During Monday’s 4-3 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks, three goals were scored while the Pittsburgh Penguins were on the power play, a season-high.

The only problem was the last one.

It was a short-handed score by the Ducks.

And it was generated after the Penguins posed minimal threat with a lengthy five-on-three power-play sequence.

Oh, by the way, it came with just under 13 seconds left in regulation.

Also, it was the game-winning score.

“It’s a game-changing moment,” Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said following practice in Cranberry on Tuesday. “I think you kind of think about that more than the two goals. Yeah, it’s nice to score a couple on the power play. That’s when we’re shooting the puck and we’re not over passing.

“It’s got to be better.”

Despite that soul-crushing moment that manifested itself in the form of Ducks forward Mason McTavish’s short-handed game-winning goal, the Penguins’ power play did look better in Monday’s loss.

But that’s only because the bar for cosmetic improvement was so low, it could have been labeled as subterranean.

Entering Monday’s game, the Penguins had failed to score on their previous 16 power-play opportunities. For the season, they are 4 for 27 (14.8%) with the man advantage.

That’s a conversion rate well below the most modest of expectations for an outfit that added the sui generis skills of defenseman Erik Karlsson this past offseason.

“I think we just look at it game-by-game,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. “I don’t think we really look at it in chunks. It was a big factor (Monday) night. Obviously, it would have been nice to get one to take the lead late in the game. But it was good for most of the night. It gave us a chance to win. It’s one of those things and it’s kind of going that way right now for us. We’ve just got to find a way to get through it. There’s lots of hockey left to be played, and we’ve done some pretty good things. Like our whole game in general, with the power play, we’ve just got to keep going.”

One consistent element with the top power-play unit has been a rotation of characters who typically man the left flank. After experimenting with defenseman Kris Letang in that role during the preseason, the Penguins then deployed Rickard Rakell. By Oct. 24, Rakell was replaced by forward Bryan Rust for three games. Then on Monday, the team placed forward Reilly Smith on that unit, and he recorded a secondary assist on the opening goal of the contest, a power-play score by Karlsson.

“It’s a different look,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Obviously, he’s a left shot versus a right shot if we had (Rust or Rakell) there. Reilly sees it pretty good when he’s on the flank. He also has the ability to play down low. He just has good awareness. He’s got good hockey sense, just his ability to read off the other guys.

“It’s just a different look than some of the other guys that we’ve deployed there up until this point.”

The Penguins’ other power-play score in Monday’s contest was a five-on-three goal by Malkin during the second period.

They were granted a second five-on-three power-play sequence late in regulation but were only able to generate three shots on eight attempts despite 1:49 of time with the two-man advantage.

When McTavish’s penalty for tripping expired, Karlsson forced a pass that was intercepted by Ducks forward Adam Henrique who sprung McTavish on a breakaway for his winning goal.

In addition to winning the game, McTavish’s goal — and how it was created — erased a lot of good feelings the Penguins generated with their power play on Monday.

But not all of them.

“Whenever you can score some power-play goals, I think it gives you some confidence,” Guentzel said. “It does change momentum in games. There’s some positives to look from it.”

Notes: The Penguins recalled forwards Vinnie Hinostroza and Radim Zohorna from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League in a pair of paper transactions Thursday. … Hinostroza primarily skated on the fourth lines and the second power-play unit during Thursday’s practice in Cranberry, replacing forward Jeff Carter. … The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins signed defenseman Mark Pysyk to a professional tryout contract (PTO). He attended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp on a PTO and has been sidelined since suffering an undisclosed injury during a preseason contest Sept. 24.

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