There's a time and a place for the drop pass. The issue the Hawks have is.....they only ever have two guys come back into the zone to regroup.... Their forwards are typically standing still at the opposing blue line. You HAVE TO MOVE UP ICE AS A UNIT. Their struggles on the power play are actually an extension of their struggles gaining the zone at even strength.
Most teams run a 1-3 PK. Meaning they stack their blue line and have one rover in the neutral zone.
1) The D should be leading the PP breakout from behind his net.
2) You should have two forwards back in the zone, in addition to your other "D" in front of your net. These forwards need to be LOW in their zone. Not standing around at the ****ing blue line. Because they are moving up the ice with the guy carrying the mail.(This should be Joker and Gus, on EVERY SINGLE POWER PLAY). The guy carrying the puck has to be a guy who is a threat to lug it all the way into the zone.
3) You setup like this, and typically you won't have ANY forecheckers coming into your zone to pressure, because they can get burned and caught way too easily. It relieves pressure and gives you a clean breakout.
4) All three guys leave at the same time. Timing is key. You pick a side, and that's the side you attack. The guy lugging the puck is forcing their rover to commit to him, and then hitting one of the wingers moving up ice with him. The other "defenseman" on the ice is a safety valve, coming up behind your puck carrier. The last forward on the ice is spreading out their 3 defenders on the blue line, and looking to cut through them.
This isn't rocket science. This is the basic power play breakout we ran when I coached HIGH SCHOOL, and it's still the breakout that a large majority of NHL teams run.