When Rick Tocchet became head coach, there were three glaring holes the Flyers needed to resolve to some extent if they wanted to become playoff contenders in 2025-26: depth down the middle, goaltending and the power play. The signing of Trevor Zegras should help the center ice position. Dan Vladar’s signing should perhaps help take a bit of the load and pressure off of assumed starter Sam Ersson when October rolls around. But perhaps the biggest question mark now remains the power play. Is Zegras enough to get the effectiveness up to less than miserable? Will Michkov and Zegras find instant chemistry and make the Flyers’ first power play unit a huge positive? Or will they continue to struggle despite Tocchet and his new coaching staff throwing everything but the kitchen sink in trying to make it better?
Without rehashing the numbers which are well-versed, a power play that is around 20 percent could make all the difference regarding playoff contention. If it’s puttering and on life support most of the year then it’ll be that much harder to overcome. A team with a great power play can overcome being outplayed, stealing a handful of games thanks to their effectiveness five-on-four. But for the Flyers, the key more this year than any recent season is to get the power play running quickly right off the bat, thereby leaving the team with some much needed confidence early on. And instilling some confidence throughout the lineup. So let’s take a somewhat in-depth look at how Tocchet’s teams (in their first year under Tocchet’s helm) have started the season on their respective power plays.
Although the numbers at the beginning of the year might be far different than the percentages at the end of the season, we’ve decided to look at the initial 20 games from five seasons. Three of the seasons are the first full seasons Tocchet coached with Tampa Bay, Arizona, Vancouver. And we’ve also included the first 20-game segments from the two partial seasons Tocchet became a new head coach: once when he replaced Barry Melrose in 2008-09 with the Lightning, and again in 2022-23 when he took over from Bruce Boudreau in Vancouver. The partial seasons are known below as “Tampa Bay Lightning I” and “Vancouver Canucks I.” The first full seasons are known as “Tampa Bay Lightning II” and “Vancouver Canucks II.”
Granted, every season for each of the teams Tocchet coached was unique. Whether it was roster personnel, injuries or just the ups and downs of an NHL season, every season brings different issues. But in the end the numbers are the numbers. Here then is how Tocchet’s 20-game power play tenures broke down for each of the three respective teams he’s lead. (Note: the table below is broken down into 10-game segments, but each of the five in-depth looks breaks things down into smaller segments.)
| First 10-game efficiency | Second 10-game efficiency | Overall 20-game efficiency | |
| Tampa Bay I (2008-09) | 16 per cent (8-for-50) | 11.1 per cent (5-for-45) | 13.7 per cent (13-for-95) |
| Tampa Bay II (2009-10) | 18.4 per cent (9-for-49) | 17.5 per cent (7-for-40) | 17.9 per cent (16-for-89) |
| Arizona (2017-18) | 16.7 per cent (6-for-36) | 10 per cent (3-for-30) | 13.6 per cent (9-for-66) |
| Vancouver I (2022-23) | 22.6 per cent (7-for-31) | 18.8 per cent (6-for-32) | 20.6 per cent (13-for-63) |
| Vancouver II (2023-24) | 34.3 per cent (12-for-35) | 25.6 per cent (10-for-39) | 29.7 per cent (22-for-74) |
Tampa Bay Lightning I (2008-09)
After Barry Melrose was fired by Tampa Bay, the Lightning took a chance on Tocchet. And in terms of the team (which included Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Steven Stamkos, and Mark Recchi), the Lightning started clicking right off the bat. From Tocchet’s first game as coach on Nov. 14, 2008 through to their overtime loss against the Flyers on Dec. 2, Tampa Bay had scored on the power play in six of their first eight games, including a pair against both the Flyers the previous game against Colorado. They also scored in four of the last five games of that same 20-game segment from Nov. 14 through Dec. 30.
Unfortunately, there was a seven-game stretch in that roughly quarter of the season where the Lightning went seven consecutive games without scoring on the power play, ending up going 0-for-27 before snapping the drought on Dec. 20 against Atlanta. In short, the Lightning scored multiple power play goals on three occasions, and once in seven different games. That works out in terms of games to a simple 50 per cent in terms of how many games of the 20 they scored a power play goal. In terms of total efficiency or effectiveness, it ended up going 12-for-95, which works out to a percentage of roughly 12.6 per cent.
Compared to where the Flyers were at last season, the Lightning’s first 20 games under Tocchet with the man advantage was not great. But then again, Tocchet took over during the season. And that’s not really a completely fair measuring stick given he had very little practice time (or a training camp or exhibition season) to implement what he thought might work. Tocchet also missed Stamkos’ first NHL goal as seen below.
Tampa Bay Lightning II (2009-10)
With a training camp under his belt and another year of Stamkos, St. Louis and Lecavalier to help offensively, Tocchet’s Lightning again — much like they did when he took over in 2008-09 — hit the ground on all cylinders. From their season opener Oct. 3 loss against Atlanta through to a Nov. 21 loss against Carolina, the Lightning mirrored their effectiveness in the 2009-10 opening quarter much like the previous year. The power play started with five consecutive games where they scored a power play goal including a pair in a 3-2 win over the Panthers on Oct. 12. Through five games they were 6-for-27 for a 22.2 per cent efficiency.
