CAREER POWER-PLAY GOALS
	Through Nov. 15:
	Rk	Player	PPG
	1.	Dave Andreychuk	250
	2.	Phil Esposito	249
	3.	Brett Hull	245
	4.	Marcel Dionne	234
	5.	Dino Ciccarelli	232
	6.	Luc Robitaille	230
	7.	Mario Lemieux	223
	8.	Mike Gartner	217
	9.	Gordie Howe	211
	10.	Wayne Gretzky	204

Scoring goals on the power play is more difficult than it appears. Sure, you've got the man advantage, but as a player, you can never underestimate another team's abilty to protect the net. Every team practices the penalty kill, and if they're focused and composed, they'll certainly handle the added pressure.

On the power play, you have to move the puck and get off quality shots. Then, of course, there's still that tedious task of beating the goalie.

I'm happy to see Dave Andreychuk achieve this milestone in his career. His scoring success on the power play is no abberation. He's used his size, positioning and great hands to get to this point.

But he isn't the only one:

Dave Andreychuk

	Andreychuk

The book on Andreychuk has always been that he's very strong, but can't skate very well. Which is interesting, considering he's scored close to 600 goals in his career (597). His tremendous size (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), makes him difficult to defend and virtually impossible to move. Defensemen play to his stick as much as possible, because playing to his body is just a waste of time. Andreychuk uses his size to his advantage. He gets closer to the net, and he always has his stick on the ice. He's got great hands and seems to get a stick on anything that gets near him.

Like any other player who's successful on the power play, Andreychuk's positioning is very good. He knows his strengths, and he's smart about positioning himself to take advantage of the play. You can have great hands, but if you can't position yourself in the right spot on the ice, it really doesn't matter. During the power play, he capitalizes on the little extra space in front of the net. And because he's so extraordinarily strong, he gets to the front of the net and makes it work for him.

Hockey is all about playing to your strengths. Players like Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky would have own every record, but their skills include setting guys up and moving the puck around. Andreychuk is a pure scorer -- that's what separates him from the rest.

Brett Hull

	Hull

During the power play, you can generally find Brett Hull hanging out in the left faceoff circle. A right-handed shot, Hull can shoot his massive one-timer from anywhere in that circle. And nobody shoots a better one-timer than Hull. He doesn't skate all over the place and he gets himself in passing lane position better than anyone. He doesn't get enough credit for his passing ability. Hull has an uncanny ability to anticipate what the guy with the puck is looking at, get himself into position to take the pass, and one-time it to the goal. The puck is on and off Hull's stick quicker than anyone else in the game.

Luc Robitaille

	Robitaille

Overall, Robitaille is a well-rounded player. There's nothing in particular that stands out about him -- he's got a good shot, but it's not the best. He's got a good release, but it's not the best. Robitaille's competitiveness and heart make him special. He absolutely loves to score and will endure all sorts of punishment to get in position. On the power play, he takes advantage of the extra couple of feet as well as anyone in the league. Generally, he'll be in the right faceoff circle or in front of the net. And he'll do whatever it takes to get there.

Robitaille is an interesting case. Like Andreychuk, for years, everyone has said that he can't skate and that he's too slow. But considering he's got 622 goals, he's got to be doing something right. When I played with Robitaille, what surprised and impressed me most was how hard he competes for a loose puck. If there's a loose puck around the net, and he can possibly get his stick on it, he's got it.

It seems like every time Robitaille shoots the puck, it goes in on it's side or it will just barely squeaks past the goalie. I've never seen someone score more goals that, after the puck goes into net, everyone in the rink thinks, "Geez, that was a bad goal." Some chalk it up to luck, and if he only had 100 goals, I might agree, but that's not the case. His approach may be somewhat unconventional, but he gets the job done.

Mario Lemieux

	Lemieux

Mario Lemieux can do just about anything he wants. He uses his size and his great reach, he's an excellent passer and he seemingly has pinpoint accuracy with his shot. Lemieux hangs in the same circle as Brett Hull, but if the goaltender plays the pass a little bit, Lemieux has the skill to beat him through a small crack off the goal post or through the legs. I've seen him score goals from behind the net.

Of all these stars, Lemieux is the only player I've seen who forces teams to actually adjust their penalty kill just to stop him. They'll try to take him out of the equation. They might try to shade a forward over to him a bit. But Lemieux is so good that when he makes a pass across the ice, his teammate receiving the pass has 20 feet of room. When teams focus on Lemieux, they're leaving themselves vulnerable in other areas, so it's basically pick your poison -- you're going to get hurt eventually.

Other than hoping he's out of the lineup, there's no real way to defend him. The best you can do is try to get the puck out of his hands as quickly as possible. It doesn't matter where it goes, as long as it's not on his stick. Whoever else gets the puck is not as good as him. Even if it's Alexei Kovalev-- who I believe is among the most talented players in the league -- he's still not as good as Lemieux. If someone else beats you, that's the way it goes. In the World Series, the Anaheim Angels pitched around Barry Bonds and said, "If anyone else can beat us, go ahead." And in the end, the Giants couldn't.

Of these stars, Lemieux is the one who'll end up on both sides of the ice, but mainly he'll be in that left faceoff circle, up high by the point or down near the goal-line more than the others. With Robitaille and Andreychuk, you could probably throw a blanket over their area on the power play. Hull is more mobile, but Lemieux is by far the most mobile.

Ray Ferraro is a hockey analyst for ESPN. He retired from an 18-year NHL career after the 2001-02 season.