This article is part of our The Man Advantage series.
As we head into the All-Star break, let's take a bigger picture view of power-play success in the NHL. Instead of focusing on recent trends, we've decided to look at full season performances up to this point. Many of the best power-play performers, such as Claude Giroux and Phil Kessel, aren't available in any leagues. The man tied with Kessel for the second most power-play points, Alexander Wennberg, may still be on the free-agent market in a handful of leagues (80.2 ESPN ownership). However, some other players that have excelled with the extra man are even more widely available, showcased below…
Sam Gagner, C, CLM – Gagner has been the epitome of a power-play specialist this season. He's only playing 13:39 a night on average, a career low, but has received 2:47 per game on the power play. In all that power-play time, he's tallied 15 points, which is almost half of his 33 overall points. However, he only has two power-play points in his last 10 games, and his shooting percentage is also a career-high 13.2. Despite the recent drought, Gagner is still getting plenty of looks with the man advantage, averaging 3:12 in January.
William Nylander, C, TOR – Nylander isn't quite Auston Matthews, or perhaps even Mitch Marner, but he's been really good in his own right. He's actually notched an even greater percentage of his points on the power play than Gagner. Of Nylander's 30 points, 15 have come on
As we head into the All-Star break, let's take a bigger picture view of power-play success in the NHL. Instead of focusing on recent trends, we've decided to look at full season performances up to this point. Many of the best power-play performers, such as Claude Giroux and Phil Kessel, aren't available in any leagues. The man tied with Kessel for the second most power-play points, Alexander Wennberg, may still be on the free-agent market in a handful of leagues (80.2 ESPN ownership). However, some other players that have excelled with the extra man are even more widely available, showcased below…
Sam Gagner, C, CLM – Gagner has been the epitome of a power-play specialist this season. He's only playing 13:39 a night on average, a career low, but has received 2:47 per game on the power play. In all that power-play time, he's tallied 15 points, which is almost half of his 33 overall points. However, he only has two power-play points in his last 10 games, and his shooting percentage is also a career-high 13.2. Despite the recent drought, Gagner is still getting plenty of looks with the man advantage, averaging 3:12 in January.
William Nylander, C, TOR – Nylander isn't quite Auston Matthews, or perhaps even Mitch Marner, but he's been really good in his own right. He's actually notched an even greater percentage of his points on the power play than Gagner. Of Nylander's 30 points, 15 have come on the power play. However, he's another player who has been struggling with the extra man recently. He only has two power-play points in his last 10 games. That being said, the 20-year-old is clearly going to be a big part of Toronto's future and has a lot of talent around him.
Patrick Eaves, RW, DAL – In terms of pleasant surprises in the NHL this year, Eaves has to be near the top of that list. The 32-year-old is en route to setting career highs in every major statistical category and has 14 power-play points already — including 10 goals. Additionally, while Eaves' early-season success could have been written off as a fluke, he's proven to have some staying power. In his last 10 contests, he has four points with the extra man.
Sam Reinhart, C, BUF – As a rookie, Reinhart made some noise on the power play, notching eight goals and two assists. This year, he's taken on a bigger role, receiving more minutes both at even strength and on the PP — 3:23 on average, to be exact. Reinhart has already surpassed last year's production, as he's registered 13 points in 32 fewer games. The 21-year-old was drafted second overall with the presumption, and hope, that he'd become a key piece for the Sabres, which definitely seems to be coming to fruition.
Dion Phaneuf, D, OTT – Phaneuf has come up a few times in this column, but it's for good reason — every defenseman with more power-play points is owned in at least 87.2 percent of ESPN.com leagues. Then, there sits Phaneuf with his 11 power-play points, which includes three in his last five games. The former Flame has been a power-play contributor since he broke into the league with 16 power-play points as a rookie, and, although he's no longer a spring chicken, his power-play proficiency has returned.
Anton Stralman, D, TAM – Stralman's power-play point total isn't as notable as some other blueliners, but that's partially due to the fact he's been limited to 40 games due to injury. In that time, he's tallied seven power-play points, including two in his last eight. Stralman didn't contribute much on the power play when he was with the Rangers, but since moving to Tampa Bay, he's had 14 and 12 PPP in two full campaigns.
