In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll discuss power-play situations for the Leafs and Hurricanes. These are two of the top teams not only in the East, but the entire league, and their man advantage is a reason why. This piece will talk about the top producers from each team, some guys that are struggling, and what changes have been made. These are very important spots for fantasy so they are worth digging into. Let’s do that:

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs' power play got off to a rough start this year, converting on 14.8% of their chances through nine games in October. An unproductive power play led to underwhelming starts for some of Toronto's top players. For example, Mitch Marner failed to register a point with the man advantage in October. Without any power-play production, he started the year with just three points in nine games. Auston Matthews put up just two points through six October appearances (he missed the team's first three games while recovering from offseason wrist surgery) – neither of those points came with the man advantage. The rest of Toronto's big guns weren't completely held off the power-play scoresheet, but John Tavares, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly combined for just four points with the man advantage in the team's first nine games. To provide some perspective, Jason Spezza alone had three power-play points in the same span.

Fortunately, the Leafs have bounced back from those early struggles. Since November 1^st, Toronto has the league's best power play, boasting a 37.3% success rate. During this stretch of 24 games, Matthews has 15 power-play points and Nylander has 12, with Rielly and Tavares each posting nine. Marner's missed some games during this stretch due to injury, but he's also been productive with seven power-play points through 17 appearances. It's worth mentioning that Ondrej Kase saw some time on the top unit while Marner was sidelined for a few weeks with a shoulder injury. Kase managed three power-play points in those six games.

I think it's interesting that when Toronto was struggling with the man advantage, players we'd probably classify as distributors were the ones taking a lot of the shots. During those six games in October when everyone on the top unit was healthy, Morgan Rielly had five shots and Mitch Marner had four. In contrast, since the power-play took off in November, Rielly has taken just 12 shots in 24 games while Marner has taken four in 17. Now I'm not saying that Rielly and Marner are bad shooters and the power play turned around when they started shooting less. However, on a top unit that consists of Marner, Rielly, Matthews, Tavares and Nylander, I think it makes sense for Rielly and Marner to act as playmakers while the other three look to shoot. 

Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina had the league's second-best power play last season, converting on 25.6% of their chances. Back then, the top unit primarily consisted of Dougie Hamilton, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Vincent Trocheck and Jordan Staal. Staal had been filling in for Teuvo Teravainen, who missed significant stretches of the 2021 campaign due to COVID-19 and a concussion. Now that Teravainen's healthy, he's back in his usual spot on the top unit. Of course, that means Staal's role on the power-play has been reduced significantly. He went from seeing 59% of the team's total power-play time last year to 28% this season. He has two points with the man advantage through 31 outings – a steep drop from the 14 he posted in 53 games last season. As you can imagine, Staal's fall has opened the door for Teuvo to take off.

As we've already established, last season was an injury-riddled one for Teravainen. He saw 43% of Carolina's total time with the man advantage and posted just two power-play points through 21 appearances. Some quick math tells us he was on pace for roughly eight power-play points in a typical 82-game campaign. To provide some perspective, he posted at least 20 PPPs in three-straight seasons prior to last year. Fortunately, this season has seen him return to full health and bounce back offensively. Teravainen's seeing 65% of Carolina's power-play time and leads the team with 12 PPPs through 33 games. He's taken 49 shots with the man advantage, which also leads the team. Aho and Svechnikov aren't far behind with 41 and 40, respectively. You could say they form a three-headed monster on the power-play. Each player possesses a strong shot and isn't afraid to shoot the puck, so there isn't really one trigger man that opposing penalty kills can focus on shutting down. We saw a similar dynamic bring Carolina success last season, but Dougie Hamilton was the third shooter instead of Teravainen.   

Speaking of Hamilton, another major difference between Carolina's power-play this year and last year is that Tony DeAngelo has replaced Hamilton on the point. While Hamilton was more of a shooter, DeAngelo's been more of a distributor. Through 26 appearances, DeAngelo has eight points with the man advantage, all of which are assists, with six of those assists being primary.

One player we haven't talked much about yet is Vincent Trocheck, who's played a prominent role on the power play both this year and last. Trocheck led the team with 18 power-play points in 47 games last season but has just six through 33 games this year. With Carolina's new power-play setup, it seems Trocheck doesn't factor into as much of the offense. He's registered a point on 38% of power-play goals scored while he's on the ice – a significant drop from last year's 69% share.