This article is part of our The Man Advantage series.
With less than 15 games to go in the regular season, it's time to admit it: power plays have gone wild this season. It has provided both historically good and historically bad power plays, with five teams in the top 10 and two teams in the bottom 10 in the cap era. Here's the rundown on which teams have been hot and cold with the man advantage.
Hot
Florida Panthers - Just imagine how dangerous the Panthers would be if they had a slightly better defense and more consistent goaltending. Entering Sunday, the Panthers have boasted the league's best power play the last two weeks, converting 7-of-21 chances. Their power play at 26.7 percent ranks third in the league, despite being the only team with a top-10 power play and fewer than 30 wins. They're also tied with the Lightning with three players in the top 10 in power-play points; Keith Yandle is second with 34, trailing only Nikita Kucherov, and Mike Hoffman and Jonathan Huberdeau are seventh and eighth, respectively. Hoffman has been a huge addition for the Panthers, scoring more than half his points (60) on the power play (31) and also shooting at a career-high 14.4 percent. The playoffs are out of reach – moneypuck.com gives them just a 0.52 percent chance of making it – but the Panthers power play should continue to roll, even though they face tough competition down the stretch.
St. Louis Blues - Just when it seemed like the Blues might
With less than 15 games to go in the regular season, it's time to admit it: power plays have gone wild this season. It has provided both historically good and historically bad power plays, with five teams in the top 10 and two teams in the bottom 10 in the cap era. Here's the rundown on which teams have been hot and cold with the man advantage.
Hot
Florida Panthers - Just imagine how dangerous the Panthers would be if they had a slightly better defense and more consistent goaltending. Entering Sunday, the Panthers have boasted the league's best power play the last two weeks, converting 7-of-21 chances. Their power play at 26.7 percent ranks third in the league, despite being the only team with a top-10 power play and fewer than 30 wins. They're also tied with the Lightning with three players in the top 10 in power-play points; Keith Yandle is second with 34, trailing only Nikita Kucherov, and Mike Hoffman and Jonathan Huberdeau are seventh and eighth, respectively. Hoffman has been a huge addition for the Panthers, scoring more than half his points (60) on the power play (31) and also shooting at a career-high 14.4 percent. The playoffs are out of reach – moneypuck.com gives them just a 0.52 percent chance of making it – but the Panthers power play should continue to roll, even though they face tough competition down the stretch.
St. Louis Blues - Just when it seemed like the Blues might blow up their roster, Jordan Binnington shows up and now they have a 98.59 percent chance of making the postseason. Their power play has been just OK overall, but the last two weeks it has been the league's second-most productive with six power-play goals scored in 20 opportunities. It's a little misleading because half of those games came against the awful Ducks, but as discombobulated as they may have seen earlier this season, their key players have played well. Ryan O'Reilly has been a good investment, scoring at a point-per-game pace with 14 power-play assists, two shy of tying his career high, and Vladimir Tarasenko is one power-play goal shy of tying his career-high 12. The Blues have one of the more favorable schedules, with just three of their 14 remaining games against playoff contenders.
San Jose Sharks - Percentage-wise, the Sharks have been very good at 33.3 percent, but what's peculiar about this year's team is its lack of opportunities. Last season, the Sharks were 11th in power-play opportunities and 14th the season before that; this season, they're 20th, and they had just nine chances the last two weeks. Given the Sharks' speed I'm surprised they don't draw more penalties, and it's a potential concern because they're supposed to be flat-out dominant on the power play with Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. Since they usually don't play with each other at even strength, the Sharks have very few chances to put both on the ice at the same time. It may not be a coincidence that power-play opportunities are rarer with Evander Kane, who hasn't played since Feb. 21, out of the lineup. The Sharks will end the season with games against the Canucks, Oilers and Avalanche, and that's as favorable as a three-game stretch to end the season as you will get.
COLD
Chicago Blackhawks - We kind of knew this was coming, but after a red-hot power play that clicked at 34.2 percent from January to February, the Blackhawks were 1-for-17 the past two weeks and have seen their playoff hopes dissolve. Nothing has really changed on the power play, but the pace that the Blackhawks were scoring at just seemed a little too impressive for a team struggling to make the playoffs. The good news is that Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome are still racking up the points, and despite going 0-for-8 against the Sabres and Stars still escaped with one-goal wins. Truth be told, the Blackhawks aren't really far away from contending again. Fantasy owners who are counting on their power play may want to hit the brakes a little and consider other options.
New York Islanders - If you're an Islanders fan, the 0-for-17 slide on the power play should worry you. It's almost impossible to win in the playoffs if your special teams is poor, and they already have tons of trouble scoring goals. Their suffocating defense and solid goaltending has come at the expense of their offense, and everyone's numbers are down except for Brock Nelson. The Isles are still jockeying for the Metro Division lead, but with just four wins in their last 10 and the Caps winning six straight, it's hard to see them take the title, and it may come down to the season finale against the Caps. Even with Mathew Barzal, the Islanders just don't play a style that's conducive to scoring goals, and that's important to remember for playoff pools even if you think the Islanders are a dark horse.
New York Rangers/New Jersey Devils - The Rangers and Devils round out the teams who've been woeful the last two weeks. They're a combined 1-for-40, with the Rangers last power-play goal coming on Feb. 24 against the Caps and the Devils' last one coming on Feb. 19 against the Pens. The Rangers, of course, are without Mats Zuccarello, who was second on the team with 14 power-play points, and Kevin Shattenkirk has been a disaster from the day he signed. The Devils have not had Taylor Hall since December, and Ray Shero talks about him like a franchise player. It's advisable to stay away from these two teams until they can get more talent on their power play units.
