2014-15 Ducks Power Play Preview

2014 Stats

The Anaheim Ducks PP was 16% (home: 18.4%, away: 13%), good for 22nd in the NHL. Corey Perry had eight PP tallies, Nick Bonino had seven, and Ryan Getzlaf and Dustin Penner followed with five strikes apiece.

Projected First Unit:

Perry and Getzlaf will be givens on the first PP. Patrick Maroon made a strong case for himself last season, but Dany Heatley’s sole useful contributions to this team will be on the PP, so I expect him to play instead. I could see Bruce Boudreau alternating between using Sami Vatanen and Cam Fowler up top depending on the situation. New Ducks player Ryan Kesler should slot in the last spot unless Boudreau opts to ice two defenders.

Last Person I want on the Ice during PP:

I want to see Francois Beauchemin’s minutes scaled back this year. Doing so should make his meaningful even strength minutes better. With Vatanen, Fowler, and Hampus Lindholm poised to play more minutes (and projected to have higher offensive upside), the time to scale back Beauchemin’s special teams minutes is now.

Changes from Last Year:

Heatley and Kesler are the two personnel changes that will add the most to the PP. But the departed Teemu Selanne freeing up a slot will actually change the second PP unit quite a bit. Expect players like Kyle Palmieri, Maroon, and Rickard Rakell (if he makes the squad) to see some man-advantage play.