Weekly Western Leaders (to February 7th, 2021)

Goals – 9 – Brock Boeser – Vancouver, Connor McDavid – Edmonton

Assists – 17 – Connor McDavid – Edmonton

Points – 26 – Connor McDavid – Edmonton

PPP – 11 – Connor McDavid – Edmonton

Shots on Goal – 48 – Connor McDavid – Edmonton, Patrick Kane – Chicago

Shooting % (min 12 SOG) – 41.7 – Joonas Donskoi – Colorado

PIM – 31 – Tyler Myers – Vancouver

Best plus/minus – plus 11 – Jaden Schwartz – St. Louis, Leon Draisaitl – Edmonton

Worst plus/minus – minus 12 – Quinn Hughes – Vancouver

Hits – 70 – Tyler Motte – Vancouver

Blocked shots – 42 – Adam Larsson – Edmonton

FOW – 172 – Bo Horvat – Vancouver

FOL – 150 – Bo Horvat – Vancouver

FO% (min 75 FO) – 64.2 – Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado

Giveaways – 21 – Calvin De Haan – Chicago

Takeaways – 13 – Mark Scheifele – Winnipeg

Highest GAR (goals above replacement) – 7.1 – Cale Makar – Colorado

Lowest GAR – minus 3.8 – Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg

Highest xGAR (expected goals above replacement) – 6.6 – Connor McDavid – Edmonton

Lowest xGAR – minus 3.6 – Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg

Highest CF% (min 6 GP) – 62.7 – Alexander Radulov – Dallas, Isac Lundestrom – Anaheim

Lowest CF% (min 6 GP) – 36.2 – Mattias Janmark – Chicago

Highest PDO (min 6 GP) – 112.9 – Nicolas Hague – Vegas

Lowest PDO (min 6 GP) – 84.9 – Austin Wagner – Los Angeles

Goalie wins – 7 – Philipp Grubauer – Colorado

Save percentage (min 5 starts) – 93.4 – Philipp Grubauer – Colorado

Quality starts – 7 – John Gibson – Anaheim,

Quality start % (min 5 starts) – 75.0 – Kevin Lankinen – Chicago

Shutouts – 2 – John Gibson – Anaheim, Philipp Grubauer – Colorado, Jacob Markstrom – Calgary

Although it is pretty early in the season, there are some definite trends taking place so we will look at each team in the West and their power plays and how they are faring. I will be referencing PPP/60PPMIN and for perspective, I would say anything above six is above average and anything below three is below average. Unless your name is Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak or Leon Draisaitl, anything above 10 is most likely unsustainable. The league leaders since October 2018 are McDavid and Pastrnak at 8.9 and Draisaitl at 8.1.

Anaheim

This PP has struggled for a few years and continues to do so this season at a 6.7 percent success rate (31st overall) with an abysmal 0.0 net percentage (less short-handed goals). Last season their unit was 30th overall. Compounding the poor success with the man advantage is the fact that they are 30th in the NHL in PP opportunities at only 2.31/game which makes their 1.85 goals/game understandable.

Individually the first unit has been a mix of Ryan Getzlaf (2.7 PPP/60PPMIN), Rickard Rakell (0.0), Sam Steel (0.0), Kevin Shattenkirk (0.0), Danton Heinen (2.8), Jakob Silfverberg (2.3), Cam Fowler (2.3), Troy Terry (0.0) and Adam Henrique (0.0) all between 42.9 and 54.9 percent of PPTOI. Hampus Lindholm has been the most productive player on the Ducks at 4.5 since October 2018 but has not been given much of an opportunity with the man advantage this season until recently, even though he has 4.4 in just over 13 minutes of PP time (24.7 percent of PP). Max Comtois might be another option as he is at 3.6 in just over 16 minutes of PP time (30.4 percent). Rakell leads the team with 12 SOG while on the PP.

Arizona

The Coyotes are sitting 15th in the NHL on the PP at 20.9 percent and 6th in PP opportunities per game with 3.91 which are an improvement to where they sat last season in both categories (16th and 13th).

