It never made sense. The argument for keeping the status quo was flimsy, and last night’s ugly 4-3 Lightning victory underscores why the team’s continued insistence on burying Brayden Point on the second power-play unit is silly.

Last season, the Lightning had the third best power play in the NHL with Alex Killorn as the bumper and Point shepherding the second unit. Of course, the Lightning realized at some point last year that Point is a star and Killorn a role player. Therefore, Point should have taken Killorn’s spot in the middle slot on the first unit. But, the thinking must have been, continuity matters, the power play was performing well with Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos slugging shots from opposite circles, and at the very least, Point added potency to the second unit.

To start the 2018-19 season, Point was given a fleeting opportunity on the first unit, but when the power play did not immediately click, coach Jon Cooper swerved and returned him to the second unit. For the time being, Killorn has kept his undeserved place as the bumper, with his bookends Kucherov and Stamkos. Last night, at the end of the first period, the Penguins collected a heap of penalties, which led to a prolonged five-on-three. This resulted in the Lightning trotting out five forwards, including Point. Point scored two goals on consecutive five-on-threes and was left on for the ensuing five-on-four, during which he scored again. In 91 seconds he had amassed a natural hat trick.

It was Point’s final strike, the tally that came at 5-on-4, that has the most applicability going forward. Stamkos had the first shot attempt from just inside the left circle, and the puck hit the skirt of the net, failing to connect. When the Lightning claimed possession, they tried the right side, with Kucherov marching around the right circle, before he whipped it down low to J.T. Miller, who had stepped out to the goal line and quickly directed a pass to Point in the slot. Point clobbered the puck past goaltender Matt Murray, and it became uncomfortably comical to think that this is not the regular power-play unit for the Lightning.

The rationale for the permanent switch of Point for Killorn is obvious but worth underlining, highlighting in yellow, and putting in bold. Instead of opponents cheating to the circles to try to get in the shooting lane for the Kucherov and Stamkos one-timer, they have to account for an extra shooter in the middle when Point is there. They can’t shade toward the outside without conceding the inside. And if the opposing defenseman decides to step up, that leaves miles of room underneath for J.T. Miller. That is the beauty of the man advantage, and why it is madness when one of your five players is a non-threat to score. And make no mistake, for opponents’ penalty kill, Killorn was an afterthought.

Killorn has two goals on the season, and his one with the man-advantage was not from the bumper. Moving Point to the slot gives Miller added value as well. Instead of being the net-front presence who tries to retrieve and deflect Kucherov and Stamkos’s rockets, he can become a playmaker when he is adjacent to the post. This also carves out more room for him if he wants to attack and jam off the goal line, something he is well equipped to do given his hands and finishing ability. But let us not lose sight of the objective: If the opponent’s penalty kill feels threatened by Point in the middle-to-low slot, then that opens up more room for Kucherov and Stamkos to shoot from the circles.

The Lightning’s power play was good with Killorn, but it was predictable. Opponents knew where the shot was coming from: Hedman might fire a shot off his back foot from the point, Kucherov or Stamkos would whack a shot from the circle. The danger was always concentrated from above the dots, which made it easier to defend. It also is a testament to how ridiculously good the Lightning’s shooters are from the right and left circles that the penalty-killing skaters and goaltender knew where the puck was going, but still struggled to stop it.

Last night, we saw an example of what happens when threat is moved below the circles. Near the end of the second period, as Point shifted the gravity of the power play, Stamkos hit the crossbar off one opportunity and nearly converted on a passing sequence that exemplified the influence of having scoring on the inside and outside. Kucherov passed the puck to Point in the slot. Point transferred the puck to Miller down low, and Miller slipped it backdoor to Stamkos. Kris Letang made a beautiful block to prevent Stamkos from depositing it in the wide-open net.

The funny thing about the game is that the Lightning played poorly at even strength. The Penguins did a nice job keeping the Lightning to the perimeter, and were able to consistently get in their shooting and passing lanes, leaving a choppy flow to the contest, and a nauseated viewer. The Point line accounted for one Scoring Chance at 5v5, and Braydon Coburn led the team in shot attempts. It was an unpleasant game at even strength.

There were a dizzying amount of blind passes in the Lightning’s own zone, and the Bolts are fortunate that the Penguins’ offense was unable to exploit Tampa Bay’s sloppy breakouts. One thing that was encouraging is that back-up goalie Louis Domingue played very well. With the devastating news about Andrei Vasilevskiy (broken foot), Domingue allowed only one soft goal and also made several crucial saves. But he still could have used help, which brings us to how the Lightning defend their leads.

The Lightning have squandered several late-game leads this season with one consistent trait being that they have maintained their style of aggressive play throughout the contests. Last night looked like an abrupt reversal, where Tampa Bay recoiled into a defensive shell once Yanni Gourde put them ahead 4-3, and the third period saw a lot of one forward in pursuit with four skaters sitting back in repose. The Lightning won, but this seems like a good-outcome, bad-process problem.

The Lightning need a different strategy for protecting their third-period leads because, compounding the worry, is that no one can mistake Domingue for Vasilevskiy. Therefore, dialing down the attack from three forwards charging toward the net and one pinching defenseman to something more conservative makes sense. But last night, the Lightning were chipping the puck out and trying to run out the clock. The neutral zone would be surrendered and the Penguins were counterattacking with speed.

The only line that could muster any offense was Anthony Cirelli’s. Going forward, the Lightning should still mandate their playmakers to stay aggressive in lead-protecting situations. They should still try to establish a forecheck. But a middle ground can be found by asking the defensemen to pinch less and be less audacious when joining the rush. And make sure the high forward is always in position to be a presence on transition defense.

The Lightning have lost several games this season that they should have won. Last night, by scoring all their goals on the power play and falling behind 2-0 early, Tampa Bay won a game they probably should have lost. But an 82-game season has many of the qualities of human life, and one of those is the ability to reflect critically. It is never too late for introspection. If the Lightning wise up on their power play by putting their best forward in the slot, they can win more games that they should lose, rather than the reverse.

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