Power play prowess fuels the playoff dreams of NHL teams. Which teams are capitalizing on the man-advantage, and which teams are thriving on the penalty-kill? The results may surprise you.
Whether it’s the regular season or the Stanley Cup playoffs, being efficient on the power play can be the difference between winning and losing a playoff round. Special teams are terribly important at this time of year.
In these playoffs, we have an early sense of which teams are thriving on the power play and which must improve – in the latter case, the Buffalo Sabres need the most improvement.
Even with a small sample size, there are teams thriving on the man advantage. The Dallas Stars lead the league in power-play playoff goals, going six-for-17 in three games for 35.3 percent.
Leading the post-season in power-play percentage is the Anaheim Ducks, who have converted at 50 percent with four power-play markers on eight opportunities in three games.
The Montreal Canadiens are third in that category, with four power-play goals in 13 power-play opportunities. The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Los Angeles Kings (tied at 23.1 percent) round out the top five power-play teams.
Obviously, you can have two teams that are relatively proficient on the power play, and one of those teams has to be the series loser. That’s true of the Canadiens and Lightning, but you can make the argument that one reason their series is currently knotted at a game apiece is that both sides have done well on the power play.
As for the Ducks, Stars, and Vegas Golden Knights - who have the sixth-best power play this post-season - all have won playoff games this year in part because they converted power-play goals.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the power-play-effectiveness spectrum, three teams are yet to earn a marker on the man-advantage.
Connor McDavid (Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)The Sabres (0-for-14), Ottawa Senators (0-for-12), and the perfect 3-0 Colorado Avalanche (0-for-9) all remain without a power-play goal in these playoffs.
The Utah Mammoth and Edmonton Oilers scored their first and only power-play goal of this post-season on Friday. They join the Carolina Hurricanes as the three teams with just one man-advantage tally.
All of those teams, save for the Senators, have won playoff games this spring. But it’s safe to say the Oilers/Ducks, Sens/Canes, and the Sabres/Boston Bruins series all could look notably different with different results from the power play.
Of course, if you’re not converting power plays into goals and you have a strong penalty-killing unit, you can offset the impact of a poor power play.
The top-three penalty-kill teams in these playoffs all have yet to allow a power-play goal to their opponent: the first-place Bruins have killed off all 14 penalties; the Hurricanes have killed off 12 man-advantages; and the third-place Kings have killed off all nine man-advantages they’ve faced.
The Senators are in fourth, having killed off nine of the 10 man-advantages the Canes have generated. So it’s fair to say Ottawa’s playoffs have, in no small part, hinged on their poor power-play.
This is where coaching comes into play. Coaches who can provide the structure and system for their players to thrive on special teams will earn their keep for the time being. And those bench bosses who can’t get their special teams working well could very well lose their jobs over it.
Again, this is a small sample size of three games. But what everyone can agree on is that the stakes are sky-high right now. Every single power play matters. The same goes for every single penalty kill.
One mistake or one lost opportunity could be what prevents you from winning a championship. That makes special teams special, and why it's worth monitoring throughout the playoffs.
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