Christian Dvorak leads the team with three PP goals and has 5.8/60PPMIN as well as 57.7 percent on the PP. Other first unit players are Nick Schmaltz (5.0), Phil Kessel (6.0), Conor Garland (5.0), Jakob Chychrun (4.8) and surprisingly Clayton Keller (1.7) just had his first point on the PP this past weekend. Since October 2018, Nick Schmaltz has led this team at 5.6 while Clayton Keller is at 4.0. Chychrun leads the Coyotes with 12 SOG with the man advantage followed by Kessel with nine.

Calgary

On the surface the Flames PP is chugging along at 23.4 percent good for 11th overall but if you take into account the three SH goals they've given up they drop to 17.0 percent and 18th in the league. As for opportunities they are 3rd in the NHL at 4.27/game which isn't surprising when you have Matthew Tkachuk on your team. Last season the Flames were 18th and 24th in both categories.

Since October 2018, Elias Lindholm has been the top producer on the PP at 6.1 and is continuing to do so this season at 7.4. Other top unit players are Johnny Gaudreau (6.7), Matthew Tkachuk (5.1), Rasmus Andersson (4.1) and Sean Monahan (3.5). Andersson has been slumping a little lately and Mark Giordano (6.8) has been taking advantage of his opportunities, so this could cost Andersson some minutes. Dillon Dube (10.0) is an intriguing player that should see more time but it will be difficult to supplant any of the players currently on the first unit. Tkachuk leads the team in shots on goal with 12 while Gaudreau leads with three goals.

Chicago

The Blackhawks have been very good on the PP so far this season at 36.6 percent, good for 4th overall while their opportunities sit at 3.15/game which is good for 25th overall. They have improved greatly as the team was 29th overall and 10th in opportunities last year.

Patrick Kane has been the key player on the top unit for many seasons and leads the team since 2018 at 5.7, while Jonathan Toews‘s absence is not hurting the team at all with the man advantage as he was only at 3.7 over that same period. This season, Dominik Kubalik has been lights out, leading the team with nine PP points and a 22.2 PPP/60PPMIN which should put him on the top unit to stay. Other top unit players are Alex DeBrincat (7.7), Dylan Strome (7.1), Patrick Kane (6.7), Andrew Shaw (5.0) and split between Duncan Keith (5.4) and Adam Boqvist (5.7). Other names to monitor that have produced with limited minutes are Lucas Wallmark (25.9), Pius Suter (8.5) and Philipp Kurashev (12.4). Kubalik leads the team in SOG with 13 followed by Kane with 11 while Kubalik, DeBrincat and Strome each have three goals.

Colorado

The Avalanche are currently 8th overall with a 26.9 percentage but like last season they get a lot of opportunities and are currently 1st overall with 4.73 PP/game. This is an improvement on last year where they ranked 17th and 1st in both.

Nathan MacKinnon has been the straw that stirs the Colorado PP since October 2018 at 6.6 PPP/60PPMIN, and that has continued this season as he leads the first unit at 7.4, while other top unit players Cale Makar (6.6), Mikko Rantanen (4.4), Nazem Kadri (3.3) and Gabriel Landeskog (1.1) contribute. Players to watch are Andre Burakovsky (16.0) who has five PPP in only 30.0 percent of PP time, Devon Toews (11.9), Joonas Donskoi (11.0) and Samuel Girard (10.6). The second unit has done well so far. Bowen Byram saw 22.9 percent of the PP time in his eight games but has yet to record a PP point. MacKinnon and Kadri lead the team with SOG at 17 each, followed by Rantanen with 13 who leads the team with three goals.

Dallas

The Stars PP has rejuvenated 36-year-old Joe Pavelski into a two-point per game player. The unit is 3rd overall at 36.8 percent combined with 4.22 PP/game which is 4th overall in the NHL. Surely the team will come back to earth and be closer to last season where they were 10th and 19th overall in both.

