This article is part of our The Man Advantage series.
As we head into the final weekend of the NHL regular season, we take a look at seven of the hottest power play performers over the past two weeks. Specifically, we will focus on players entering the postseason on a PP hot streak. Give these guys a good look when it comes to your playoff drafts the next few days.
Tomas Plekanec, C, MON: Plekanec has a three-game PP goal-scoring streak heading into the Canadiens' final regular-season game (April 11) against the Maple Leafs. In fact, those three PP goals are more than any NHL player not named Alex Ovechkin in the last two weeks. Overall, the Canadiens' power play has not been overly impressive this season (ranked 22nd at 16.7 percent), however Plekanec leads all forwards on the team in PP scoring with 16 points (7G, 9A).
Erik Karlsson, D, OTT: The Sens are still duking it out with Pittsburgh and Boston for the final playoff spot in the East. With just four regulation losses in their last 30 games, it would be an absolute travesty of justice if the Sens somehow didn't make the playoffs this year, but I digress. Whether they are in or out, much of the Sens' recent success has been attributed to goaltender Andrew Hammond (19-1-2, 1.82 GAA, .939 SV%). However, the efforts of Karlsson should not go unnoticed. For the second season in a row, Karlsson led NHL defensemen in points (66), and he's tied with Mark Streit for most PP
As we head into the final weekend of the NHL regular season, we take a look at seven of the hottest power play performers over the past two weeks. Specifically, we will focus on players entering the postseason on a PP hot streak. Give these guys a good look when it comes to your playoff drafts the next few days.
Tomas Plekanec, C, MON: Plekanec has a three-game PP goal-scoring streak heading into the Canadiens' final regular-season game (April 11) against the Maple Leafs. In fact, those three PP goals are more than any NHL player not named Alex Ovechkin in the last two weeks. Overall, the Canadiens' power play has not been overly impressive this season (ranked 22nd at 16.7 percent), however Plekanec leads all forwards on the team in PP scoring with 16 points (7G, 9A).
Erik Karlsson, D, OTT: The Sens are still duking it out with Pittsburgh and Boston for the final playoff spot in the East. With just four regulation losses in their last 30 games, it would be an absolute travesty of justice if the Sens somehow didn't make the playoffs this year, but I digress. Whether they are in or out, much of the Sens' recent success has been attributed to goaltender Andrew Hammond (19-1-2, 1.82 GAA, .939 SV%). However, the efforts of Karlsson should not go unnoticed. For the second season in a row, Karlsson led NHL defensemen in points (66), and he's tied with Mark Streit for most PP points with 30 (6G, 24A). The last two weeks, he's scored more PP points (five -- 2G, 3A) than any player other than Jakub Voracek (1G, 4A). If the Sens make it to the postseason, Karlsson should be at or near the top of your list of draft-worthy defensemen.
Kyle Turris, C, OTT: Not to be outdone by the aforementioned Hammond and Karlsson, Turris has been excellent in his own right, and along with rookie Mark Stone, has made Ottawa's unbelievable run the last couple months a true team effort. In his last 15 games alone, Turris has 18 points (8G, 10A), five of which have come on the power play. He now has a career-high 63 points with one game to play, and has truly arrived as the Sens' No. 1 center in the post-Jason Spezza era.
John Tavares, C, NYI: Tavares has 31 PP points in 80 games, and with two games to play, still has a chance to catch Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom (33 and 32 points, respectively) for the NHL PP scoring race lead. Tavares will enter the playoffs on a true hot streak, with 11 points (3G, 8A) in his last eight games, four of which have come on the power play. Tavares continues to be the Isles' leader and best player, leading his team to a playoff berth for the second time in the last three seasons, following a five-season postseason drought.
Tyler Johnson, C, TAM: Johnson, who is now back in the Tampa Bay lineup following a three-game absence due to a lower-body injury, didn't take long to remind everybody why he's been among the NHL's top 10 scorers until just recently. In just two games since his return, Johnson has a whopping five points (3G, 2A) – with three of those points coming with the man advantage -- moving him into a tie for the lead in team scoring with Steven Stamkos. Johnson centers what is arguably the Bolts' best line (sorry, Stamkos owners), alongside Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, and he's a big reason why the Bolts are third overall in the East and primed for playoff success.
Dennis Wideman, D, CGY: Given the Flames' improbable return to the NHL playoffs this season, it's hard to overlook guys like Johnny Gaudreau, Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan as the team's key players. However, Wideman has been quietly doing his part, too. Wideman has a career-high 56 points in 80 games, good not only for fourth in team scoring, but also fourth among NHL defensemen -- that's ahead of players like Kris Letang (54 pts), Keith Yandle (52 pts) and Shea Weber (45 pts). Wideman, who is tied with Gaudreau for first in team PP scoring with 21 points, has an incredible nine points in his last five games (2G, 7A), three of which have come on the power play.
Well, that's it for this year. Thanks for reading, and good luck in your playoff pools!
