This article is part of our The Man Advantage series.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest edition of The Man Advantage, where we take a look at the power-play lineups of various teams and put these in some sort of fantasy context. In this edition, we visit Carolina, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Nashville. We also re-visit Dallas to see what is happening with the Stars given a couple of high-profile injuries the team recently sustained.
Dallas Stars
In my last column two weeks ago, I wrote about how the Stars' power play was firing on all cylinders, thanks in part to the contributions of Tyler Seguin and Patrick Eaves. Well, here we are two weeks later, and both Seguin (knee) and Eaves (concussion) are now expected to be sidelined for an extended period. How has the Stars' PP attack been restructured in their absence? Two weeks ago, the team employed a top line of Seguin and Eaves alongside Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn, with John Klingberg as the only blueliner. Now, with Seguin and Eaves out of the lineup, the latest version of that line (Feb. 17 vs. STL) has the Stars using a 3F-2D formation, with Brett Ritchie alongside Spezza and Benn, and Alex Goligoski joining Klingberg on the back end. For now, Ritchie, recently recalled from AHL Texas where he had 18 points in 24 games, is slotting in on the Stars' third line at even strength, but if he continues to see time on the first PP unit, it shouldn't take long for him to
Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest edition of The Man Advantage, where we take a look at the power-play lineups of various teams and put these in some sort of fantasy context. In this edition, we visit Carolina, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Nashville. We also re-visit Dallas to see what is happening with the Stars given a couple of high-profile injuries the team recently sustained.
Dallas Stars
In my last column two weeks ago, I wrote about how the Stars' power play was firing on all cylinders, thanks in part to the contributions of Tyler Seguin and Patrick Eaves. Well, here we are two weeks later, and both Seguin (knee) and Eaves (concussion) are now expected to be sidelined for an extended period. How has the Stars' PP attack been restructured in their absence? Two weeks ago, the team employed a top line of Seguin and Eaves alongside Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn, with John Klingberg as the only blueliner. Now, with Seguin and Eaves out of the lineup, the latest version of that line (Feb. 17 vs. STL) has the Stars using a 3F-2D formation, with Brett Ritchie alongside Spezza and Benn, and Alex Goligoski joining Klingberg on the back end. For now, Ritchie, recently recalled from AHL Texas where he had 18 points in 24 games, is slotting in on the Stars' third line at even strength, but if he continues to see time on the first PP unit, it shouldn't take long for him to start putting points up on the board.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have on the whole been dreadful this season, sitting 15th out of 16 teams in the East, with only the Sabres below them. On the power-play front, however, the Canes have been surprisingly effective, ranking middle-of-the-pack (17th overall) with a 17.6-percent success rate. Furthermore, over their last 10 games they've been even better, scoring at a 22.6-percent clip (7 for 31). The most recent charge has been led mostly by a few of the Canes' young guns, including Elias Lindholm (1G, 1A), Jeff Skinner (2G) and Justin Faulk (2A). Jordan Staal, who normally centers the Canes' top line -- with brother Eric on the wing -- has been anchoring the second PP line, in between Skinner and Riley Nash. One guy to keep an eye on is rookie defenseman Michal Jordan, who was recently recalled from AHL Charlotte to fill in for the injured Ryan Murphy (leg), but then sent back down. During his recent stay, Jordan had three points in three games, including a PP goal and two even-strength helpers. He'll be at the top of the Canes' callup list should the team run into further injury trouble.
Edmonton Oilers
Don't look now, but the Oilers' woeful power play is finally starting to show signs of life, even with the loss of Taylor Hall, who is expected to be out until late March with a broken bone in his leg. Until now, the Oilers have been one of the league's worst PP teams -- third worst, actually, at 15.6 percent, superior only to Colorado (12.2 percent) and Buffalo (12.0 percent). Over the last two weeks, however, the Oilers have really started to figure things out with the man advantage, going 7-for-19 in PP opportunities (36.8 percent) over the last six games. Jordan Eberle has led the attack with five assists over this six-game stretch, along with Nail Yakupov (2G, 1A), Teddy Purcell (1G, 1A), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (1G, 1A) and recent AHL callup Iiro Pakarinen (2A). Derek Roy, acquired from Nashville back in January, has been a useful addition given his 11 points in 20 games (5G, 6A), however, only one of those points have come with the man advantage, where he has overall been not much of a factor playing on the second line.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets are fifth overall in the Western Conference, pushing hard to maintain their playoff status with little more than a quarter of the regular season to play. One factor behind the team's recent success -- 10 points of a possible 14 over their last seven games -- has been the power play, with seven goals in 25 opportunities (28.0 percent) over this stretch. Dustin Byfuglien and Bryan Little have led the way during the hot streak, each with four PP points, while Blake Wheeler and Michael Frolik have added two apiece. In the meantime, Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford, who were recently acquired from Buffalo as part of the Evander Kane deal, have fit in nicely, with both lining up mainly on the second PP unit alongside Frolik, Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba. Myers has a goal and two assists in three games since his arrival, with one of those helpers coming on the PP, while Stafford has a PP goal to his credit.
Nashville Predators
The Predators have ascended to the top of the NHL standings this season, thanks in part to three main factors. First, the team overhauled its forward corps in the offseason, with two moves working out particularly well, namely the additions of James Neal and Mike Ribeiro. (Admittedly, other moves did not pan out quite so well, including Derek Roy and Olli Jokinen, but I digress.) Second, several young players who were already on the roster stepped up in a big way this season, including Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi. Finally, after a season marred by injury and subpar play, Pekka Rinne finally returned to his old dominant self, leading NHL goalies in wins and second only to Carey Price in save percentage and GAA. From a power play perspective, the Preds roll two lines that are equally effective, with Forsberg and Neal flanking Mike Fisher on the first unit, followed by a second unit of Ribeiro, Craig Smith and Colin Wilson. On the back end, Josi partners with Shea Weber to form one of the NHL's most formidable blueline tandems, with a combined 24 PP points between them (12 apiece).
