NEWS » e, said Warhawks coach Matt Viator.

Drawing penalties is a skill, and some teams tend to earn significantly more power plays than some of their opponents.The Arizona Coyotes finished with 33 percent more chances on the man advantage (300) than the New York Rangers (226) last season. At this time of the season last year, the Rangers were last in power-play opportunities and they finished there. At this time last season, the Coyotes were second in the NHL for most power-play chances and they finished on top.The disparity this season at this point in time is even greater than it was at this time last season. The Colorado Avalanche were first in chances last Nov. 25 with 85 and the Rangers were last with 56. This season, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars lead the way with 82 power-play opportunities and the Columbus Blue Jackets have a lowly 49 chances. Its part of the reason the Blue Jackets have the most efficient power play in the NHL right now, but sit only ninth for power-play goals. They just havent had that many chances.The Washington Capitals are middle of the pack for power-play percentage, but are third from last in power-play opportunities this season, leaving them with only nine goals on the man advantage. Although we probably dont need to highlight that for Evgeny Kuznetsov owners.The good news is that while some of the trends in power-play opportunities hold steady, some dont. The Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes were both top-10 in opportunities at this time last season, but finished in the bottom 10. The Philadelphia Flyers were 21st in chances at this time last season, but wound up finishing second to the Coyotes with 280.The bottom line here is that power-play percentage tends to get the most play for those digging through stats, but it doesnt tell the whole story. The power play can be exceptional, but if its not getting many chances it doesnt have as much value as the teams that are getting more opportunities. Fantasy owners should be looking at the whole picture to try to glean the best roster targets for their team.So who do you want? The Lightning, Flyers and Nashville Predators should all be at the top of your list of targets. All three teams are top-10 for both power-play opportunities and power-play percentage this season and were top-11 for power-play chances last season (the Predators were 11th, missing the top 10 by two chances).Personnel-wise, this means considering Nikita Nesterov, Valtteri Filppula or Jonathan Drouin in some leagues. All three appear to be staples of the man advantage in the absence of Steven Stamkos for the Bolts. In fact, Nesterov leads all Tampa Bay skaters in power-play ice time since Stamkos was injured. In deeper leagues, Vladislav Namestnikov and Brayden Point could also get consideration, as both have been playing plenty of minutes on the man advantage of late. Point has three power-play points in five games since the Stamkos injury.For the Flyers, they really have only one power-play unit. Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn and Shayne Gostisbehere all play virtually double the power-play minutes of anybody else on the team. Consider this a warning to anyone getting off the Schenn train prematurely -- his usage is far too positive for him not to be a locked-in fantasy asset. Hell come around.With the Predators, there is absolutely no reason Mike Fisher shouldnt be owned in all but the deepest of leagues at this point. Hes nowhere close to that threshold at only 18 percent ownership. First off, his six power-play points are tied for 33rd in the NHL -- and hes missed four games this season. Guess who else has six power-play points while missing a bunch of games? Sidney Crosby has the same power-play points as Fisher in one fewer game. Kris Letang has the exact same six power-play points in 15 games as Fisher. In fact, aside from Crosby, Letang and Ryan Getzlaf, all 47 players with at least six power-play points this season have played at least three more games than Fisher.Hes the faceoff man for the Predators top unit that includes Ryan Johansen, James Neal, P.K. Subban and Roman Josi. Hes not going to win you your league, but lets give his specialty stats some love. Fisher is higher on the ESPN Player Rater this season for fantasy hockey success than guys like Joe Thornton, David Krejci, Brandon Saad and Filip Forsberg (the guy whose power-play role he usurped).Back to the overall power-play chances for a few more notes:If the Calgary Flames ever get things flowing under new coach Glen Gulutzan, watch out. They are tied for the fourth-most chances this season and they finished with the sixth-most chances last season. Unfortunately at the moment, they are lost on the man advantage with just a 9.5 percent success rate.The Stars could be a source of improvement in the near future. As