When you are building your Daily Fantasy Hockey lineup it can be difficult to decide which team to target, which line to target and which power-play to target.
To try and make that decision easier, Dylan and I have created the Power-play report. Below you will find an in-depth look at how each team’s power-play will match-up with the opposition’s penalty-kill. We have also broken down how much their top power-play plays in comparison to their second unit.
Stats
- – All totals are per 60 minutes of 5v4 ice time.
- – SF/SA: Shots for/Shots against
- – SCF/SCA: Scoring Chances For/Against
- – HDCF/HDCA: High-Dangers Scoring Chances For/Against
- – PP1 Usage: The percentage of power-play time the top unit has played in the last five games.
Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
| Capitals PP | Penguins PK | |
| PP%/PK% | 36.6% (1st) | 81.6% (11th) |
| PP/PK per Gm | 3.2 | 3.0 |
| SH%/SV% | 28.26 SH% (1st) | .865 SV% (19th) |
| Shots | 41.14 (26th) | 54.32 (18th) |
| Scoring Chances | 41.15 (17th) | 54.32 (25th) |
| High-Danger Chances | 14.04 (28th) | 16.72 (7th) |
| PP1 Usage | 78.90% | —– |
| Penguins PP | Capitals PK | |
| PP%/PK% | 23.1% (12th) | 75.0% (25th) |
| PP/PK per Gm | 3.0 | 3.8 |
| SH%/SV% | 19.05 SH% (5th) | .778 SV% (30th) |
| Shots | 40.35 (31st) | 38.2 (2nd) |
| Scoring Chances | 55.72 (7th) | 43.29 (4th) |
| High-Danger Chances | 19.22 (18th) | 23.77 (23rd) |
| PP1 Usage | 65.30% | —– |
Analysis:
Despite their number-one ranked powerplay, the Capitals are a bottom-five team in shots and high-danger chances with the man advantage. Their success has been driven primarily by their 28.26% shooting percentage on the powerplay. While it’s no doubt in part thanks to Ovechkin’s heavy shot, it’s still an unsustainable formula for success. They’ll need to start generating more shots and quality chances if they want to preserve their number-one ranking. They still have a lot of upside in tonight’s game given the Penguins’ mediocre penalty-kill and goaltending.
Looking at the flip side of things, the Capitals have had some horrendous goaltending while shorthanded. Their .778 SV% is why their penalty-kill is ranked 25th in the league despite giving up the second-fewest shots per 60. If Holtby can tighten up his play tonight they might be able to blank the Penguins’ mighty powerplay. Pittsburgh toyed with a different powerplay setup in practice on Tuesday, opting to play Malkin and Crosby on separate units. If Crosby is on the second unit tonight, you can expect the PP1 usage to be lower than the 65.30% it’s been over the last five games.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Nashville Predators
| Avalanche PP | Predators PK | |
| PP%/PK% | 26.0% (9th) | 78.3% (20th) |
| PP/PK per Gm | 3.6 | 3.3 |
| SH%/SV% | 13.92 SH% (14th) | .868 SV% (17th) |
| Shots | 58.42 (8th) | 58.71 (21st) |
| Scoring Chances | 48.07 (18th) | 53.3 (21st) |
| High-Danger Chances | 22.93 (11th) | 23.54 (21st) |
| PP1 Usage | 66.40% | —– |
| Predators PP | Avalanche PK | |
| PP%/PK% | 11.8% (30th) | 85.0% (5th) |
| PP/PK per Gm | 3.6 | 4.2 |
| SH%/SV% | 7.46 SH% (28th) | .929 SV% (2nd) |
| Shots | 47.68 (22nd) | 59.76 (22nd) |
| Scoring Chances | 41.27 (27th) | 47.69 (14th) |
| High-Danger Chances | 12.81 (29th) | 25.49 (26th) |
| PP1 Usage | 60.10% | —– |
Analysis:
Colorado’s powerplay draws a solid matchup tonight against the Predators’ lowly penalty-kill. Nashville is a bottom-ten shorthanded team in terms of shots, scoring chances, and high-danger chances against, but they get bailed out by their goaltending quite frequently. You’ve got to expect Mackinnon and company to convert at least once in this matchup. Matt Calvert is playing the net-front presence on this unit right now, giving him some value as a punt play in DFS.
The Preds have struggled on both sides of special teams this season. Their title of second-worst powerplay in the league is well earned considering the shots and scoring chances they generate. They play some of the fewest minutes of any first unit in the league. They’ve seen just 60.10% of the powerplay ice time over the team’s last five games. Nashville is a dominant team at even strength, but they’ll need to clean up their special teams if they want to make another run deep into the playoffs.
Anaheim Ducks @ Calgary Flames
| Ducks PP | Flames PK | |
| PP%/PK% | 15.6% (25th) | 72.0% (27th) |
| PP/PK per Gm | 2.8 | 3.5 |
| SH%/SV% | 12.73 SH% (17th) | .804 (27th) |
| Shots | 48.05 (21st) | 50.45 (13th) |
| Scoring Chances | 47.17 (21st) | 45.05 (10th) |
| High-Danger Chances | 12.23 (30th) | 23.42 (20th) |
| PP1 Usage | 63.30% | —– |
| Flames PP | Ducks PK | |
| PP%/PK% | 16.7 (20th) | 79.6% (16th) |
| PP/PK per Gm | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| SH%/SV% | 10.99 SH% (23rd) | .890 SV% (8th) |
| Shots | 54.05 (15th) | 69.66 (30th) |
| Scoring Chances | 43.95 (22nd) | 66.87 (31st) |
| High-Danger Chances | 20.19 (15th) | 29.26 (20th) |
| PP1 Usage | 68.30% | —– |
Analysis:
The Ducks have struggled on the man advantage this season, but they’ve had some key players miss time to injury. The Flames’ penalty-killers have done a respectable job limiting shots and chances against, but the struggles of Mike Smith are evident in Calgary’s shorthanded SV% (.804). As a result, Anaheim’s powerplay carries more upside than usual tonight.
Anaheim is surrendering the most shots against and second-most scoring chances against while short-handed. Luckily for them, John Gibson has taken his game to another level this season. The team’s eighth-ranked shorthanded SV% is keeping their penalty-kill above water. Gibson is expected to get the night off tonight, with Ryan Miller likely to make the start in goal. The 38-year-old netminder has perfomed well for the Ducks, posting a .929 SV% over the last two seasons.
Top PP Advantages
1. Colorado
2. Washington
3. Anaheim
