I\u2019ve seen many fans, and some media people, opine that the second unit needs to play more. They need to get others involved. I think it would be asinine to do it.\u00a0 First off, let\u2019s look at some data.<\/p>\n
Last season, Evan Bouchard<\/a> led Edmonton in power play TOI at 297:46, followed by McDavid (295:51), RNH (253:48), Draisaitl (209:41) and Zach Hyman (209:41). RNH missed 10 games, Draisaitl missed 17 and Hyman missed 24.<\/p>\n Bouchard and McDavid missed no games and they ranked 11th and 12th in the NHL in power play TOI. Colorado had Nathan MacKinnon (second with 343:24), Martin Necas (fifth, 318:49) and Cale Makar (seventh, 313:24). Tampa Bay had two players in Jake Guentzel (third, 329:09) and Nikita Kucherov (fourth, 322:32) while Minnesota also had two in Kirill Kaprizov (eighth, 310:39) and Quinn Hughes (ninth, 308:18).<\/p>\n Minnesota possessed the third most efficient power play at 25.2 per cent, while Tampa was 17th at 20.7 per cent and Colorado was 27th at 17.1 per cent.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t read how Minnesota and Colorado should reduce the power play time of their top units so the depth guys can get some time and produce. I agree Babcock should reduce McDavid and Draisaitl\u2019s minutes, but I\u2019d do it on the penalty kill and at five-on-five, rather than through the power play.<\/p>\n Colorado led the NHL with 216 goals at five-on-five while Tampa Bay was third at 195. Edmonton ranked 11th with 174. Let\u2019s compare the TOI and production for the Oilers forward to Colorado, Tampa Bay and Minnesota.<\/p>\n McDavid played :30 more per game than MacKinnon, but MacKinnon outscored him 75-57. The Avalanche\u2019s top players outscored the Oilers\u2019 top guys, but so did their depth players.<\/p>\n Parker Kelly produced 19 goals and 32 points at five-on-five while averaging 10:23\/game. He was ridiculously productive. No player in the NHL produced as much as he did in 10 minutes at five-on-five. He was an outlier, and it will be difficult to repeat, but Kelly\u2019s 19 goals equaled the combined total of Andrew Mangiapane, Trent Frederic, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark<\/a>, and Curtis Lazar. Lazar had four goals while averaging 8:20 game and he only played 45 games.Babcock should reduce minutes of his top players at five-on-five, likely between 60-90 seconds\/game, but the depth players simply need to produce more when they play. Being on the ice a bit more each night should help them feel more involved, but they need to contribute. Colton Dach<\/a> was very productive in his limited time with the Oilers with 2-2-4 in four games and he only played 9:59\/game. Kucherov was much more productive than McDavid at five-on-five with 69 points in 1,111 minutes compared to McDavid\u2019s 57 points in 1,389. I do think less TOI will lead to more production. McDavid and Draisaitl are in amazing condition, but that advantage decreases when they play more than their opponents.<\/p>\n Tampa\u2019s third line played more and produced more. Whoever plays with Jason Dickinson on the third line will be asked to be good defensively, but they will need to produce more. Kasperi Kapanen was very good at five-on-five, but he battled injuries all season, missing 41 games. If he remains healthy, and produces like he did last season, that will be a big boost for the Oilers.<\/p>\n Minnesota ranked 17th in five-on-five goals last year, mainly due to a horrific start. They were last in five-on-five goals in October with 16 in 12 games, but they ranked 12th from November first on, and they were 10th in their final 50 games after acquiring Quinn Hughes. The Wild didn\u2019t get very good production from Kirill Kaprizov at five-on-five. He averaged 16:35\/game but only scored 40 points. Matt Boldy was very productive in his minutes as was Vladimir Tarasenko. The Wild had seven forwards with double-digit goals at five-on-five while the Oilers had five.<\/p>\n ALTER THE POWER PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK\u2026<\/p>\n One argument I\u2019ve seen is the first unit can play the first 1:20 and then change, because they don\u2019t score as much later in the power play. Let\u2019s look.<\/p>\n The Oilers had 222 power play opportunities, scored 68 goals.<\/p>\n They were 29.6 per cent at five-on-four with 63 goals on 213 chances.<\/p>\n They were 37.5 per cent at five-on-three with three goals on eight chances.<\/p>\n They were 33.3 per cent at four-on-three with two goals on six chances.<\/p>\n Here is a breakdown of when they scored goals.<\/p>\n They scored 16 in the first 30 seconds.<\/p>\n DATE<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n TIME<\/p>\n SCORED BY<\/p>\n SECONDS<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n 12\/4\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 11:27<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 11\/8\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 11:30<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 11\/3\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 18:38<\/p>\n Jack Roslovic<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 4\/16\/2026<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 16:46<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 11\/4\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 7:07<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 15<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 1\/13\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 17:06<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 16<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 2\/26\/2026<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 8:44<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 18<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 10\/16\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 17:40<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 20<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 4\/7\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 8:56<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 20<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 2\/26\/2026<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 0:31<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 22<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 12\/23\/2025<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 5:38<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 23<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 11\/29\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 18:51<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 26<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 12\/21\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 2:22<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 26<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 12\/14\/2025<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 12:29<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 26<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 10\/26\/2025<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 14:57<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 27<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 12\/18\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 13:38<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 30<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n Of those 16, they scored seven in the first period, five in the second and four in the third. Jack Roslovic was on the first unit as he and David Tomasek filled in for the injured Zach Hyman for the first 19 games. In those 19 games the Oilers\u2019 power play was 30 per cent (15 of 50).