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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsPower-play percentage (PP%) tells you how often a team scores on its power-play opportunities; penalty-kill percentage (PK%) tells you how often it kills the shorthanded situations it faces. Both are rates—not goal totals, time-on-ice measures, or counts of penalties drawn or taken. To compare teams fairly, check the underlying counts and make sure the figures cover the same league and season.
What do PP% and PK% mean?
PP% measures power-play goals relative to power-play opportunities. PK% measures the share of shorthanded situations in which the team does not allow a power-play goal. The NHL glossary defines the calculations and their inputs in its glossary.
Power-play percentage
PP% = power-play goals ÷ power-play opportunities × 100. If a team scores 5 power-play goals in 20 opportunities, its PP% is 25%: 5 ÷ 20 × 100. The percentage is a conversion rate across opportunities, not the number of goals scored.
Penalty-kill percentage
PK% = (shorthanded situations − power-play goals allowed) ÷ shorthanded situations × 100. If a team allows 4 power-play goals in 20 shorthanded situations, it kills 16 of them, for an 80% PK%: (20 − 4) ÷ 20 × 100.
What counts as an opportunity?
In NHL statistics, the opportunity count follows league scoring rules; it is not simply a count of power-play goals. The NHL’s official statistical rules specify, among other cases, that a goal after the relevant minor penalty expires is not a power-play goal, and a goal on a delayed penalty is not one either. The rules also say a club is considered to have had an advantage if it was on a power play for any length of time.
For an advantage from a five-minute major or match penalty, the rules credit one more power-play opportunity than the number of goals scored during that advantage because the penalty does not expire. This helps explain why the opportunity denominator can rise without a corresponding power-play goal. If exact scoring treatment matters, consult the league’s statistical guide rather than infer the count from goals alone.
How should you interpret the percentages?
Read the rate with its counts
A percentage based on few opportunities can shift sharply after a single goal or successful kill. Look for the goals and opportunities behind the rate when those counts are available. The NHL’s historical team table, for example, presents goals and attempts alongside the percentage.
Separate conversion from volume
PP% tells you how often a team scored per opportunity, not how often it drew penalties. PK% tells you how often it killed a shorthanded situation, not how often it took penalties. The denominators are opportunities, not games, minutes, or total shots.
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A league rank describes where a team’s rate stood relative to other teams in the listed season. It does not explain why the unit performed that way or establish that the same performance will continue.
Use more than outcomes to diagnose performance
PP% and PK% record binary outcomes per opportunity; by themselves, they do not describe the quality of chances or explain why a goal was scored or prevented. A 2026 analysis from the Sports Analytics Group at Berkeley discusses reading these rates alongside expected-goal performance and notes that observed conversion can reflect shooting or goaltending outcomes. That is an analytical perspective, not an official replacement for the NHL’s definitions: Berkeley’s special-teams analysis.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare two teams fairly
Use figures from the same league, season, and date range, then compare the rate with the counts and context that produced it.
- Rate: PP% or PK%.
- Opportunity count: the denominator behind the rate.
- Outcome count: power-play goals scored or allowed.
- Additional context: chance quality and shooting or goaltending outcomes, when reliable data are available.
Avoid directly comparing NHL numbers with NCAA or another league’s numbers without checking that competition’s applicable scoring guide and season context. The available NCAA statistical manual is from 2011–12; it uses the same broad formula pattern but does not establish that every league or provider treats every edge case identically today. See the NCAA statistical manual, and use the relevant competition’s current manual for a current cross-league comparison.
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Is PP% plus PK% an official combined statistic?
Adding PP% and PK% can provide a quick shorthand for two special-teams rates, but the official NHL sources define PP% and PK% separately and do not establish their sum as an official standard. If you use the sum, label it as a shorthand, keep both component rates visible, and include the opportunity counts behind them.
What is a good power-play or penalty-kill percentage?
There is no timeless threshold established by the cited NHL sources. Whether a rate is strong depends on the league and season being compared, so use season-specific team data rather than treating one figure as universally good.
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