mentioned, they are tied with the Lightning for the most chances, but are 14th in the league for power-play percentage. The Stars have also been dealing with several injuries to key personnel from a power play that was fourth best in the NHL last season. Get ready for Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and John Klingberg to have a big December.Remember how we mentioned the Coyotes had the most chances in the league last season? And by a fair margin? They are second-last in opportunities this season to the Blue Jackets. Whether they trend up or not is debatable, but with plenty of returning players in key roles, one might suspect they are due for a run of power-play chances at some point soon. Such a result would certainly do wonders for the stagnant fantasy value of Max Domi, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Martin Hanzal and others.Fantasy Forecaster: Nov. 28 to Dec. 4A busy enough week will see 11 teams with a four-game schedule, but only one with a two-game week. The Washington Capitals are the lone team with a light week, but you still have to start Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin in weekly formats -- especially with the New York Islanders as one of the opponents. That said, we understand if no one else on the squad makes the cut. But well just say one word in favor of Kuznetsov here, who was back on the power play this past week and had his best game of the season on Wednesday. Maybe the slump is over?Download the forecaster chart PDF hereFor those new to the Forecaster chart, here are some explanations: O (offense) and D (defense) matchup ratings are based upon a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup) and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the teams season-to-date statistics, their performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played, as well as their opponents numbers in those categories. The Ratings column lists the cumulative rating from 1-10 of that weeks offensive (O) and defensive (D) matchups.Team notesAnaheim Ducks: We swear we are going to buy a billboard soon. Rickard Rakell needs to be owned everywhere. Hes back on the top line with Getzlaf and Corey Perry and scoring enough to make up for his lost time at the start of the season. Rakell has goals in three straight and has 11 points in 11 games this season. After a date with Carey Price to start the week, the Ducks travel through western Canada to pick on the defenses of the Canucks, Edmonton Oilers and Flames. Will Rakell still be on a goal streak after next week? If he can slip one by Price, we like the odds.Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings offense still hasnt found a groove, but next weeks four-game schedule should help. The Stars, Islanders and -- if they happen to catch Marc-Andre Fleury in a back-to-back set -- Pittsburgh Penguins are all bottom-10 defenses for goals allowed per game. Henrik Zetterberg is being flanked by Anthony Mantha and Justin Abdelkader at the moment and his two wingers lead the team in shots this past week. But how about checking out defenseman Ryan Sproul? The rookie blueliner has five points in nine games including three on the man advantage.Goalie notesIf youve been on the fence about using the Flames new starting goaltender Chad Johnson, it may be now or never. Depending on how the back-to-back set is divided up this weekend, Johnson could end up starting four games next week. If he does well, youll probably be too late to scoop him up by the end of next week. If he does poorly, then the Flames will be looking for another answer or hoping Brian Elliott can quickly find his form.Cam Wards numbers have improved, as expected given the performance of the team in front of him with the puck. But next week is ugly with the Rangers twice, the Boston Bruins and the Lightning. If you have another option, consider it.Thomas Greiss looked good in his one start sandwiched between a bunch of Jaroslav Halak stinkers. Were pretty sure you want no part of either of them, but the result from Greiss at least makes us want to get another look at him soon. Halak is a hot mess. Again, the team in front of them is the bigger problem. Only the Coyotes have allowed more shot attempts per game (Corsi against) this season.Craig Anderson has a decent shot at a three-win week for the next fantasy period and hes available in 30 percent of ESPN leagues. The Ottawa Senators just need to get him a little offensive support, which should be a little easier given the schedule that includes the Buffalo Sabres, Flyers and Florida Panthers.The San Jose Sharks play their first two back-to-back sets of November this weekend and early next week, so we should get a better look at Aaron Dell. If he fairs well this weekend, consider him for a spot start if he draws the Coyotes on Tuesday.Player notesIts sooner than expected, but dont be surprised if we see Jack Eichel next week for the Sabres. Get ready to make room to bring him off the injured reserve in your league.Check on Jonathan Toews status through the weekend as hes questionable for Fridays game.If you need a shot in the dark for some offensive help, Marian Gaborik is out there in 95 percent of leagues and could be back with the Los Angeles Kings this weekend.Weve been waiting for a line for the Avalanche to show some chemistry -- any chemistry at all -- this season. