Power Play Stacking
This is a new weekly free article, looking at special teams to find some power play stacks every Monday.
6 games with a large DraftKings contest (Light the Lamp) tonight for some reason, so have fun out there.
Boston Bruins vs. Minnesota Wild
| Stats | Minnesota | Boston |
| PP Time/Game | 5:16 | 5:21 |
| PK Time/Game | 5:59 | 6:56 |
| PP Shot Rate (/60) | 49.29 | 53.12 |
| PK Shot Allowed Rate | 55.08 | 48.97 |
| PP HD Chance Rate | 19.91 | 18.64 |
| PK HD Chance Allowed Rate | 22.53 | 15.2 |
| Conclusion: There’s not much to like about the Minnesota power play tonight, beyond the fact that the Bruins take too many penalties. Their penalty kill is fantastic at suppressing shots and chances against, while the Wild are a bottom third at generating. There’s a reason the Bruins sit 4th in terms of PK%, and it’s not thanks to goaltending. The Boston PP doesn’t impress much, especially without Brad Marchand. There are more exciting places to look tonight, especially given the poor shot and HD chance rate of the Bruins. |
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Vegas Golden Knights
| Stats | Vegas | Toronto |
| PP Time/Game | 7:37 | 5:15 |
| PK Time/Game | 5:30 | 5:53 |
| PP Shot Rate (/60) | 45.39 | 64 |
| PK Shot Allowed Rate | 60.35 | 57.76 |
| PP HD Chance Rate | 13.92 | 41.14 |
| PK HD Chance Allowed Rate | 28.05 | 19.03 |
| Conclusion: Although Vegas leads the league in power plays per game, they haven’t done much with it yet – their HD chance rate is laughably low, as is their shot rate. One of the issues is that a lot of the Vegas PP funnels through the point men, which explains how the ‘Knights sit sixth in Low-Danger chances/60. Given Freddie Andersen‘s incredibly poor LDSV%, they’re actually not a terrible play tonight, but there are still better areas to look at. Toronto is one of those better areas, as their shot rate (4th) and chance rate (1st) are incredibly good. Against a team on it’s fourth-string goalie that allow the 8th most HD chances against on the PK, both Toronto PP units should be in play. |
NY Rangers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
| Stats | Columbus | NY Rangers |
| PP Time/Game | 5:09 | 6:40 |
| PK Time/Game | 4:04 | 5:32 |
| PP Shot Rate (/60) | 44.10 | 58.72 |
| PK Shot Allowed Rate | 66.39 | 54.84 |
| PP HD Chance Rate | 10.82 | 21.57 |
| PK HD Chance Allowed Rate | 25.29 | 30.31 |
Conclusion: The Columbus PP has been absolutely awful to start the year, starting with the fact that they barely draw power plays in the first place. Once actually on the power play, they have the worst:
And they’re second-worst in Goals/60 after Buffalo. Against a New York penalty kill that struggles immensely with high-danger chances – their D corps collapse too easily around the net which leads to a ton of shots from the slot and Royal Road passes – they should play a little better tonight but shouldn’t be targeted for PP prowess. On the Rangers side, they draw penalties at a great rate, and face an atrocious PK. Lock ’em in. |
Washington Capitals vs. Arizona Coyotes
| Stats | Arizona | Washington |
| PP Time/Game | 5:33 | 5:05 |
| PK Time/Game | 3:29 | 6:39 |
| PP Shot Rate (/60) | 59.57 | 61.46 |
| PK Shot Allowed Rate | 46.96 | 65.65 |
| PP HD Chance Rate | 22.13 | 12.63 |
| PK HD Chance Allowed Rate | 14.89 | 24.46 |
| Conclusion: Looking at Arizona’s number of PPG allowed, it shouldn’t make sense that their shots and HD chances allowed on the PK are so low, but their poor goaltending (0.756) on the PK is to blame here. The Coyotes are excellent at not taking penalties (only 36 power plays given up in 15 games), and may limit Washington’s PP chances tonight. On the Arizona side, their high-danger chance rate is that of an above average team, and getting close to a shot a minute against the team that spends the sixth-most time on the PK on a per game basis while allowing the fourth-most shots should move Arizona’s PP near the top of the board today. |
Dallas Stars vs. Winnipeg Jets
| Stats | Winnipeg | Dallas |
| PP Time/Game | 5:24 | 4:19 |
| PK Time/Game | 5:49 | 6:33 |
| PP Shot Rate (/60) | 54.56 | 74.3 |
| PK Shot Allowed Rate | 79.28 | 45.79 |
| PP HD Chance Rate | 17.9 | 36.65 |
| PK HD Chance Allowed Rate | 29.33 | 21.59 |
| Conclusion: The Stars are incredible on the power play, with the best shot rate and Xth best HD rate. Against the Jets who struggle immensely on the PK – 5th worst HDCA, 2nd worst SA/60 – the Stars power play would be the stack of the night. One of the issues with this is that Dallas doesn’t draw many power plays, only 40 in 14 games, and they face a Jets team that’s in the upper half in terms of avoiding penalties. On the Jets’ side, they’re relatively disappointing as a PP unit. Their shot rate and HD chance rate aren’t reflective of how good they should be, and they’re not even attempting that many shots – just 88.66/60. It’s a good sign that they’re good a good percentage of shots through, but that rate would make them a fade tonight. |
Vancouver Canucks vs. Detroit Red Wings
| Stats | Detroit | Vancouver |
| PP Time/Game | 4:37 | 7:09 |
| PK Time/Game | 6:09 | 5:34 |
| PP Shot Rate (/60) | 44.96 | 52.29 |
| PK Shot Allowed Rate | 63.72 | 53.78 |
| PP HD Chance Rate | 15.56 | 16.14 |
| PK HD Chance Allowed Rate | 29.26 | 19.03 |
| Conclusion: Vancouver is elite at drawing penalties, and against a plodding Detroit defense that spend too much time in the box (mostly stick infractions) and allow the fifth-most shots/60 on the PK they should be in play tonight. The Canucks could stand to take more shots on the power play, but they should have some opportunities tonight. On the other side, Detroit barely sees PP time and struggle at both getting shots on and high-danger chances. The Vancouver PK is an upper third team that should help shut down the DET PP. |
| Power Plays to Target |
| 1) DAL |
| 2) ARI |
| 3) NYR |
| 4) VAN |