This article is part of our The Man Advantage series.
Hey, you're thinking, You're not Mark McLarney, that bastion of reliable power play wisdom.
You're right. But you can call me Mark today if you want. I'll be Mark today, but with 100 percent more bad puns. I'll try to withhold, though, to better simulate the experience you're used to. But with great power comes great responsibility. I'll resist the urge to make a mic check joke with the first two players I'm going to talk about. (Mike (Tro)check, anyone?) Mark my words, I will resist the urge.
Ahem.
Let's talk about scoring rates a bit. Anyone can jump onto the waiver wire and sort players by who has scored the most power-play points, but what that doesn't take into account is the underlying situations behind these points. Some teams have had fewer opportunities, some players are making a mark on a second unit, some top unit guys are on a team that goes with something close to a 50/50 split between their two units compared to a team like Washington where it's more like 75/25.
Scoring rates may help identify players who could still be out there or who are worth a look in a trade because there is more value than meets the eye.
Mike Cammalleri, LW, NJD - Don't be fooled by his single power-play goal this year, Cammalleri is putting up points at the sixth-highest rate (points per 60 minutes of power-play time or P/60) in the league among players who have played at least 50
Hey, you're thinking, You're not Mark McLarney, that bastion of reliable power play wisdom.
You're right. But you can call me Mark today if you want. I'll be Mark today, but with 100 percent more bad puns. I'll try to withhold, though, to better simulate the experience you're used to. But with great power comes great responsibility. I'll resist the urge to make a mic check joke with the first two players I'm going to talk about. (Mike (Tro)check, anyone?) Mark my words, I will resist the urge.
Ahem.
Let's talk about scoring rates a bit. Anyone can jump onto the waiver wire and sort players by who has scored the most power-play points, but what that doesn't take into account is the underlying situations behind these points. Some teams have had fewer opportunities, some players are making a mark on a second unit, some top unit guys are on a team that goes with something close to a 50/50 split between their two units compared to a team like Washington where it's more like 75/25.
Scoring rates may help identify players who could still be out there or who are worth a look in a trade because there is more value than meets the eye.
Mike Cammalleri, LW, NJD - Don't be fooled by his single power-play goal this year, Cammalleri is putting up points at the sixth-highest rate (points per 60 minutes of power-play time or P/60) in the league among players who have played at least 50 power-play minutes. Cammalleri and his eight power-play points are on New Jersey's top power-play unit, though, more than most teams, the Devils tend to run a 1A and 1B scenario with nine players averaging two to three power-play minutes per game. The only one above that is Patrik Elias, who just returned to the lineup and has been added to Cammalleri's unit.
With a 21.3-percent success rate on the power play, the Devils actually have a lot of players between their two units who have a solid scoring rate. Inside the NHL's top 50 are Cammalleri, Kyle Palmieri (21st) and Travis Zajac (38th), who Mark had as one of his early season surprises.
Vincent Trocheck, C, FLA - Hailing from another team that gives a pretty even split between their two units, Trocheck has put up points at the 14th-best rate league wide. Part of his rate is that he's a second unit guy, so he's seen fewer minutes both because his team does a split between the two units (they have 10 players averaging between two and three power-play minutes per game) and then again because he's getting slightly less by being on the second unit.
Trocheck has made the most of his time on the second unit, contributing three goals and three assists on the year. In a deeper league or tight cap situation, Trocheck provides added value for a player of his skill level. That second unit label may trick some into thinking he's playing less than he is. He averages the most minutes of any of team forward who is outside the four forwards on the top unit.
Thomas Vanek, LW, MIN - Even a few days ago I wouldn't have been too sure about adding Vanek here. He moved up to the team's top unit when Zach Parise went down with an injury, and it wasn't clear that he'd retain a spot on the top unit when Parise returned. Adding to the complication is that the Wild are a team that give the lion's share of power-play time to the top unit, limiting the potential production of the second unit. However, Vanek stuck on the top unit even after Parise returned Friday.
Vanek ranks 20th in the league in P/60 at 6.68. With what may be a more permanent move to the top unit, his minutes could stay high and could keep him rolling. Expectations for Vanek coming into the season were low after an injury-plagued 2014-15 season, but his mobility and production have indicated that he was hampered by the injuries he was skating through much more than most thought. Noting how little he saw the power play earlier in the year, his three goals and three assists are solid.
P.A. Parenteau, RW, TOR - The units in Toronto have been mixed and matched a bit, but the unit featuring Parenteau, Peter Holland, Tyler Bozak, Dion Phaneuf and Brad Boyes has been favored lately. That's pretty good news for anyone who owns Parenteau, because Parenteau has been effective in his power-play time. With four goals and an assist, he's scoring goals at the seventh-best rate of anyone in the league. He's providing a lot of added value there. It's possible he could see some uptick in his power-play time, but don't bet on a huge jump and know that the units there are a work in progress since the team is playing for the future. Nonetheless, he's been surprisingly effective on the man advantage.
Torey Krug, D, BOS - Who is getting the most power-play time for the Bruins? Brad Marchand who has the best power play P/60 in the NHL? Nope. It's Krug, who saw the most minutes of any Boston defender last year. His P/60 last season was 4.24. This season he's putting up 6.44 assists per 60 minutes, the fifth-best rate in the NHL. He has yet to score a goal, but that should come. With Patrice Bergeron and Loui Eriksson tied for fifth in the league in power -play goals and the team leading the NHL in power-play success, Krug's likely to keep this rolling for a bit. Will it stay that astronomically high all year? Probably not, but it's an indication that things are clicking with Krug at the point on the power play. He's a key to the team's power play success and they're having a lot of success.