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Rene Bourque did just that on Wednesday. Lets see what they do against the Canucks this weekend and consider things from there.Gotta love Stars coach Lindy Ruff. With Patrick Eaves tearing up the NHL alongside Seguin and Benn, Ruff switched his lines Wednesday coming off a win. Cody Eakin skated with the stars on the top line, but the trio finished pointless and minus-5. Eaves owners better hope he gets back with the top line soon, because he wont fare as well on the second line.Still looking for more offense from the teams stars, the Sharks moved Patrick Marleau up from the third line to the top line with Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Swell Water Bottle Flowers . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. SWell Marble Bottle Uk . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. http://www.ukswellbottle.com/ .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Swell Bottles Uk Sale . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Swell Traveler Uk . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Jadon Boatright returned an interception 40 yards for a score 76 seconds into the game, and New Mexico added three more first-quarter touchdowns on Saturday in a 59-17 romp of Louisiana-Monroe.That was exactly the way the Lobos wanted to get the game started.We definitely we need turnovers, said Boatright of his first career interception. Weve been struggling turnover-wise so that definitely helped us out, especially at the beginning of the game, starting off the game with a pick-6 and getting us already up 7-0. That helped us a lot. As soon as I picked it, I saw all green; I knew I was going back with it.Tyrone Owens finished with 171 yards rushing on nine carries, including an 83-yard scoring run, as New Mexico (4-3) piled up 476 yards on the ground.The Lobos got touchdowns from eight different players, with Elijah Lilly returning a kickoff 93 yards for a score to open the second half.The lone bright spot of sorts for the Warhawks (2-5) came from reserve quarterback Caleb Evens, who completed 12 of 15 passes for 120 and one score.But with three other runners topping 65 yards, New Mexicos three lost fumbles were not a factor.The Lobos only completed seven passes -- all to different receivers -- for 146 yards; their third-best total of the season.New Mexicos defense finished with five sacks and limited the Warhawks to 235 total yards.THE TAKEAWAYNew Mexico: After a series of close games (and one blowout loss to then-No. 19 Boise State), the Lobos needed to put the hammer down on somebody and Warhawks provided the perfect foil. It was a game that was never in doubt for New Mexico.This was great for our confidence, Lobos coach Bob Davie said. Its no secreet we gave up 40 points in a row for three weeks (games).dddddddddddd But we did play offenses that really do keep you off balance.With Louisiana-Monroe running an offensive scheme that New Mexico will see again as the season progresses, Davie was hoping to see just this kind of performanceWe knew we had a chance to get some rhythm tonight just because weve been kind of doing the things over and over, he said. From a schematic standpoint, ULM is a lot like what Hawaii, Nevada, and really Utah State will be running so hopefully we can get on a little bit of a roll, defensively.ULM: There was little for Louisiana-Monroe to take away from this performance as it was dominated from the outset and did little to remain competitive. Without quarterback Garrett Smith, redshirt freshman Will Collins missed all seven of passes with one interception before being replaced by Evans.We just got out coached, out played, really didnt have enough juice, not near enough juice and thats on me, said Warhawks coach Matt Viator. Weve got to be more ready to play than that. Weve got to have more juice than that and we didnt. Its nothing really in particular because it was really the whole thing when you look at it. To come in and play a team like this, you better have some juice and we didnt.UP NEXTNew Mexico says aloha with a trip to the island Saturday, facing Hawaii. The Lobos have won the last six meeting in the series.Louisiana-Monroe, which has lost five of its last six, plays at Arkansas State on Saturday. The Red Wolves are tied for the top spot in the Sun Belt. ' ' '