This article is part of our The Man Advantage series.
Another month, another record power-play stat.
At 29.7 percent heading into Sunday's games, the 2018-19 Lightning have the fourth-best power play in NHL history, trailing only Guy Lafleur's Canadiens in 1978 and Bryan Trottier's Islanders in 1978 and 1979. It is by far the highest mark in the cap era and more than 10 percent higher than the second-best team.
It goes beyond the 1-3-1, which is nothing revolutionary, but it's a tactic few teams have the ability to pull off because of its reliance on two shooters who have to be dangerous for it to work. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are 1-2 in power-play scoring, and it would be the first time since 2014 teammates took the top two spots when Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin did it for the Caps. Backstrom had just six power-play goals that season, which also speaks to how unstoppable Ovechkin is even though everyone knows he's going to shoot.
Hot Power Plays
Edmonton Oilers
Only three teams in the league have top-10 power plays but rank in the bottom 10 in goals scored at 5-on-5: Florida, Boston and Edmonton. That usually means your team is top heavy, with a few elite players making a huge difference on the power play but not having enough quality depth to account for all the other minutes the elite players don't play. Leon Draisaitl has already doubled last year's power-play total and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has the most power-play assists since his rookie season. A big test
Another month, another record power-play stat.
At 29.7 percent heading into Sunday's games, the 2018-19 Lightning have the fourth-best power play in NHL history, trailing only Guy Lafleur's Canadiens in 1978 and Bryan Trottier's Islanders in 1978 and 1979. It is by far the highest mark in the cap era and more than 10 percent higher than the second-best team.
It goes beyond the 1-3-1, which is nothing revolutionary, but it's a tactic few teams have the ability to pull off because of its reliance on two shooters who have to be dangerous for it to work. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are 1-2 in power-play scoring, and it would be the first time since 2014 teammates took the top two spots when Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin did it for the Caps. Backstrom had just six power-play goals that season, which also speaks to how unstoppable Ovechkin is even though everyone knows he's going to shoot.
Hot Power Plays
Edmonton Oilers
Only three teams in the league have top-10 power plays but rank in the bottom 10 in goals scored at 5-on-5: Florida, Boston and Edmonton. That usually means your team is top heavy, with a few elite players making a huge difference on the power play but not having enough quality depth to account for all the other minutes the elite players don't play. Leon Draisaitl has already doubled last year's power-play total and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has the most power-play assists since his rookie season. A big test is coming up, though: The Coyotes and Islanders are visiting and a five-game road trip follows with stops in Nashville and Toronto.
Minnesota Wild
Bruce Boudreau seems like the eternal optimist, but even he has to concede it's unrealistic they'll make any more noise than a whimper in the playoffs. Despite a half-decent power play that has gone 4-for-16 in its last five games it hasn't helped the Wild escape this nightmare month in which they've won just one game. The Wild ran 1A-1B power plays when Mikko Koivu was in the lineup, but recently have begun to favor a top unit, interestingly with Brad Hunt as one of their defenseman. The 30-year-old journeyman is skilled, but has never nailed down a permanent NHL job because he's not very effective outside of the power play. In the short-term, Hunt isn't a bad solution to help Boudreau squeeze more offense out of his lineup, but they can't keep hiding him at even strength or dress seven defensemen forever.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils power play went 4-for-15 in its last five games despite not having Taylor Hall in the lineup, with Marcus Johansson, Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmieri each getting two power-play points the last two weeks. It's not going to change the trajectory of their season, but it's an encouraging sign for a team that's still in the midst of making changes. Will Butcher has slightly more upside than Damon Severson, but neither are elite quarterbacks. The Devils play six of their next seven games at home where they're 14-9-5, with the one road game just a stone's throw away at MSG.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers nearly blew a four-goal lead to the Red Wings – who had pulled their starter, Jimmy Howard, by the way – and that basically sums them up this season. They're difficult to rely on and their performance varies from game to game, but what's been good for them recently is their power play. Travis Konecny sniped his 16th after a Niklas Kronwall penalty to extend the Flyers' power-play hot streak to four games, and that can easily be five games after Sunday when the two teams meet again. It is worth noting, however, that even though Claude Giroux remains one of the league's best creators at 5-on-4, it's halfway through the season and he's falling way short of last year's totals. He has not finished a season with less than 21 power-play assists since 2014.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Kucherov's 50th career power-play goal Saturday against the Habs moved him ahead of Brad Richards for fourth place all-time in Lightning history. They went 1-for-4 on the night, the fourth straight game they've managed to score with the man advantage. There's no sense in saying too much about the league's most flawless power play, but note the Lightning have been lucky with injuries this season. Kucherov, Stamkos and Ryan McDonagh have played every single game, and Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson have missed just 10 combined.
NOT GOOD
Colorado Avalanche
The Avs have just four wins in 2019, going from six games above. 500 to one game below after a 3-0 shutout loss to the Blues on Saturday. We knew that the Nathan MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen-Gabriel Landeskog line would slow down at some point, but the impact has been so significant that we may have somehow underestimated (if that's even possible) how important they are to their team. MacKinnon has scored three power-play goals in the last three months and Rantanen hasn't scored one in seven games this month. The Avs are lucky the Western Conference playoff race is so wide open, but if they can't get more production, they won't make the cut, and the upcoming schedule is dreadful: Vegas, Winnipeg, Chicago and Nashville.
Winnipeg Jets
A power play that has gone 0-for-20 since embarrassing the Ducks 9-3 on Feb. 2 seems like punishment. Paul Maurice is as even-keeled as they come, and despite the Jets' struggles they still rank fourth overall in efficiency, so the bigger story out of the 'Peg is that snakebit Finnish sniper Patrik Laine is back with the top unit. His struggles aren't really an anomaly; much like Alex Ovechkin early in his career, and to a certain extent Brock Boeser this season, defenses have learned how to take away Laine's shooting lane. It's up to him to find new ways to score goals, but you wonder if they can figure out a solution with 20-something games to go, and seven of their next nine will be on the road. The Jets will go only as far as Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele take them.
