In leagues that attach points to the power play, grabbing players who are lethal on the man advantage can provide a ton of fantasy value. Right now, the St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are clipping along with the best power play percentages in the league, with each of those teams scoring better than 25 percent of the time.
Players like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin are all leaders on special teams, but here are a few other players who are also excelling on special teams.
Andrei Markov: After missing significant time in recent years, Markov has proven to be a huge asset to the Montreal Canadiens this season. Owned in 88 percent of Yahoo fantasy hockey leagues now, Markov has four goals and six assists on the season–and all 10 of those points have come on the power play.
Tomas Fleischmann: Now in his second year with the Florida Panthers, Fleischmann is off to a strong start with nine points in 10 games, including one power play goal and five power play assists. Plus, he’s available in just less than half of all yahoo fantasy leagues.
Tomas Plekanec: With six goals and four assists in 10 games this season, it’s hard to believe Plekanec is still available in roughly 50 percent of Yahoo leagues. Still, if he’s available in yours, his six power play points is enticing.
Chris Kunitz: What a start for Kunitz. Fourteen points in 11 games, including three goals on the power play and two assists. It sure helps when you play with guys like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on a nightly basis. Kunitz would be an all-around solid addition for an owner looking for some good offensive production.
David Clarkson: Offensively, Clarkson has been somewhat of an enigma in recent years. He only posted 18 points in 82 games in 2010-11, then tallied 30 goals and 16 assists last season. Hard to believe that someone who has put up 30 or more points only twice in his career is owned in 81 percent of Yahoo leagues, but he is. And those owners have been treated to seven goals in 10 games, including four with the man advantage, for a total of 13 points on the season. Not a bad start at all for Clarkson.