Miro Heiskanen isn't going to supplant John Klingberg on the first unit as long as the latter produces 7.6 PPP/60PPMIN from October 2018. The numbers have been off the charts for the first unit this season and can only come down. The team is led by Roope Hintz (14.4) and followed by Joe Pavelski (12.9), Klingberg (9.5), Alexander Radulov (10.1) and Denis Gurianov (8.3). Jamie Benn (0.0) has missed four games but will struggle to get his spot back while Heiskanen (4.7) will just need to be patient and make the most of his opportunities. Gurianov has the lead in SOG with 12 and is followed closely by Pavelski but Pavelski has converted on five of those shots to lead the team while Gurianov has three goals.

Edmonton

The best PP in the NHL last season is currently 8th overall at 26.5 percent while being 13th in opportunities at 3.77 per game. I expect this unit to be the only team able to sustain their current success as the season progresses and they should move up the rankings this season and this could be enough to see them in the playoffs.

No surprise but McDavid leads the team at 9.5, while other first unit players are Leon Draisaitl (7.7), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (5.9) and Tyson Barrie (5.1). The team had Alex Chiasson (0.0) on the top unit for seven games but is starting to look at alternatives in James Neal (2.9) and Jesse Puljujarvi (2.8) which makes sense. Darnell Nurse has made an argument for himself (8.8) on the second unit but there is no way this team will move from Barrie in the short-term unless he struggles. Kailer Yamamoto (0.0) who deserves more time with the man advantage has been stuck at only 9.3 percent of the PP so far this year. McDavid leads the team in SOG with 20, followed by Draisaitl with 19. Both have four goals while Nugent-Hopkins has three on 14 shots.

Los Angeles

Part of the offensive surge in LA has been on the PP where the team is clicking at 20.9 percent which is good for 14th in the league. They have also drawn their fair share of penalties and are 7th with 3.91 PP/game. Last season was 19th and 25th overall in both.

The veterans are certainly leading the charge as Anze Kopitar (10.3) already has eight PPP in 11 games and Dustin Brown (7.1), Drew Doughty (5.2), Alex Iafallo (2.9) and Adrian Kempe (4.2) are the other members of their first unit. Other players seeing second unit time are Andreas Athanasiou (3.8), Sean Walker (3.7), Michael Amadio (2.6), Gabriel Vilardi (2.5) and Jeff Carter (2.0). Arthur Kaliyev did see 45 percent of PP time in his one game, so perhaps something to monitor. Carter leads the team with 12 SOG while Brown continues to produce at 36-years old with four goals.

Minnesota

The Wild are 30th in PP percentage at 7.1 and 10th overall in opportunities with 3.82/game. They should improve as they were 13th overall and 9th in opportunities.

The arrival of Kirill Kaprizov (1.2) has yet to kick start the first unit that still deploys two defenders regularly. Zach Parise leads the team with 2.7 PPP/60PPMIN followed by Kevin Fiala (1.7), Ryan Suter (1.6), Matt Dumba (0.0) and Jared Spurgeon (0.0). The team is battling some injuries and Covid so I'm sure some changes are imminent when the Wild are back playing in a few days. Look for Joel Eriksson Ek (4.1) or Jonas Brodin (0.0) to get some looks if things don't improve. Kevin Fiala leads the team with 14 SOG.

Nashville

The Predators are 23rd in the NHL with a 14.6 percent success rate on the PP and are 15th overall in drawing penalties at 3.73 chances per game. How this unit struggles with the talent they have is beyond me as they were 25th overall last year after drawing the 4th most opportunities.

We will see if Mathieu Olivier can sustain his one goal in 44 seconds of PP time which is good for an 81.8 PPP/60PPMIN. The players on the first unit are led by Ryan Johansen (6.3), Filip Forsberg (4.8), Matt Duchene (3.6), Viktor Arvidsson (3.4), and Roman Josi (1.5). Players on the cusp of the first unit are Ryan Ellis (4.0), Nick Cousins (3.8) and Mikael Granlund (0.0). Forsberg and Arvidsson lead the team with 15 SOG and Forsberg has two goals.

San Jose

The Sharks are currently 20th overall with a 15.8 percent success rate and a respectable 11th overall in opportunities with 3.80/game. They have improved in both categories as last season they were 23rd and 27th respectively.

