What is a power play unit?
A power play unit is the group of five skaters a club sends out together while an opponent serves a penalty. Most clubs carry two: a first unit (PP1) loaded with the top scorers, which takes the larger share of the man-advantage ice, and a second unit (PP2) that takes the rest. Everything below that sentence is detail — the rules, the two tiers, the shapes coaches draw with the five, and why the whole thing decides fantasy seasons. Scroll for as much of it as you want.
- Skaters measured270
- Games measured8
- PP1 share of club PP time63% median
- First units with 4F + 1D13 of 14
- PP1 vs PP2, goals per 604.8 vs 9.1
Measured 2026-27, through Wednesday 30 September 2026, from NHL shift charts and play-by-play. Method.
On this page: the rules · PP1 vs PP2 · the shapes · why it matters · how we measure it · quick answers
The rules: what a power play is
A power play starts when a player is sent to the penalty box and his club has to play short-handed. The other club now has more skaters on the ice — usually five against four — and that numerical edge is the power play.
A minor penalty lasts two minutes and ends early the moment the club on the power play scores. A major lasts five minutes and runs its full length no matter how many goals go in. When two penalties overlap, the advantage grows to five-on-three; a club never plays with fewer than three skaters, so the deficit stops there. A short-handed goal by the penalized club does not end the penalty.
Goals come easier five-on-four than they do at even strength — which is why every club rehearses exactly who takes that ice, and in what shape.
PP1 vs PP2: the two tiers
The five skaters a club deploys on the man advantage are not picked fresh each night. They are a rehearsed group — a power play unit — and clubs carry two. The first unit gets the top scorers and the front of every power play; the second unit relieves it, and inherits the ice when a long penalty outlasts the first group's shift.
| unit | min / club game (median) | share of club PP time (median) | goals per 60, unit on the ice |
|---|---|---|---|
| First unit (PP1) | 4:05 | 63% | 4.8 |
| Second unit (PP2) | 1:56 | 36% | 9.1 |
The gap is the story of this whole site. The median first unit takes 63% of its club's power-play time, and first units score at 4.8 goals per 60 against 9.1 for second units — measured over the seconds each five was actually together. Same man advantage, different ice, different production.
The shapes: 1-3-1, three-and-two, five forwards
Coaches describe a unit two ways at once: the personnel (how many forwards and defencemen are on it) and the alignment (where those five stand). The vocabulary:
- The 1-3-1
- The modern default. One skater — the quarterback — up top, a shooter on each flank for one-timers, a bumper in the middle slot, and a net-front presence. It puts a shooting threat on both sides of the ice and a screen in the goaltender's eyes, and it is why most first units carry four forwards and a single defenceman.
- Three forwards, two defencemen
- The traditional split: two defencemen holding the blue line, three forwards below the circles. It trades a shooter for insurance against the rush the other way.
- Five forwards
- The all-in version — no defenceman at all, a forward playing the top of the 1-3-1. A club runs it when the best puck-mover it can put up top is a forward; the table below shows exactly how rare that is.
What the shift charts measure is the personnel, and here is 2026-27's actual distribution across the league's first units:
| personnel on the first unit | clubs | who |
|---|---|---|
| Four forwards, one defenceman | 13 | Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights |
| Three forwards, two defencemen | 1 | Vancouver Canucks |
Why the unit matters
Because the unit, not the player, owns the ice. A skater's power-play production is mostly a function of which tier he is on: the median first unit holds 63% of its club's man-advantage time, and its most-used five stays together for 86% of that ice (median). When a club changes who is on PP1, it moves minutes, shots and points from one player to another overnight — before any box score shows it.
That is the reading this site is built for: who is on each unit tonight, measured from the ice itself. The ranking questions, answered · The current leaders · Every club and its two units
How this site measures a unit
Membership here is derived from shared power-play ice, not from a line chart. The five skaters with the most shared man-advantage time are the first unit; the unit is then credited only for the seconds all five were on the ice together, and its goals and shots are counted over exactly those seconds. Nothing on this page is nominated, announced or modelled — every figure above was computed from this build's shift charts, and re-computes nightly while the season runs. The full method, every threshold included.
Frequently asked questions
- What does PP1 mean?
- PP1 is a club's first power play unit — the five skaters who take the larger share of its ice with the man advantage. PP2, the second unit, takes the rest.
- How many players are on a power play unit?
- Five skaters, plus the goaltender. On a five-on-three the attacking club still has five skaters on the ice; it is the penalized club that is down to three.
- What is a power play quarterback?
- The skater who runs the unit from the top of the formation — usually a defenceman or a playmaking forward. The name describes the job, not a position on the rink.
- What is the bumper?
- The middle-slot player in a 1-3-1 alignment, stationed between the circles. The bumper takes short passes in the highest-danger ice and forces the penalty kill to defend the middle as well as the flanks.
- How long does a power play last?
- Two minutes for a minor penalty, five for a major. A minor ends the moment the club on the power play scores; a major runs its full length no matter how many goals go in.
More of these, each one a measured ranking: the answers hub · every skater and his unit
Know the morning it changes
This article is the record. The daily report is the change: who moved onto PP1 or off it, the morning after it happens. The daily report is free through Tuesday 13 October: every power-play change in the league, in your inbox the next morning. No card, no password. After that, $27 keeps it daily for the whole season, or you drop to the free Monday email.
8 games measured · 0 quarantined · every threshold published