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Who has the best and worst special teams in the NHL?

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates his third-period goal with Evgeni Malkin (71) during an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh Monday, Nov. 18, 2013. The Penguins won 3-1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

The Pittsburgh Penguins may be on a two-game losing streak, but at least they can still say they have the best special teams in the NHL.

The following shows the combined power-play and penalty-kill rates for all 30 teams. The Pens have the top-ranked PP and the third-ranked PK.

Team PP% PK% Combined
1PITTSBURGH24.386.1110.4
2NEW JERSEY20.787.0107.7
3ST LOUIS20.786.3107.0
4WASHINGTON23.780.8104.5
5PHILADELPHIA20.184.2104.3
6BOSTON20.583.8104.3
7NY RANGERS19.384.6103.9
8MONTREAL18.285.1103.3
9COLORADO20.881.1101.9
10DETROIT17.484.1101.5
11CHICAGO20.880.6101.4
12SAN JOSE15.984.7100.6
13NASHVILLE20.180.4100.5
14COLUMBUS18.382.0100.3
15WINNIPEG14.585.099.5
16PHOENIX20.279.299.4
17TORONTO20.778.499.1
18MINNESOTA18.380.698.9
19EDMONTON16.282.398.5
20ANAHEIM16.481.998.3
21OTTAWA18.479.998.3
22LOS ANGELES14.983.198.0
23CALGARY15.482.197.5
24VANCOUVER14.283.097.2
25DALLAS16.081.197.1
26TAMPA BAY16.680.497.0
27BUFFALO14.282.096.2
28NY ISLANDERS16.977.394.2
29CAROLINA12.681.393.9
30FLORIDA10.775.185.8

As you can see, the poor Panthers are dead last in the combined category, and by a wide margin. Florida ranks 30th in both the PP and the PK. Which makes it tough to win many games, because they’re not the greatest even-strength team either.

The largest disparity between good penalty killing and a poor power play? That would be Winnipeg, with the fifth-ranked PK and 26th-ranked PP. (Honorable mentions: San Jose, Vancouver, and Carolina.)

The largest disparity between a good power play and poor penalty killing? That would be Washington, with the second-ranked PP and 21-st ranked PK. (Honorable mentions: Toronto, Phoenix and Chicago.)