Eastern Edge: Power-Play Situations for Nicklas Backstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom, and More
Brennan Des
2022-01-04
In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll discuss power-play situations for the Islanders, Capitals and Canadiens. This will be the first of two articles about power plays in the East and we'll cover a few more teams next week. Anyone looking for some power-play data can head over to Frozen Tools. There are combinations, shots, percentages, and a whole lot more. That goes for more than just the power play, too, as there is something for everyone.
| Conference Rank (League Rank) | Team | PP Opportunities/ Games Played | PP% |
| 1 (2) | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2.94 | 29.7 |
| 2 (7) | New York Rangers | 2.88 | 25.3 |
| 3 (9) | Carolina Hurricanes | 3.13 | 23.7 |
| 4 (11) | Boston Bruins | 2.96 | 21.7 |
| 5 (14) | Buffalo Sabres | 2.52 | 19.3 |
| 6 (15) | Ottawa Senators | 3.24 | 19.2 |
| 7 (17) | New York Islanders | 2.68 | 18.7 |
| 8 (19) | Tampa Bay Lightning | 3.09 | 18.1 |
| T9 (T22) | Florida Panthers | 3.28 | 17.1 |
| T9 (T22) | Columbus Blue Jackets | 2.53 | 17.1 |
| 11 (26) | Philadelphia Flyers | 2.91 | 16.1 |
| 12 (27) | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2.84 | 15.9 |
| 13 (28) | Washington Capitals | 2.94 | 15 |
| T14 (T30) | Detroit Red Wings | 2.73 | 14.4 |
| T14 (T30) | New Jersey Devils | 2.73 | 14.4 |
| 16 (32) | Montréal Canadiens | 2.94 | 11 |
New York Islanders
While the overall numbers paint the Islanders as a middle-of-the-pack power-play team, there's a stark contrast between their early and recent performances. New York had the league's worst power play during the first two months of the season, converting on just 10% of their chances. However, they've turned things around recently, capitalizing on 35% of their opportunities since the beginning of December. To provide some perspective, only the Leafs (41.4%) and Hurricanes (37%) have been better with the man advantage this past month.
I'd say there are two main catalysts behind New York's improved power play, the first of which is Oliver Wahlstrom. When the Isles PP was struggling during those first two months of the season, Wahlstrom skated on the second unit and held a 42% share of New York's total time with the man advantage. Since things turned around in December, he's been a prominent piece of the top unit, seeing 64% of the team's total PP time. Wahlstrom posted five power-play points in nine appearances during the month