NHL coaches are always looking to find new tactics or philosophies to improve their teams and get the upper hand. 

Years ago, the standard power play consisted of three forwards and two defensemen, just like a regular lineup. These days, it's the status quo to deploy four forwards and one defenseman on the man advantage. Nonetheless, teams have recently introduced a five-forward power-play unit. 

Throughout the history of the game, the power play has seen coaches attempt to be creative and improve their efficiency. We’ve seen several setups and different teams take advantage of the power play in several ways.

The umbrella and overload were the popular setups teams used, but those approaches have seen tweaks to improve their effectiveness. Now, most teams are looking to work the puck around to set up a one-timer.

Others prefer to use players on their strong sides to almost skate into a shot, a tactic Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs previously utilized.

Coaches have also introduced different ways to enter the offensive zone, with most teams using the sling shot or drop pass to generate speed and make clean offensive zone entries.

During the 2024-25 season, the Leafs and the Los Angeles Kings used the five-forward power-play unit, and did so with success. The Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens, too, have previously attempted to use the five-forward unit.

The Minnesota Wild had briefly tried it out, but with 19-year-old D-man Zeev Buium set to become a full-time NHLer, he'll likely be given the keys to the power play.

With the Leafs, Mitch Marner quarterbacked the power play with Matthews and William Nylander on the flanks, John Tavares in the bumper position and Matthew Knies as the net-front presence.

The power play's effectiveness escalated far more than it was with defenseman Morgan Rielly at the point because Marner was a greater threat to shoot the puck, his skating ability, and was just an overall better playmaker.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Leafs scored six power-play goals in six games, all of which came from the top unit. For a large part of the regular season, the Leafs used the five-forward unit and clicked at 24.8 percent, equalling the Colorado Avalanche for eighth-best in the NHL. 

The Kings, who also adopted the five-forward power play when Andrei Kuzmenko arrived in Los Angeles, found plenty of success in their first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers, single-handedly keeping them in the series, converting at 40 percent across six games.

For the Kings, their setup saw Adrian Kempe quarterbacking the unit, with Kevin Fiala and Anze Kopitar on the flanks, Kuzemenko as the net front and Quinton Byfield in the bumper. 

"Confidence is the main thing," Kempe said after Game 2. "We got (Kuzmenko) at the deadline, and he's been great since he got here. Whether it's 5-on-5 or 5-on-4, you can tell that he's a guy that's been playing that role there before, he's skilled and makes a lot of plays."

"He's been working with the puck and without the puck, and he's been getting rewarded, and everyone on the team is happy to have him. He's been a big factor why the power play has been a lot better, too," the Swedish right winger added.

The Kings will likely continue to use this setup, but the Leafs, on the other hand, are forced to move on, at least for now.

With Marner now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Leafs will be starting the season with Rielly at the point. The Leafs do have forwards like Matias Maccelli and Max Domi who have the playmaking prowess to run quarterback a power-play unit. But with little to no experience doing so, the Leafs, at the very least, will be starting the season with Rielly.

The Golden Knights are experimenting with Marner at the point, doing so in his lone pre-season appearance. Shea Theodore, a defenseman with plenty of experience running the Golden Knights' power play, still features on the man advantage, but does so on the opposite flank of Jack Eichel.

Vegas were able to capitalize on the power play with Marner at the point in their 3-2 overtime win against the Utah Mammoth.

Whether that changes when the regular season starts is unknown, but it wouldn’t be unlikely to see coach Bruce Cassidy throw a five-forward unit with the likes of Marner, Eichel, Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofeyev.

It’s far too early to come up with a verdict about whether the five-forward unit is more effective than the other setups, but as teams become more confident using it, a clearer answer will emerge. The Leafs were hesitant to make the change, reverting to Rielly after the initial attempt.

“Like, five forwards is tricky,” Berube said after a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 11. “And, you know, teams are going to look at that and they're going to attack all the time on it. That's going to be their mindset to penalty kill. And it's not that I don't like five forwards. They move the puck well in the zone and do some real good things. I don't like when it goes the other way.”

If teams that use five forwards on their power play continue to click at a high percentage, teams will follow. Hockey, and sports in general, are very ‘follow the most recent trend,’ and if five forwards increases the likelihood of scoring, coaches will give it a go.

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