<\/p>\n They scored 15 goals between 31-60 seconds.<\/p>\n DATE<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n TIME<\/p>\n SCORED BY<\/p>\n SECONDS<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n 1\/6\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 8:53<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 34<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 1\/18\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 5:55<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 37<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 10\/23\/2025<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 11:19<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 38<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 1\/24\/2026<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 8:24<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 38<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 3\/10\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 8:13<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 39<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 10\/21\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 16:31<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 40<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 3\/10\/2026<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 9:03<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 43<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 12\/4\/2025<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 6:59<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 48<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 3\/17\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 10:00<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 50<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 12\/23\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 1:59<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 51<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 10\/8\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 8:32<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 52<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 11\/19\/2025<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 7:47<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 54<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 1\/17\/2026<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 6:49<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 56<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 1\/13\/2026<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 13:12<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 57<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 10\/23\/2025<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 12:17<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 58<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Five came in the first period, four in the second and six in the third period. It is interesting to note Evan Bouchard did not score a power play goal in the first minute last season. I have a theory why, coming up after the time sequence.<\/p>\n They tallied 19 goals between the 61-90 second mark.<\/p>\n DATE<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n TIME<\/p>\n SCORED BY<\/p>\n SECONDS<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n 12\/11\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 14:25<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 61<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 11\/1\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 17:17<\/p>\n Jack Roslovic<\/p>\n 61<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 10\/8\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 9:53<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 62<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 4\/8\/2026<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 3:33<\/p>\n Jack Roslovic<\/p>\n 62<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 4\/8\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 6:18<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 63<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 3\/6\/2026<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 11:43<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 63<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 1\/3\/2026<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 9:54<\/p>\n Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n 67<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 12\/6\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 13:31<\/p>\n Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n 73<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 4\/2\/2026<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 12:13<\/p>\n Matt Savoie<\/p>\n 73<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 3\/3\/2026<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 1:52<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 74<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 11\/29\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 11:29<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 76<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 1\/8\/2026<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 10:37<\/p>\n Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n 76<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 10\/25\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 15:39<\/p>\n Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n 79<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 4\/8\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 18:38<\/p>\n Vasily Podkolzin<\/p>\n 80<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 2\/4\/2026<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 18:26<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 80<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 3\/15\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 3:12<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 