What is Power Play Points?

Points (goals or assists) a player earns while their team has a numerical advantage due to an opponent's penalty.

What this tells us

When a player scores or helps set up a goal during a power play, it counts as a power-play point. A player who racks up power-play points is someone you can count on to capitalize when the other team is shorthanded. It's a good sign of offensive instincts and positioning in high-leverage situations.

Limitations

Power-play points can be misleading on their own because they depend heavily on how many power plays a player's team gets — and that varies wildly by team, season, and league. A player on a team that takes many penalties against them will rack up PPP just because they get more chances. That's why it's worth looking at power-play point rate (PPP/60) to level the playing field, and also checking whether a player is actually *creating* those advantages or just benefiting from them.

Example

A top-line forward on a strong power-play unit might accumulate 25–35 power-play points over a season. A depth player or someone on a weak power play might finish with single digits.