Joel Quenneville isn’t scared to go all-in on his first power play unit by sending his top five forwards, with only two Florida Panthers players in set positions.

Aleksander Barkov will start the power play as the centreman and switch to become the power play quarterback right after, while Sam Bennett starts off on the point for the faceoff and switches to the flank later on.

Let’s do a small breakdown on why they have success with five forwards and see if some teams will follow their lead in the future.

1. Barkov entries

Having a player like Barkov on the drop pass on the breakout is a luxury.

Usually, the puck carrier must go down low in the offensive zone, stop and set up. With Barkov carrying the puck, he can slow down right as he crosses the blue line and take the middle while his teammate is going hard at the net. The second advantage with Quenneville’s system is they do not have a set position. Barkov can rim the puck on the entry, stay on the flank, and play as a flanker.

It is a very fluid set up.

2. No positions

What if you ask your players on the power play not to play the same position? Let’s take a look at how the Panthers love rotating their top player (FLA16) with their flanker (FLA9). Usually, Barkov will play on top, but we can see Bennett playing and staying there as well.

From this, what if you had a rotation with the bumper, one player coming in and the other one coming out? And when Huberdeau gets the puck, why not ask your right flanker to go back door? This means you would have three players around the net… crazy!

3. Faceoff setup

Let’s look at the setup to start. Barkov, who’s taking the faceoff, will skate to the blue line to become the QB once they get possession. Bennett, who just started his shift in the defenceman position, will move to the right side and become the flanker.

Immediately, from the drop of the puck, there is a lot of movement and a lot of communication is needed for the opponent to know and understand what to do. If Florida losses the draw, they have three players hunting the puck like there’s no tomorrow.

4. Huberdeau

Jonathan Huberdeau has so much poise with the puck, always showing great patience and calmness. He was outstanding in the QMJHL, but now, he has taken a massive step in the last couple of years.

Huberdeau is one of the biggest reasons why the Florida Panthers have been successful on the power play. He is not looking for the east-west play. He instead tries to play south. He can make a play from the goal line or make a backhand behind the body pass to Barkov. He understands the game and we can see that when Barkov and Bennett are getting lower, he will come up a bit higher in case something happens.

The chemistry between him and Barkov is a huge part of their success.

5. Puck movement

The cherry on top of the Panthers power play is their puck movement. It’s so good and so hard to defend.

I’ve talked about the rotation, which is a nightmare for defenders to follow and track. But they can use the entire width of the ice within two passes. They are opening the middle of the ice for the seam play. Even when they are under pressure, their release point is so good. Again, they are using their offensive instinct, and not relying so much on specific systems.