This article is part of our The Man Advantage series.
Hi folks, and welcome back to another edition of The Man Advantage, where we try to keep you abreast of the latest developments in the ever-changing world of NHL power-play squads. This week, we highlight six of the hottest PP producers in the league over the last two weeks. Most of these players are still available in a large percentage of Yahoo formats, so look to snag them on the cheap from your league's waiver wire.
Ryan O'Reilly, C, BUF: While in Colordo, O'Reilly was playing second and third fiddle for the better part of five seasons to guys like Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny and Nathan MacKinnon. This season, however, O'Reilly has finally secured a top-line center role in Buffalo, and boy, is he ever making the most of it. With eight points in nine games to start the season, O'Reilly is one of the few bright spots for the lowly Sabres. He's also averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per night, three-and-a-half of which is coming on the power play – both career highs. In fact, seven of his nine points have been recorded with the man advantage, with four of those in the last five games, so it looks like he's really starting to heat up. In fantasy terms, for those of you who have an "avoid Buffalo at all costs" philosophy, you might want to look at this guy if he's still somehow available in your league – he's available in 32
Hi folks, and welcome back to another edition of The Man Advantage, where we try to keep you abreast of the latest developments in the ever-changing world of NHL power-play squads. This week, we highlight six of the hottest PP producers in the league over the last two weeks. Most of these players are still available in a large percentage of Yahoo formats, so look to snag them on the cheap from your league's waiver wire.
Ryan O'Reilly, C, BUF: While in Colordo, O'Reilly was playing second and third fiddle for the better part of five seasons to guys like Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny and Nathan MacKinnon. This season, however, O'Reilly has finally secured a top-line center role in Buffalo, and boy, is he ever making the most of it. With eight points in nine games to start the season, O'Reilly is one of the few bright spots for the lowly Sabres. He's also averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per night, three-and-a-half of which is coming on the power play – both career highs. In fact, seven of his nine points have been recorded with the man advantage, with four of those in the last five games, so it looks like he's really starting to heat up. In fantasy terms, for those of you who have an "avoid Buffalo at all costs" philosophy, you might want to look at this guy if he's still somehow available in your league – he's available in 32 percent of Yahoo formats.
Patrice Bergeron, C, BOS: OK, so Bergeron was drafted in the majority of leagues out there. But the extent of his performance still makes him worth mentioning. With 10 points in nine games, he's on pace for a 90-point campaign. That's highly unlikely, of course, given that he's never scored more than 73 points in his career – and even that was 10 years ago. So even if – OK when – he does cool off, he still has a great shot at finishing north of the 55 points he posted last season. On the power play, Bergeron now has four goals with two assists. That's pretty remarkable, considering he had just four PP goals all last season (along with 10 assists, mind you). With the Bruins leading the league in PP efficiency (a ridiculous 35.5 percent), Bergeron and David Krejci are arguably the hottest PP duo in the NHL. And keep in mind, Bergeron is about as dependable as they come, health-wise. The last five seasons, he's missed a grand total of 12 games, six in the strike-shortened 2012-13 season. Yahoo availability is just 7 percent, so the window for picking him up is closing quickly.
Vincent Trocheck, C, FLA: Scoring-wise, Trocheck has been a little feast-or-famine this season. After scoring four points in the Panthers' season opener against the Flyers (one goal, three assists, including two PP helpers), Trocheck then went stone cold the next five games. Now he's come alive again, with three goals and two assists in his last four games. Now with five PP points in 10 games, he's tied for fourth place in PP scoring, along with players like Jamie Benn, Henrik Zetterberg, Patrick Kane and John Carlson – pretty elite company. What's more, with the recent hand injury to Aleksander Barkov that will put him out of action 2-4 weeks, Trocheck may see even more PP time. For now, he's skating mostly on the third line with Brandon Pirri and Quinton Howden, but Panthers' coach Gerard Gallant mentioned Trocheck's name recently when talking about possible subs for Barkov up front. "We've got depth down the middle," Gallant said. "You miss Barkov, which is a big hole to fill. Then you put a guy like Trocheck there, or you could put a guy like Pirri there, who are natural centers anyway, and they can go in there and be real good players for us." Yahoo availability: 78 percent.
Travis Zajac, C, NJD: Zajac has been a major disappointment in New Jersey since recording back-to-back 60-plus point seasons in 2009 and 2010. In the five seasons since, he's broken the 40-point barrier only twice, and the most power-play goals he's recorded in a single season was the four he notched last year. Zajac even found himself skating on the Devils' third line for a stretch last year, during a period when Scott Gomez was knocking on the door. This year, however, he has seemingly rediscovered his game. With seven points in nine games, Zajac is on pace for his first 60-plus point campaign in five seasons. On the power play, he's already got three goals on the season, plus a helper, and showing excellent chemistry with newcomer Kyle Palmieri, who has five PP points of his own thus far (2G, 3A). Bottom line, these two are showing signs of forming a formidable tandem under new coach John Hynes. Yahoo availability: 93 percent.
Brendan Gallagher, RW, MON: Gallagher is another guy with a ton of talent, who has always left fantasy owners wanting more. He ranked 16th in the league last year in shots on goal last year with 254, but was only 46th in goals scored with 24. So far this season, he has 10 points in 12 games – almost a 70-point pace. On the power play, Gallagher has four goals this season – one more than he had all last season – and they've all come in the last seven games. Overall, Gallagher is fitting in very nicely on the Habs' top line alongside Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec. For a guy who has yet to hit the 50-point plateau in his short career, he's well on his way to doing that this season – and more. Yahoo availability: 18 percent.
Brent Seabrook, D, CHI: Seabrook has really stepped up his game since fellow blueliner Duncan Keith went down with a knee injury. Seabrook's ice time hasn't really gone up in Keith's absence, but his scoring sure has. In the five games since Keith's injury, Seabrook has seven points – two goals and five helpers – with four of those points coming on the power play. Now with five PP points in 11 games, Seabrook is tied with John Carlson and Torey Krug for league lead among defensemen. Considering he scored 15 man-advantage points all last season, he's already a third of the way there. With Keith expected to be out for four to six weeks, the Hawks will continue to rely heavily on Seabrook, who is skating on the team's first PP unit with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Andrew Shaw and Artemi Panarin. Yahoo availability: 12 percent.
