Written by Luke Ballard
In the NHL, the man advantage doesn't guarantee offensive success. During the 2025–26 season, the Edmonton Oilers converted 30.6 percent of their power-play opportunities, a league high. Conversely, the Philadelphia Flyers finished at the bottom of the league with a 15.7 percent conversion rate. Despite enjoying the same numerical advantage, Edmonton was nearly twice as likely to capitalize. This disparity raises an important question: What allows some teams to exploit the man advantage while others struggle? Although individual talent matters, successful power plays depend on coordinated movement, efficient puck distribution, and tactical adaptability.
Movement and Puck Distribution
One mark of an effective power play is its ability to create open shooting lanes. With four defenders protecting their net, penalty-killing teams typically maintain compact formations designed to limit high-percentage scoring opportunities. Teams on the power play must therefore break down and disrupt this defensive structure.
Edmonton provides a strong example of how individual talent complements a team's ability to break down penalty-killing units. Connor McDavid's exceptional skating and playmaking abilities force defenders to account for multiple threats simultaneously. When defenders are forced to pressure him or cover passing lanes, it creates opportunities for either a high-percentage shot from McDavid or a thunderous one-timer from teammate Leon Draisaitl.
In fact, McDavid has been so effective with the puck on the power play that he has factored into more power-play goals himself than 28 NHL teams. With 16 total points on the power play, all 16 have been assists, exemplifying his ability to command the attention of opposing defenses and create opportunities for his teammates.
“He’s found another level that we didn’t think he could get to, or anybody could get to,” Mike Rupp said on NHL Now's No Pucks Given segment, “it’s wild… he's breaking records right now.”
However, puck movement alone does not guarantee success. Effective puck distribution requires a high hockey IQ to distinguish between passing to maintain possession and passing to generate scoring opportunities. A team that exchanges passes around the perimeter of the offensive zone may retain possession without meaningfully disrupting the defense. Conversely, a cross-ice pass forces defenders and the goaltender to reposition, potentially creating openings.
Edmonton’s McDavid-Draisaitl combination illustrates this distinction. McDavid can draw defenders toward him while Draisaitl positions himself as a weak-side shooting threat, ready for the cross-ice pass. The effectiveness of the sequence depends on the movement it forces the defense to make, rather than simply completing the pass.
Zone Entries and Personnel
Effective power plays begin before teams establish possession in the offensive zone. Controlled entries allow teams to maintain possession and establish their formation, while failed entries waste valuable time and give the penalty-killing unit opportunities to clear the puck and change personnel.
Edmonton often utilizes a drop pass in the neutral zone, allowing McDavid to build speed as he approaches the offensive blue line and forcing defenders to choose between challenging him and covering the passing lanes. Less effective teams, like the Flyers, have utilized a dump-and-chase approach to zone entries, which does not always guarantee possession.
However, even controlled entries have their limitations. During Game 1 of the Oilers' 2026 playoff series against Anaheim, the Ducks did an exceptional job of disrupting McDavid’s zone entries, contributing to a subpar power play.
“They’ve switched their style a little bit,” McDavid said in his postgame interview following Game 1, “sitting in their 1–1–2, we have to be stubborn with it, keep putting it in, and forecheck them.”
Even one of the NHL's best power-play units last season, which often used controlled entries to establish offensive-zone possession, was forced by Anaheim to adapt to a dump-and-chase approach. Once established in the zone, power-play units rely on complementary personnel. However, even the best teams can struggle to get past the first step. Successful power plays must be able to attack the offensive zone in multiple ways rather than relying on a one-dimensional plan of action.
Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard provides a shooting threat from the blue line as one of the NHL’s best offensive defensemen, currently sitting on 31 points this season. Meanwhile, Draisaitl's weak-side shooting threat keeps penalty killers occupied. With a variety of skaters rotating through net-front duties, the Oilers also create additional challenges for defensive rotations and goaltenders' sight lines, often generating valuable rebounds and opportunities for tipped shots.
This is what made Edmonton the most efficient unit last season. These complementary roles give the Oilers a variety of ways to score, preventing defenders from focusing on one player alone, like McDavid. However, teams have also found success with a more player-centric approach, as Wyatt Johnston scored a franchise-record 27 power-play goals last season. Compare that to McDavid’s 16 assists this season, and it becomes clear that success can come in a variety of ways, although some approaches may be more sustainable than others.
Why Some Teams Struggle
The contrast between Edmonton and Philadelphia shows how dramatically power-play effectiveness can vary. Edmonton scored 68 goals on 222 opportunities during the 2025–26 campaign, while Philadelphia managed just 37 goals on 235 opportunities.
The difference cannot be explained by shooting ability alone. Rather, poor zone entries and unsuccessful puck retrievals following Philadelphia's dump-and-chase approach prevented the Flyers from generating quality chances. Less puck retention also meant less time establishing a set power-play formation in the offensive zone. Edmonton was composed and patient with the puck, allowing the unit to find its rhythm, while Philadelphia often appeared disorganized, making its approach difficult to sustain.
The Flyers' conversion rate dropped to a season-low 8.6 percent in the 2026 playoffs. They went 0-for-5 in a crucial Game 3 against Carolina while also allowing a shorthanded goal following sloppy, chaotic play.
For struggling teams like Philadelphia, the challenge lies in identifying where possessions break down. More shots are not always the answer, especially when they are low-percentage attempts from predictable areas of the ice that opposing goaltenders can easily handle. Effective power plays must establish possession, force defensive rotations, and capitalize on the openings those movements create. Highly skilled personnel like McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard certainly help, but they do not tell the entire story.
