The usual suspects are the players in the NHL having the most success on the power play this season. By cutting down on our sample size and looking beyond power-play points, we can identify a few guys on the fringes who are either contributing more than meets the eye or in position to do so in the future.
Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers: The Rangers have annoyingly switched around the quarterback on the power play this season, rotating among Jacob Trouba, Tony DeAngelo and Fox. Trouba is on rosters in most leagues, DeAngelo has been picked up in about half, and Fox should be available in about two-thirds of leagues. Although Fox isn't currently in the hot seat for the first unit, he has been the most efficient of the three for the past month. In fact, relative to his power-play ice time, Fox is second in the NHL to Leon Draisaitl for power-play points per 60 minutes since Nov. 16. I like Fox to regain the role on the top unit at some point. Although DeAngelo has been OK there, Fox has matched him in power-play points, despite fewer overall opportunities.
Neal Pionk, D, Winnipeg Jets: Speaking of production on the man advantage in relative terms, the list of league leaders for the past month in power-play points per 60 is Draisaitl, Fox, Clayton Keller and Pionk. That's an unexpected ascension, as we first thought the role would be occupied by Dustin Byfuglien again this season, and then, after Byfuglien opted to sit out, Josh Morrissey was the heir apparent. But Morrissey never panned out, and Pionk has settled nicely into the role. The talent on the first unit is tough to match, and they've been coming around lately. In December, the Jets have been converting at 24% on the power play, compared to 16% in October and November. Pionk should be available in just under half of leagues.
Alex Killorn, W, Tampa Bay Lightning: The key for Killorn is the potential for the points to come in droves. When the Lightning power play has a hot streak, he's going to be golden in fantasy. He earned back his role from previous seasons as the net-front presence while Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Points and Victor Hedman work their magic around the outside. In the past month, he has been on the ice for 61% of the Bolts' total power-play time, which is just a hair below that of Stamkos, Point and Kucherov, so this is an established role. Killorn should be available in more than half of leagues.
Jakob Silfverberg, W, Anaheim Ducks: Looking at goals for (not goals scored but goals for which players were on the ice) per 60 minutes strictly on the power play, the league leaders are who you might expect them to be: James Neal and Connor McDavid. Sprinkled among the leaders over the past month are Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell. That is interesting because the Ducks aren't using these two on the top unit lately. But in relative terms to their ice time, Silfverberg and Rakell have been hooking up on some power-play production. Here's betting the Ducks go back to them sooner than later. Although Rakell is spoken for in most leagues, Silfverberg should be widely available. He has a respectable 12 goals and 23 points in 33 games this season, so adding a little production spike on the man advantage would make him a strong fantasy play.
Forwards on the move
Taylor Hall, W, Arizona Coyotes (down 10 spots to No. 36): The Coyotes power play has been markedly better than the Devils. That's good. Overall, their scoring has only been marginally better. That's bad. Surely, Hall will get the chance to work with fellow goal-scoring winger Phil Kessel -- definitely on the power play and possibly off it, too. That's good. Under the defense-first regime of the Coyotes, Kessel is on pace for just 16 goals, the fewest since his rookie season in 2006-07. That's bad. Hall changes the game here, though, and gives the Coyotes a chance to play a different type of game with a former MVP on the ice. And that's both good and perhaps the biggest takeaway. I'm not sure of it, but I'm at least passively interested in Kessel and Oliver-Ekman Larsson as possible acquisitions based on this move. The fortunes could be good for the Coyotes offense, and very good for the power play. We'll have to see how he is deployed before making any serious judgments, but I'm watching closely to see how the lines look.
Timo Meier, W, San Jose Sharks (up 10 spots to No. 97): I'm loving new Sharks coach Bob Boughner's lineup that has Meier with Logan Couture and Evander Kane. The trio has hooked up on a goal per game in two showings with Boughner so far, and I imagine more time to implement the systems that powered the Florida Panthers' high-energy offense the past couple of seasons will be a good thing.
Anthony Mantha, W, Detroit Red Wings (up three spots to No. 99): Mantha was ranked in the 60s before his injury, but he doesn't return there because the landscape has changed. In fact, Mantha didn't return to the first line, as the Red Wings opted to keep Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Robby Fabbri together. Skating with Larkin is key to fantasy production here, so keep an eye on how Mantha gets deployed, and don't assume he should be in your lineup just because he's healthy.
Defensemen on the move
Brent Burns, D, San Jose Sharks (down 26 spots to No. 62): There are 124 NHL defensemen with more points than Brent Burns the past month. But that isn't as telling as another statistic: There are 19 defensemen with more shots in the past month than Burns. That is much, much more foreboding, as in recent seasons there aren't usually any skaters (forwards included) not named Ovechkin with more shots than Burns. Maybe things change with the new coaching regime. Certainly his minutes spiking past 25 in the two games under Boughner is a good sign. But I want to see more four-shot games such as Saturday's before I get excited about Burns bouncing back.
Goaltenders on the move
Matt Murray, G, Pittsburgh Penguins (down 14 spots to No. 74): Tristan Jarry has started nine of the past 11 games, winning seven of them and posting a shutout in three of them. It could just be a hot streak ... or it could be something more. I'm certainly downgrading Murray less than I would other goaltenders, as he didn't seem to do anything egregious to lose the job. He just had a rough four-game stretch that coincided with Jarry's shutout streak. Still, this is enough that you need to take action for your fantasy team to keep your goaltending in shipshape.
New to rankings
Linus Ullmark, Joe Thornton, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Rasmus Ristolainen, Hampus Lindholm, Jakob Chychrun
Just missed
Filip Hronek, Charlie Coyle, Mats Zuccarello, Jordan Eberle, Andre Mangiapane, Cam Fowler, James Reimer, Jake Allen, Brandon Montour, Tyler Toffoli.
Dropped out
Erik Haula, Ondrej Kase, Dennis Cholowski, Troy Terry, Oskar Lindblom, Patric Hornqvist.