With the holiday season in the rear-view mirror, it is time to get back to business and here is the first installment of the fantasy hockey Power Play Point Potential Rankings of 2014.
For you Daily Gamers out there, remember, the majority of sites reward additional points for power play points. You don’t receive a plus for power play goals, like your skaters would for an even strength goal. However, your plus can quickly turn into a even, or negative rating if your skaters are on the ice for goals against. The bonus for a power play point wont be going anywhere, making them even more valuable.
Remember the Defensive Rankings are one through thirty as worst to best, while the Offensive Rankings are first to worst. For example, the New York Islanders are ranked first in the Defensive Rankings, making them the most favorable matchup.
Good luck this week fake hockey fans and enjoy.
You can download this week’s Power Play Point Potential Rankings below:
December 18th Offensive PPPP Rankings
December 18th Defensive PPPP Rankings
Explanation of the PPPP Rankings
2013 PPPP Rankings and Power Play Statistics
January 7th Offensive PPPP Rankings
January 7th Defensive PPPP Rankings
*Statistics through January 6th, 2014.
Getting Defensive
- It’s official, Ted Nolan has turned the Sabres around while shorthanded. Buffalo is well below the league average and currently sit twenty-first in the rankings. Less than a month ago, the Sabres were ranked seventh, which means of late, they have been stingy and playing to par with the top units.
- Can the Avalanche kick their inconsistency? They currently sit fifteenth, hovering around the league average and have been as low a twenty-first and high as tenth over the past month, which shouldn’t be surprising for a young team. Regardless, don’t be afraid to target them when they’re matched up against a top power play unit.
- Carolina jumped up seven places in the rankings and sit as the ninth most favorable matchup. At best they’re an average team shorthanded and should be targeted based on their penalty kill percentage below eighty.
- Keep an eye on the Lightning going forward. Since the beginning of November their highest ranking was nineteenth, they’re currently eighteenth which is up five spots from the last installment. This is a trend to monitor and a climb into more friendly territory is likely.
- Over the past two months, the Washington Capitals have gone from the second most difficult matchup to a middle of the pack team and are currently ranked 14th. What is more scary, is they’re worse at even strength. The Capitals goaltending is a mess too, so expect high scoring games whenever they take the ice.
- Nashville has the fifth worst save percentage while down a man. Although, they’re killing penalties at over eighty-two percent, the weak save percentage has them creeping up the rankings considerably, from nineteenth on December 18th to twelfth in this edition.
- The Chicago Blackhawks are one of the best teams in the NHL, but their penalty kill is a mess, they’re again among the league’s worst with the Islanders, Panthers, Coyotes, Senators and Wild.
- The best are still the best. Pittsburgh, Vancouver, New Jersey, Montreal, St. Louis and Boston are again the most difficult matchups in the league.
On the Offense
- The December 18th rankings were the first time both the Bruins and Predators were inside the top ten of the rankings. This week, Boston is ranked fifth and Nashville seventh. On December 11th, they were sixteenth and seventeenth respectively. These are two hot power play units.
- Since December 11 the New Jersey Devils have climbed eight places in the rankings and although it is an impressive climb, expect them to slow down. Consider the Devil’s an average team at best, as they have done damage against a number of the league’s most favorable matchups: Chicago, Anaheim, Washington, Ottawa and the New York Islanders.
- The other New York team, however, is climbing and they boast the offensive depth and skill to be taken seriously. The Rangers are up nine spots to tenth this week after hovering just below the league average all season. There is no reason the Rangers cannot climb higher in the rankings.
- In every edition, in both sections, we have to cover the Avalanche. Ranked twenty-sixth last time out, the Avalanche currently sit thirteenth. They’re wildly inconsistent, but, when they’re going, they go and can put up power play points in bunches.
- The Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets both fell in the rankings significantly. The Blue Jackets were overachieving, hovering at eleventh on December 18th. The Ducks are underachieving and currently sit among the NHL’s worst power play units. They have showed signs of getting on track, but have never been higher than nineteenth in the rankings, don’t count on power play points from the Ducks.
- The Coyotes fell out of the top ten for the first time since October 24th. In their last ten games, Phoenix has only scored seventeen goals total, so the problems extend beyond their power play unit. They could easily bounce back, however, if they remain around the league average going forward it shouldn’t surprise anyone.
- The Blues, Blackhawks, Penguins and Capitals remain the four best power play units and there is no reason to expect much to change there.
- The Ducks have joined the Panthers, Stars, Sabres, Jets and Hurricanes as the worst power play units in the NHL.
