This article is part of our The Man Advantage series.
Just a quick note before we get to the meat of the situation. Do you know which defenseman has the most power-play points? Shea Weber? P.K. Subban? Cam Fowler? The answer is Kevin Shattenkirk, with nine. Now, it's not like it's completely shocking to see his name here. Shattenkirk — whose name often comes up in trade talks — is a known asset with the man advantage but is having a particularly good year. That said, his early power-play performance certainly won't hurt his stock should the Blues choose to look at moving him this year, and it won't hurt your fantasy team either.
Now, onto some players who are perhaps more available than Shattenkirk…
Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR – Zibanejad was traded from the Senators to the Rangers this offseason. While he hasn't necessarily taken on a bigger role (he's actually playing fewer minutes per game than he did last season), Zibanejad has five assists on the power play. He's never had more than 14 points on the power play, but he's had at least 46 points in his last two seasons, so he can contribute plenty to your fantasy team while also adding a bit of power-play value.
Vladislav Namestnikov, C, TAM – Namestnikov has five power-play points, which is solid. He only has eight points total, though, which is less encouraging. This is also already a career high in power-play points for him. He's only 23, and he's playing the most
Just a quick note before we get to the meat of the situation. Do you know which defenseman has the most power-play points? Shea Weber? P.K. Subban? Cam Fowler? The answer is Kevin Shattenkirk, with nine. Now, it's not like it's completely shocking to see his name here. Shattenkirk — whose name often comes up in trade talks — is a known asset with the man advantage but is having a particularly good year. That said, his early power-play performance certainly won't hurt his stock should the Blues choose to look at moving him this year, and it won't hurt your fantasy team either.
Now, onto some players who are perhaps more available than Shattenkirk…
Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR – Zibanejad was traded from the Senators to the Rangers this offseason. While he hasn't necessarily taken on a bigger role (he's actually playing fewer minutes per game than he did last season), Zibanejad has five assists on the power play. He's never had more than 14 points on the power play, but he's had at least 46 points in his last two seasons, so he can contribute plenty to your fantasy team while also adding a bit of power-play value.
Vladislav Namestnikov, C, TAM – Namestnikov has five power-play points, which is solid. He only has eight points total, though, which is less encouraging. This is also already a career high in power-play points for him. He's only 23, and he's playing the most minutes of his career, so it would seem the best is yet to come from the Bolts' center.
Brayden Schenn, C, PHI – Schenn missed a few games this season, but when he's been on the ice he's fit right into Philly's potent offense and second-ranked power play. All three of his goals have come with the extra man, and he's got three power-play assists as well. Schenn had 22 power-play points last season and appears poised to continue that prowess this year, making him an attractive asset in all but the shallowest of leagues.
Matt Moulson, LW, BUF – The former 30-goal scorer was mentioned in an earlier iteration of this column after managing to score a few goals on the power play early in the season. He cooled off for awhile but now has seven power-play points (out of eight total). Moulson has also taken 42 shots in 16 games, so perhaps he'll start finding the back of the net more — both at even strength and with the extra man.
Zach Werenski, D, CLM – Maybe it's a product of dead or non-competitive leagues, but Werenski is available in more leagues than you might expect when he should essentially be universally owned. He's been nothing short of outstanding with 13 points in 14 games, including six on the power play. Werenski doesn't have a track record in the NHL yet, but he came into the league with a lot of laudations for his play as a prospect, so buy in now while you still (possibly) can.
Erik Johnson, D, COL – Johnson never became a star after getting drafted first overall, but he's settled in as a good defenseman capable of logging a lot of minutes. He has four points on the power play, all assists. While he hasn't found twine, he's taken 31 shots on net, so eventually a few are going to go in. A couple of them could easily be on the power play, where he's averaged 2:08 per game this season.
