In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll discuss players enjoying a higher volume of shots, ice time, or power-play points compared to last season.

Shots on Goal

Martin Necas

Necas's breakout performance this year has received a fair amount of attention. Although his impressive point totals have been highlighted frequently, his improved shot totals haven't been discussed as much – probably because such a stat holds more weight in fantasy leagues than it does in real life. The 23-year-old forward currently sits 19^th in the league with 131 shots through 37 appearances. That translates to 3.5 shots per game, which is a massive jump from the 2.0 shots per game he posted last season. It'll be interesting to see how if his deployment and output changes once Max Pacioretty returns to the lineup.

Nico Hischier

The Devils' captain has quietly taken his offensive game to new heights in recent years, thriving behind the scenes while teammate Jack Hughes soaks up most of the spotlight in New Jersey. Although Hischier's point totals took off last season, it wasn't until this year that he took his shot totals in a similar direction. Throughout most of his career, he'd hovered around two shots per game. This year, he's averaging more than three a night. Putting the puck on net more has resulted in more goals as Hischier is currently on pace for a career-high 36-goal campaign. 

Ice Time

Travis Konecny

Oftentimes when a new coach takes over a team, there's a small window for players to make a good impression – while the coach's deployment decisions are still somewhat fluid. Looking at the Flyers' time on ice this season, it's clear that Travis Konecny has made a good impression on John Tortorella. The 25-year-old forward is skating 20 and a half minutes per game – a three-minute increase from last season. The extra opportunity has resulted in more production as Konecny has 37 points in 32 games. He's on pace for 95 points, which represents a massive jump from the 54-point pace he finished with last year.

Jake DeBrusk

DeBrusk has shown great improvement in all three categories we're discussing this week. However, I chose to put him in the ice-time section because I think that more time on ice is fueling his increased shot totals and power-play production. The 26-year-old forward is averaging 17 minutes of action per game this season, which represents a two-minute jump from last year. With more minutes, he's managed 30 points through 36 games – a career-high 68-point pace. He'd been limited to a secondary power-play role over the last two seasons, which resulted in just seven points with the man advantage through 118 games (0.06 PPP/game). This year, he already has 11 in 36 contests (0.31 PPP/game).

Tim Stützle

Stützle ranks 23^rd among league forwards in average ice time, skating over 20 minutes per game. His current average represents a two-minute increase from last season. The extra ice time has allowed Stützle to find the scoresheet more often as he's currently scoring at a point-per-game pace. Continuing this discussion of deployment, it's worth noting that he's still seeing a prominent role on the power play, enjoying a 62% share of Ottawa's total time with the man advantage. Heading into the season, there was concern that recent additions Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat would eat into Stützle's role on the power play. That would have been a big deal as nearly half of Stützle's points last year came with the man advantage. Fortunately, that hasn't been the case, and Stützle currently has more power play points per game (0.45) than he did last year (0.34).

Power-Play Points

Tage Thompson

Even though Thompson's insane showing this season has been discussed at length, it still hasn't been discussed enough. One of the most interesting things about his output is his power-play production. Last year, he tallied 16 points with the man advantage through 78 games (0.21 PPP/game). He's already surpassed that total this season with 22 power-play points through 35 appearances this year (0.63 PPP/game). He's a key fixture of a Sabres' power play that sits third in the league with a success rate of 28%. Aside from power-play production, Thompson also deserves a shout out for improving his shot totals. He went from a solid 3.2 shots per game last year to a ludicrous 4.4 shots per game this season, emerging as one of the league's top volume shooters.

Mathew Barzal

After posting 20 power-play points in 73 games last year (0.27 PPP/game), Barzal already has 15 through 38 appearances this season (0.39 PPP/game). His increased production with the man advantage doesn't seem to be a product of team opportunity or team success. The Islanders rank near the bottom of the league in both power-play opportunities per game (3.00) and power-play conversion rate (18.4%). Rather, it appears he's benefitting from a more prominent role with the man advantage – in terms of both the minutes he's playing, as well as his involvement in generating offense. He's seeing 72% of the team's total power-play time – up from last year's share of 63% – and he's getting a point on 88% of power-play goals scored while he's on the ice – up from last year's share of 77%.