Mark Madden's Hot Take: Jeff Carter offers Plan B for Penguins' power play

The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be ready for the season.

At 36, Sidney Crosby has become the crazy old man who fights in an exhibition game. (See Trottier, Bryan.)

The Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 7-4, on Friday in their final preseason contest. There will be lots of games like that. Bet the over.

One thing constantly will be discussed: the power play. Recalibrated with the addition of man-advantage maestro Erik Karlsson, the power play will make or break the season. If it doesn’t finish top five in the NHL, the Penguins might not make the playoffs.

The Penguins haven’t even played a regular-season game yet, and this is my third column on the power play. Bet the over on that, too.

Here’s a Plan B for the power play that the Penguins should consider: park Jeff Carter’s big backside in front of the net.

Carter is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. He’s 38 but has 431 career NHL goals. His touch is fine. His legs are shot, but you don’t need speed that close to the blue paint.

Carter has been on the power play for the vast majority of his professional tenure. Carter will play a bottom-six spot at even strength, but a man-advantage role would keep him invested.

As previously mentioned in this space, the power play is about the best fit, not making sure the five biggest names are happy.

When the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and ’17, Patric Hornqvist’s sturdy net-front presence on the power play contributed as much as the accompanying star power. It forced the opposition penalty-kill to pay attention, to battle Hornqvist for territory, to tighten their unit. The Penguins’ current PP is too easy to bully outside, to force to the perimeter.

When Jake Guentzel is healthy, he’s often in front of the net. He’s slighter than his listed size of 5-11, 180 pounds and gets beat to death. He’s got good touch and is solid at puck retrieval. But Guentzel isn’t what’s needed.

But Carter won’t play on the top power play. He’s second-unit material.

That’s what makes the Penguins’ power play so easy to write about: There’s so much they should try but won’t.

The PP got two goals in Friday’s exhibition win at Buffalo. It was 1 for 22 in the six preseason games prior.

No matter who lines up where, the power play must produce consistently. It needs to seize momentum when it doesn’t score. Those things are non-negotiable. The Penguins’ season hangs in the balance.