81<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 12\/27\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 8:36<\/p>\n Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n 84<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 12\/23\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 19:43<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 89<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 12\/16\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 9:36<\/p>\n Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n 90<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n Nine came in the first period, seven in the second and three in the third. Bouchard had six goals during this 30-second sequence. I wonder if it is due to catching penalty killers later on their kill, and they are a bit fatigued, which means they don\u2019t get out to the point as often, or if the Oilers\u2019 power play starts using different set ups later in the power play as, like a quarterback in football, they go through their progressions to see where they can exploit the opposition. Either way, the Oilers\u2019 power play is still very effective in the second minute.<\/p>\n Edmonton scored 13 goals between the 91-120+ second mark.<\/p>\n DATE<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n TIME<\/p>\n SCORED BY<\/p>\n SECONDS<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n 12\/20\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 18:44<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 94<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 2\/28\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 14:51<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 95<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 12\/29\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 12:49<\/p>\n Jack Roslovic<\/p>\n 96<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 12\/21\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 14:37<\/p>\n Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/p>\n 99<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 12\/4\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 6:14<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 99<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 11\/15\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 6:30<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 103<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 4\/16\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 14:35<\/p>\n Matt Savoie<\/p>\n 107<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 12\/4\/2025<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 8:58<\/p>\n Matt Savoie<\/p>\n 108<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 11\/1\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 0:54<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 109<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 2\/4\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 5:14<\/p>\n Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n 113<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 2\/25\/2026<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 5:53<\/p>\n Matt Savoie<\/p>\n 117<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 10\/30\/2025<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 8:48<\/p>\n Matt Savoie<\/p>\n 120<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n 1\/26\/2026<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 17:14<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 136<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n The second unit scored without any of the top three (McDavid, Draisaitl or Bouchard) on the ice three times. Savoie on December 9th (ninth goal in a 9-4 win), Roslovic on December 29th, and Savoie on February 25th.<\/p>\n Here are their other power play goals.<\/p>\n DATE<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n TIME<\/p>\n SCORED BY<\/p>\n SECONDS<\/p>\n PERIOD<\/p>\n 10\/21\/2025<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n 2:24<\/p>\n Jake Walman<\/p>\n 119<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n 12\/16\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 11:38<\/p>\n Zach Hyman<\/p>\n 126<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 12\/16\/2025<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 11:52<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 92<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n 1\/10\/2026<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 9:20<\/p>\n Connor McDavid<\/p>\n 138<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n 3\/3\/2026<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n 0:55<\/p>\n Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n 55<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Two came in OT at 4\u00d73, while the others were 5\u00d73. The December 16th game v. Pittsburgh had the Penguins take three penalties at 9:12, 10:20 and 10:38. Edmonton scored twice in 14 seconds on consecutive 5\u00d73 situations.<\/p>\n Overall, the first unit (at 5\u00d74) scored 31 goals in the first minute of the power play and 32 in the second minute. If the goal is to win games and dominate on the powerplay, I would not plan on lowering the TOI of my first unit on a regular basis. If you did it in the third period, I could see it as they only scored twice in the third period in the final 30 seconds of a man advantage. Maybe they were a bit fatigued in the third, but otherwise I\u2019m rolling my first unit, especially the trio of McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard for most of the man advantage, and especially the first 90 seconds.<\/p>\n TOI OPTIONS\u2026.<\/p>\n Babcock will reduce McDavid and Draisaitl\u2019s time on ice. Removing them from the penalty kill is the smartest move. McDavid averaged 1:03\/game while Draisaitl was at 27 seconds. Removing them from the penalty kill, outside of the rare final few seconds here and there, drops them to 22 and 21 minutes\/game (based on last year\u2019s TOI\/game). Eliminate one minute per game at five-on-five, and McDavid would average around 21 minutes and Draisaitl 20. That is the easiest and most prudent way to reduce their ice time.<\/p>\n I do wonder if Babcock looks at possibly giving Matt Savoie or Isaac Howard some time in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins\u2019 spot on the first unit. They used to split Hyman and Evander Kane or Corey Perry on the first unit. Hyman could start the man advantage, and if the opponent iced the puck around the one-minute mark, he\u2019d come off. Or sometimes Kane\/Perry would start the power play. It will depend on how much they plan to use RNH on the penalty kill.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783991289_980_image.png\"\/)
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There\u2019s a new chapter beginning at