In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll discuss a storyline for each team's power play. Many of these notes came up while I was putting together my piece for Dobber's Midseason Guide. So, if you're looking for more thoughts like this, as well as tons of insightful information to prepare for the home stretch of your fantasy championship, be sure to secure your copy of the guide here!

Boston Bruins

With Jake DeBrusk sidelined, it looks like Taylor Hall is seeing more time with Boston's top power-play unit. Hall held a 41% share of the team's total PP time before DeBrusk got injured on January 2^nd. In these last three games without DeBrusk, Hall has seen 72% of the Bruins' time with the man advantage.

Buffalo Sabres

It took some time for Dylan Cozens to earn a top power-play role, but his production improved significantly after getting one.Prior to November 19^th, Cozens had been seeing just 40% of Buffalo's total power-play time, posting one point with the man advantage through 17 games. Since November 19^th, he holds a 62% share of the team's time with the man advantage, posting 12 power-play points over 21 games.

Carolina Hurricanes

Stefan Noesen has been a surprising piece of Carolina's power play this year, seeing 52% of the team's total time with the man advantage. He leads the team with six power-play goals –

tallying ten points with the man advantage through 37 games this season. Noesen was injured for Max Pacioretty's first two games with the Hurricanes, so it'll be interesting to see what Carolina's power-play units look like now that all the team's PP personnel is healthy.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Shortly after he was called up from the AHL, Marcus Bjork began seeing prominent power-play time in place of the injured Zach Werenski. Since November 19^th, Bjork holds a 64% share of Columbus' total power-play time, tallying six points with the man advantage in 22 games.

Detroit Red Wings

It took Hronek 78 games to register seven power-play points last year (0.09 PPP/game). Halfway through this year, he already has 12 through 38 appearances (0.32 PPP/game). He's seeing 45% of Detroit's total time with the man advantage, which doesn't seem like enough to sustain such a high level of power-play production long term. It's been sufficient thus far because Detroit has seen a high volume of power play opportunity, ranking fourth in the league with 3.63 power-play opportunities per game.

Florida Panthers

Brandon Montour is seeing more power-play opportunity than anyone predicted heading into the year, holding a 71% share of Florida's total time with the man advantage. Through 39 games, Montour has 13 power-play points (0.33 PPP/game) – a significant increase from the eight he posted in 81 games last year (0.10 PPP/game).

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal's power play is better when Sean Monahan is in the lineup. The Canadiens converted on 17.1% of their chances through 25 games with Monahan. In 16 games without Monahan, their power-play success rate is 11.5%. He should be back in a couple of weeks, so we'll see if his return can spark Montreal's league-worst power play.

New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton are locked into the team's top power-play group, but the final spot on that unit seems to be up for grabs. Tomas Tatar has been the fifth wheel recently, but he doesn't have a single power-play point through 40 games this year. Ondrej Palat is easing his way back into the lineup after being sidelined for over a month with a groin injury. He may get a look on the top unit at some point in the near future.

New York Islanders

Coach Lane Lambert has shown an increased willingness to let his top players loose on the power play. For example, Mathew Barzal is enjoying a 71% share of the team's total power-play time – a fair increase from the 63% share he saw under Barry Trotz last year. Similarly, Brock Nelson is up from 53% to 65% and Anders Lee is up from 59% to 67%. Thanks to the extra opportunity, all three players are producing more with the man advantage this year.

New York Rangers

After racking up 26 power-play goals through 81 games last year, Kreider has just four through 41 appearances this season. I don't think anyone expected him to replicate last year's lofty 39.3% shooting percentage, but his 10% conversion rate this year seems like an overcorrection. It's also worth noting that Vincent Trocheck is now on the top unit, taking the spot held by Ryan Strome last year. Trocheck shoots more than Strome did, so he may be eating into some of Kreider's opportunities. 

Ottawa Senators

Ottawa has benefitted from a high volume of power-play opportunity, sitting atop the league with 3.78 chances per game. That partially explains why a player like Giroux, who's only seeing 46.7% of the team's total power-play time, has a whopping 13 points with the man advantage through 40 games. He's getting a smaller piece of the pie, but because the pie is so big, that piece ends up being more substantial.

Philadelphia Flyers

Since December 5^th, Morgan Frost has been a prominent piece of Philadelphia's power play, seeing 63% of the team's total time with the man advantage. During this span of 16 games, Frost has 14 points – three of which came on the man advantage. Before December 5^th, Frost held a 40% share of Philly's PP time and failed to register a power-play point through 24 appearances.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Kris Letang has been away from the team recently, spending time with family following the death of his father. With Jeff Petry also sidelined due to a wrist injury, Ty Smith has stepped onto Pittsburgh's top power-play unit during the team's last few games. He hasn't registered a point with the man advantage yet but should have plenty of opportunities to produce. Rostered in just 1% of Yahoo Leagues, Smith could be a solid add in the short term.

Tampa Bay Lightning

I think concerns about Mikhail Sergachev dethroning Victor Hedman as Tampa's top fantasy defenseman have been blown out of proportion. Hedman's overall numbers are skewed by a few weeks of poor play (November 8^th to December 3^rd) that saw him post just one point in 12 games. He wasn't on the top power-play during that stretch, seeing just 36% of the team's total power-play time. During that period, Sergachev saw 59% of Tampa's time with the man advantage and racked up 13 points in 12 games – eight of which were scored on the power play. Fortunately for Hedman owners, he's been back on the top unit in recent weeks. Over the past month, Hedman has seen 64% of Tampa's power-play time while Sergachev has seen just 30%.

Toronto Maple Leafs

When Morgan Rielly was sidelined with a knee injury for 15 games (November 22^nd – December 28^th), Rasmus Sandin took his place on Toronto's power-play unit. During that stretch, the Leafs converted on 17% of their chances. That represents a significant drop from the 28% success rate they posted through 20 games before Rielly got injured.

Washington Capitals

Erik Gustafsson has eight points in seven outings since John Carlson went down with a head injury on December 23^rd. Gustafsson has benefitted from an increased role on the power-play, seeing 74% of the team's total time with the man advantage during this stretch. He's still available in 35% of Yahoo leagues and makes for a great add since Carlson is sidelined indefinitely.