However, after that opening stretch of games, Tampa’s power play went quite frigid. Only in two games in the next eight-game stretch did they score on the power play, scoring twice in an Oct. 29 game before going scoreless with a man up the ensuing three games. That eight-game stretch amounted to going 3-for-31, or essentially a power play percentage of, er, 9.7 per cent. The last seven games (from Nov. 5 through Nov. 21), Tampa Bay found whatever mojo they had in the opening stretch, scoring power play goals in six of those seven tilts. In that seven-game segment, the team went 7-for-31 on the power play, which is a slight improvement on their opening stretch (22.6 per cent). On the whole, Tampa Bay went 16-for-89 in the opening 20 games of 2009-10, which is good enough for a 17.9 per cent. If the Flyers ended up at 17.9 per cent through 20 games, there’s a good chance there would be a few more smiling faces on the bench and in the front office.
Arizona Coyotes 2017-18
The Arizona Coyotes Rick Tocchet took over in 2017-18 had none of the weapons he had in Tampa Bay. Instead of St. Louis, Lecavalier and Stamkos, Tocchet was working with a 19-year-old Clayton Keller, Derek Stepan and Max Domi as his top three offensive forwards. Over the first 20 games (Oct. 5 through Nov. 14), the Coyotes scored a power play goal in eight games. So in terms of games, that amounts to 40 per cent of the time Arizona had a game where they capitalized on the power play. In the opening five games, the Coyotes scored four goals. That works out to a 4-for-19 ratio, or a 21 per cent effectiveness. Not bad.
Unfortunately, outside of a four-game streak where they scored a power play goal in each, Arizona was as dry as their desert environs the remaining 15 games. They scored a power play goal in five contests of those remaining 15 which is a 33.3 percentage. The low point was the last eight games where they scored a lone goal with the man advantage. And that one came in an shootout loss to the Blues on Nov. 9. That 1-for-22 stretch works out to a measly, embarrassing 4.5 per cent. Overall, Arizona was 9-for-66 on the power play the opening 20 games of 2017-18. That is a 13.6 percentage. Which is essentially Flyers country the last few seasons.
Vancouver Canucks I (2022-23)
Much like he did in Tampa Bay, Tocchet entered the Vancouver Canucks situation roughly halfway through the season. His first game as Canucks head coach was Jan. 24, 2023 and Vancouver went 0 for 5 on that evening. Unlike his previous 20-game stints in the aforementioned seasons (and with seemingly comparable talent that would’ve rivaled what he had in Tampa Bay), Tocchet’s Canucks didn’t have a pulse much of the first five games of his tenure. Vancouver scored on the power play in one of their first five games, going 2-for-16 which is 12.5 per cent. The next segment of games was the polar opposite as Vancouver scored a power play goal in five of their following six, including a pair in a 6-5 win over the Islanders. They were humming along, going 6-for-19 for what was a highly impressive 31.6 efficiency.
The remaining remaining nine games had a power play goal in five of them. And due to the number of power play opportunities, the percentage wasn’t too shabby. A 5-for-28 works out to be 17.9 per cent, not tearing up the NHL but definitely a percentage that the Flyers wouldn’t mind. On the whole, Vancouver went 13-for-63, good enough for 20.6 per cent in their first 20 games after Tocchet took over mid-season. Again, it took a little while for them to figure out out, but the last three-quarters of those 20 games were quite strong for Vancouver with the power play.
Vancouver Canucks II (2023-24)
Tocchet’s first full season with the Canucks saw Vancouver score power play goals in the opening 20 games. And often in bunches! On opening night, the Canucks went 3-for-6. And that was one of four games in the first 20 where they scored three power play goals or more. Unfortunately, the opening seven games was a bit of a dry spell, coming up empty in four of the first seven. That percent didn’t drop much in those games as on two occasions they were limited to just one power play opportunity. So over the first seven games, Vancouver was 6-for-21, which is a stellar 28.6 per cent.
The following seven games, Vancouver doubled their power play production, scoring 12 times, including a ridiculous four goals against lowly San Jose on Nov. 2 in a 10-1 rout. But the Canucks also scored a pair on Nov. 11 and had three on Nov. 6. In short, they were 12-for-34, a criminal 35.2 per cent against the opposition while up a skater. Ridiculous! Of course, that hot streak cooled off somewhat, with Vancouver having four of the remaining six games out of the 20-game quarter without a power play goal. Nonetheless, Vancouver went 4-for-19 in that stretch, which is 21.1 per cent.
Overall, in the opening 20 games of 2023-24, Tocchet saw Vancouver go 22-for-74 on the power play. That works out to a stellar 29.7 per cent. Yes please, where does Philadephia sign up for that?
What can we take from this?
While it’s foolish to see a trend with five different 20-game segments over five seasons with three different teams, a lot of Flyers fans would be pleased to see seasons where the Flyers were clicking at 17 to 20 per cent in the opening quarter of 2025-26. It’s doubtful to think Zegras, Michkov, Travis Konecny, Tyson Foerster and Owen Tippett can somehow get the Flyers humming along at nearly 30 per cent, but if Philadelphia was at 20 to 22 per cent the majority of the season (with some highs and lows along the way), it’s a given Tocchet and his staff will have found the problems and fixed them, something Rocky Thompson never did in his time in Philadelphia. A strong start, particularly at home with a power play that looks not just average but in the top half of the league, will put Tocchet in a good light. And the Flyers in a great position for snapping the playoff drought.