It is very early in the 2023-24 season, but we can see which players from each team have been given opportunities on the first or second unit of the power play. Some teams split 50/50, others 60/40 and some 80/20 like the Edmonton Oilers.

Most NHL teams tend to operate with 4F/1D on the power play but San Jose is trying a 5F deployment and Nashville is starting with a 3F/2D configuration.

Anaheim Ducks (split 60/40)

PP1

Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, Ryan Strome, Cam Fowler

PP2

Frank Vatrano, Jakob Silfverberg, Adam Henrique, Jamie Drysdale, Pavel Mintyukov

The fixtures on the first unit are Terry, Zegras and McTavish while Strome and Fowler could slide to the second unit. Rookie Leo Carlsson could slot in for Strome on the first unit when he gets back from injury.

It was encouraging to see Drysdale and Mintyukov get some good looks as the quarterbacks on the second unit.

Arizona Coyotes (70/30)

PP1

Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, Logan Cooley, Sean Durzi

PP2

Nick Bjugstad, Matias Maccelli, Jason Zucker, Lawson Crouse, Juuso Valimaki

The first unit scored twice with the man advantage in their first game of 2023-24, including rookie Cooley and newcomer Durzi. Their early success bodes well for Cooley to remain there for now.

Unfortunately, it knocks Maccelli down to the second unit for the time being. Maccelli produced 13 power-play points in 2022-2023 while playing 38.5 percent of the time on the power play.

J.J. Moser who averaged 43.5 percent on the power play in 2022-2023 and had 11 points with the man advantage is the early odd man out.

Calgary Flames (65/35)

PP1

Elias Lindholm, Jonathan Huberdeau, Matt Coronato, Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson

PP2

Andrew Mangiapane, Mikael Backlund, Adam Ruzicka, Dillon Dube, Noah Hanifin

Rookie Coronato got his first NHL goal and it was on the power play, so that won't hurt securing his spot early on. Lindholm, Huberdeau, Kadri and Andersson should be fixtures for most of the year.

Ruzicka has a regular role which includes a spot on the second unit of the power play. The chances of Yegor Sharangovich having a productive offensive role is diminishing as he has yet to see any power play time.

Chicago Blackhawks (60/40)

PP1

Connor Bedard, Ryan Donato, Corey Perry, Taylor Hall, Seth Jones

PP2

Nick Foligno, Taylor Raddysh, Tyler Johnson, Lukas Reichel, Kevin Korchinski

Bedard is the key player on the first unit but the Blackhawks have yet to cash in with the man advantage after three games and have given up a shorthanded goal.

Taylor Hall missed one game because of injury and he was replaced on the first unit by Lukas Reichel and Andreas Athanasiou slotted in for Reichel on the second unit.

Early struggles could cost Perry and Donato their spots on the first unit, but it could be said that there is already an issue with Perry being on the first unit, to begin with at this stage of his career. Reichel appears to be the next forward who could move up.

Colorado Avalanche (80/20)

PP1

Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan Johansen, Artturi Lehkonen, Cale Makar

PP2

Ross Colton, Jonathan Drouin, Valeri Nichushkin, Devon Toews, Bowen Byram

Colorado deploys their first unit about 80 percent of the time, so it doesn't leave much ice time for the second unit. Rantanen, MacKinnon and Makar are locked on the first unit while Lehkonen and Johansen are currently being given opportunities on what should be one of the top units in the NHL.

Jonathan Drouin and Nichushkin could see time on the first unit at some point as well as Toews or Byram if Makar misses some games. Samuel Girard will be hard-pressed to see much PP time.

Dallas Stars (70/30)

PP1

Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin, Miro Heiskanen

PP2

Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene, Evgenii Dadonov, Mason Marchment, Nils Lundkvist

It will be interesting to see how the Stars handle Matt Duchene who has been a regular on the first unit for most of his career and is only two years removed from scoring 16 PPGs when he was with Nashville. Right now, Seguin has the spot.

Thomas Harley will need to be patient as the quarterback role on the second unit is Nils Lundkivst's.

Edmonton Oilers (85/15)

PP1

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard

PP2

Connor Brown, Ryan Mcleod, Evander Kane, Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm

When you have a power play as successful as the Oilers do, one doesn't mess with success. They should stick to their top five and deploy them over 85% of the time.

McDavid had 71 PPPs in 2022-2023, while Draisaitl had 62, Nugent-Hopkins had 53, Hyman had 26 and Bouchard had 13. I'm not sure McDavid, Draisaitl or Nugent-Hopkins can improve on their totals but Hyman and Bouchard should if they are along for the ride most of the season.

Evander Kane has battled Hyman for the first unit role but it seems like Hyman's for now.

