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NHL Standings ranked by PK percentage highlight the NY Islanders struggles

The  NY Islanders no doubt have the worst special teams in hockey, but their PK percentage is particularly bad.

ByTodd Matthews|
Jan 11, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; New York Islanders center Brock Nelson (29) celebrates with left wing Anders Lee (27), defenseman Scott Mayfield (24), and center Mathew Barzal (13) after a goal against the Utah Hockey Club during third period at the Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images
Jan 11, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; New York Islanders center Brock Nelson (29) celebrates with left wing Anders Lee (27), defenseman Scott Mayfield (24), and center Mathew Barzal (13) after a goal against the Utah Hockey Club during third period at the Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images | Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

While the NY Islanders have recently shown signs of life, the truth is they have a long way to go in the points if they plan on playing more hockey following the 82nd game of the regular season. Scoring has been an issue, but you can argue the Isles special teams have been an absolute nightmare for this hockey team.

How bad has it gotten? Well, let’s just say neither the Islanders power play nor penalty kill is even remotely good this season. And today, I wanted to talk more about the PK unit because, for a team that hasn’t accrued many penalty kill opportunities this season, it shouldn’t be so hard for the Isles to play solid hockey at 4-on-5.

Heading into Tuesday night’s slate of games, nobody in the league has had fewer penalty kill opportunities. So, if you haven’t had a chance to see how bad things have gotten for the PK out of those 89 opportunities the team has had, you’re in for a rude awakening. 

NY Islanders PK metric has been an eyesore at the season’s midway point

If we were to take the NHL Standings and rank them in the penalty kill metric instead of points, you’ll have to scroll down a long way to find out where the Isles stand. 

  1. Carolina Hurricanes - 84.96
  2. Dallas Stars - 84.96
  3. Toronto Maple Leafs - 83.58
  4. Washington Capitals - 83.46
  5. Nashville Predators - 83.46
  6. Chicago Blackhawks - 83.33
  7. New York Rangers - 82.71
  8. New Jersey Devils - 82.54
  9. Los Angeles Kings - 82.11
  10. Montreal Canadiens - 81.94
  11. Tampa Bay Lightning - 81.65
  12. Vancouver Canucks - 81.45
  13. Utah Hockey Club - 80.85
  14. Florida Panthers - 79.71
  15. Pittsburgh Penguins - 79.03
  16. Winnipeg Jets - 78.99
  17. Ottawa Senators - 78.40
  18. Colorado Avalanche - 78.38
  19. Buffalo Sabres - 78.36
  20. San Jose Sharks - 78.26
  21. Philadelphia Flyers - 78.26
  22. Vegas Golden Knights -77.78
  23. Seattle Kraken - 77.45
  24. Edmonton Oilers - 77.08
  25. Boston Bruins - 75.71
  26. Columbus Blue Jackets - 73.39
  27. St. Louis Blues - 73.39
  28. Anaheim Ducks - 72.73
  29. Minnesota Wild - 71.56
  30. Calgary Flames - 70.49
  31. Detroit Red Wings - 69.09
  32. New York Islanders - 65.17

Accurate as of January 14th

Yep, a long way, as in the 32nd-ranked team in the 32-team league. Not a good sight, but right now, it’s the situation the Isles find themselves in. The good news is that this team has nowhere to go but up while at 4-on-5 and, spoiler alert, even on the man advantage itself, for that matter. 

Maybe this week, they’ll start slowly turning things around, and that their efforts will at least lead to somewhat better results. By the time some of you read this piece, the Isles will have faced the Ottawa Senators. Maybe they’ll be perfect on the PK and snag one of those elusive power play goals?

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