and give the team the opportunity to score."--K.P.

Karen Price covers the Penguins for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

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