Los Angeles Kings (60/40)

PP1

Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Drew Doughty

PP2

Quinton Byfield, Alex Laferriere, Phillip Danault, Trevor Moore, Jordan Spence

The first unit for the Kings got roasted for two shorthanded goals in their last game against Carolina. Kempe was moved up in place of Danault and Jordan Spence dressed and was on the second unit over Matt Roy who had played there in game one.

Pierre-Luc Dubois and rookie Alex Laferriere are new to the roster for 2023-2024 and we could see some changes to both units as the season progresses. The locks for me are Kopitar, Fiala and Doughty.

Minnesota Wild (70/30)

PP1

Mats Zuccarello, Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Calen Addison

PP2

Marco Rossi, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson, Frederick Gaudreau, Alex Goligoski

Marco Rossi got a shot on the first unit in game one but was replaced by Joel Eriksson Ek for game two. I'd expect Rossi to shuffle back and forth depending on the success of that unit. Calen Addison has been given the keys to the top unit once again after struggling late in 2022-2023. The other quarterback options are Alex Goligoski or perhaps Brock Faber who has had an impressive start to this season.

Nashville Predators (65/35)

PP1

Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly, Cody Glass. Roman Josi, Tyson Barrie

PP2

Gustav Nyquist, Tommy Novak, Philip Tomasino, Luke Evangelista, Alexandre Carrier

Early on in 2023-2024, the Predators are running three forwards and two defensemen on their first unit. They have yet to score a PPG in three games, so this might not last. If they change it, Barrie is more than likely down to the second unit and perhaps Tommy Novak, Philip Tomasino or Luke Evangelista get a look at the first unit.

San Jose Sharks (60/40)

PP1

Tomas Hertl, Mike Hoffman, William Eklund, Anthony Duclair, Alexander Barabanov

PP2

Luke Kunin, Filip Zadina, Jacob Peterson, Thomas Bordeleau, Jan Rutta/Henry Thrun

The Sharks have deployed five forwards on their first unit for the first two games of 2023-2024 and have yet to score a PPG, so we will see how long they continue to experiment with that deployment.

Rookies William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau and Henry Thrun have seen their fair share of power play time and should continue to get an opportunity to succeed. Mikael Granlund was injured in the first game and is out for two to four weeks, so Jacob Peterson has replaced him in the lineup.

Seattle Kraken (55/45)

PP1

Oliver Bjorkstrand, Eeli Tolvanen, Kailer Yamamoto, Jaden Schwartz, Vince Dunn

PP2

Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, Andre Burakovsky, Matty Beniers, Justin Schultz

The Kraken are winless after their first three games and the power play has scored just one goal but the team has only two goals in total. These units seem interchangeable with the second unit easily capable of being the first unit. I'd be surprised if 40-goal scorer McCann and Beniers are not on the first unit for most of the season.

St. Louis Blues (60/40)

PP1

Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Brayden Schenn, Pavel Buchnevich, Torey Krug

PP2

Sammy Blais, Jakub Vrana, Kevin Hayes, Brandon Saad, Justin Faulk

Pavel Buchnevich only played 5:27 in the Blues’ last game and was replaced on the first unit by Kasperi Kapanen. The Blues have just two goals in their first two games and have not scored yet on the power play. Could this be Scott Perunovich‘s time?

If Buchnevich misses any time, Jakub Vrana or Kevin Hayes could replace him on the first unit. Kapanen would more than likely slide down to the second unit.

Vancouver Canucks (70/30)

PP1

Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, Andrei Kuzmenko, Quinn Hughes

PP2

Anthony Beauvillier, Sam Lafferty, Nils Hoglander, Pius Suter, Filip Hronek

The Canucks are following in the footsteps of Edmonton and Colorado and letting their top unit stay out longer on the power play. So far, it has worked with four PPGs in the first two games. All four forwards have scored on the power play already while Quinn Hughes has three assists.

Vegas Golden Knights (65/35)

PP1

Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone, Shea Theodore

PP2

William Karlsson, Ivan Barbashev, Nicolas Roy, Ben Hutton, Pavel Dorofeyev

Alex Pietrangelo is out of the lineup and has been replaced by Ben Hutton on the second unit. The first unit for the Golden Knights is not exactly a crew that will play 82 games in the year, so expect Eichel, Stone and Theodore to be replaced at different points during the season.

Rookie Pavel Dorofeyev has some offensive talent, so Vegas could slot him in on the power play where needed.

Winnipeg Jets (65/35)

PP1

Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi, Josh Morrissey

PP2

Nino Niederreiter, Cole Perfetti, Nikolaj Ehlers, Neal Pionk, Nate Schmidt

Nik Ehlers still can't catch a break to get on the first unit of the power play. The coaching staff has gone with newcomers Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi on the first unit to replace Blake Wheeler and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

To be fair, Ehlers was nursing an injury in the pre-season and has battled so many injuries in recent years that they might be easing him back into the lineup. I do think that Ehlers could replace Iafallo or Vilardi if either struggles at any time.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or players you'd like me to look at please message or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15.