Brent Burns (3.2) and Erik Karlsson (1.6) still run the PP on the Sharks, but are the bottom two producers on the top unit so how long can that last? Tomas Hertl (7.1), Evander Kane (5.5) and Logan Couture (3.5) are the others on the top unit and are producing well enough. Players that should get more time are Timo Meier (8.6) with only 36.1 percent of PP time, Ryan Donato (5.6) at 36.6 and perhaps Mario Ferraro (3.1) at 33.4. Surprisingly Kevin Labanc (0.0) has no points yet with 43.0 percent of PPTOI. Burns leads the team in SOG with 12 and Hertl in goals with two.

St. Louis

The Blues are struggling this season with the man advantage and are currently 28th overall with a 10.0 percent success rate while only being 20th in opportunities at 3.33/game. This is a far cry from having the 4th best PP last season while being 20th in opportunities.

David Perron (4.7) is the focal point on the PP, leading the team in SOG with 14, while other members of the first unit are Ryan O'Reilly (3.2), Torey Krug (3.0), Jaden Schwartz (1.6) and Brayden Schenn (1.6). Players that could see more time are Jordan Kyrou (3.7) with only 25.6 percent of PP time, Mike Hoffman (2.6), Vince Dunn (2.6). Krug is starting to produce some 5 on 5 points and should see his PP rate increase during the season. Robert Thomas was injured on the weekend and will miss four to six weeks with a broken thumb.

Vancouver

The Canucks are a disappointing 19th overall with a 17.0 percent success rate but if you take into account shorthanded goals they fall to 11.3 percent and 24th overall as they have allowed three shorthanded goals. They are also struggling to get opportunities as they are only 19th overall with 3.53 per game. Last season the team got into the bubble partially based on their 2nd overall ranking in both categories, so they have a long way to go to get back to where they were. Last season in 69 games, they allowed four SH goals and have already allowed three this year and are lucky it's not more.

Vancouver's top players are struggling and the PP is the only thing keeping them above water right now. J.T. Miller (7.7) and Quinn Hughes (6.8) are the keys to the PP right now, while Bo Horvat (3.5), Brock Boeser (3.4) and Elias Pettersson (2.5) are the other members of the top unit. The first unit has seen their TOI increase from what was around 60 percent to just north of 75 percent so far this season, but haven't had the results yet to justify. Pettersson and Boeser lead the team in SOG with 16, closely followed by Hughes at 15. Hughes leads the team with eight points while Boeser and Horvat each have three goals.

Vegas

The Golden Knights have had a slow start this season with the man advantage, which is surprising as they are currently 21st overall with a 15.6 percent success rate and they sit 17th overall with 3.56 opportunities per game. The team had the 5th best PP last season but struggled to draw penalties as they were 28th overall.

The top unit has been mixed up a little and currently, the only set pieces are Mark Stone (5.8) and Max Pacioretty (3.8). Cody Glass (10.5) has only dressed for five games but has been given 51.0 percent of PP time, while Shea Theodore (4.7) at 51.2, Alex Tuch (4.7) at 46.7, Alex Pietrangelo (2.4) at 53.8 and William Karlsson (1.9) at 57.7 are rotating until they find the right combination. Pacioretty leads the team in SOG with 12 but Glass has managed two goals in his limited time to lead the team.

Winnipeg

The Jets have had a decent PP for a few years now and are currently 20th overall at 16.0 percent success and the same ranking for opportunities at 3.64/game. Last year they were 11th and 18th respectively.

Winnipeg's first unit runs through Blake Wheeler (8.5), Kyle Connor (5.5), Mark Scheifele (5.0), Josh Morrissey (2.8) and Paul Stastny (1.5). Changes could be coming soon enough as they have Nikolaj Ehlers (5.8) at 30.9 percent, Adam Lowry (5.7) at 31.4, Andrew Copp (2.9) at 31.3 and Neal Pionk (2.5) at 36.3. Pierre-Luc Dubois is eligible to play and will certainly supplant Stastny. Connor leads the team with SOG at 15 and goals with four.

It is still early and new additions are adapting to their new teams and power plays can be the hardest hit early in the season. I have to think that is the case in Minnesota and St. Louis where Kaprizov and Krug are big additions to each team.

Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know below and/or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15.