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How Hockey ChangedThe Vanishing Game

The Power Play Is Disappearing

Referees call about half as many penalties as they did 20 years ago, and the power play’s share of scoring is back where it was in the 1960s. Yet goals are back above six a game. We split every goal since 2005-06 by strength to see where the rebound came from.

Verdict: Data story

By Edgehalla ResearchPublished 7 min read

More takeaways below

  • Power plays score more often than they used to (21.6% in 2024-25, the best since the mid-1980s), but there are too few of them to matter much.
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On this page

How many power plays a game does the NHL have now?

In 2024-25 the two teams in an NHL game combined for 5.41 power plays. That was the lowest since the league started tracking power-play chances in 1977-78. The peak was 11.7 in 2005-06, the first season after the lockout; the late 1980s ran close, with 10.9 in 1987-88.

Power-play chances per game, both teams

NHL regular season, since power-play chances were first tracked

Show data
Power-play chances fell from 11.7 a game in 2005-06 to 5.41 in 2024-25, the lowest since tracking began in 1977-78.
SeasonPower-play chances
1977-786.4 chances a game
1978-796.8 chances a game
1979-807.0 chances a game
1980-818.5 chances a game
1981-828.0 chances a game
1982-837.7 chances a game
1983-848.4 chances a game
1984-858.1 chances a game
1985-869.3 chances a game
1986-878.6 chances a game
1987-8810.9 chances a game
1988-8910.1 chances a game
1989-909.2 chances a game
1990-919.2 chances a game
1991-9210.0 chances a game
1992-9310.6 chances a game
1993-949.7 chances a game
1994-958.7 chances a game
1995-9610.1 chances a game
1996-978.2 chances a game
1997-989.3 chances a game
1998-998.8 chances a game
1999-008.1 chances a game
2000-019.2 chances a game
2001-028.3 chances a game
2002-038.8 chances a game
2003-048.5 chances a game
2004-05–
2005-0611.7 chances a game
2006-079.7 chances a game
2007-088.6 chances a game
2008-098.3 chances a game
2009-107.4 chances a game
2010-117.1 chances a game
2011-126.6 chances a game
2012-136.7 chances a game
2013-146.6 chances a game
2014-156.1 chances a game
2015-166.2 chances a game
2016-176.0 chances a game
2017-186.1 chances a game
2018-195.8 chances a game
2019-206.0 chances a game
2020-215.8 chances a game
2021-225.8 chances a game
2022-236.1 chances a game
2023-246.0 chances a game
2024-255.4 chances a game
2025-265.8 chances a game
  • 2005-06: First season after the lockout
Sum of every team’s power-play opportunities divided by games played. The 2004-05 season was cancelled.

The 2005-06 spike did not last: by 2009-10 chances were back to 7.4, closer to the late 1970s (6.4 to 7.0). The second slide, from there to 5.41, has no single rule behind it. Minor penalties fell from 12.8 a game in 2005-06 to 6.0 in 2024-25.

The power play’s share of goals

Power-play goals are published from 1933-34. Their share of all goals was about 10% to 20% through the 1940s, about 16% to 25% from the 1950s to the 1970s, about 22% to 30% through the 1980s and 1990s, and 34.2% in 2005-06. Every season since 2016-17 has been at 21% or below, a ten-season run last seen before 1953.

Power-play goals as a share of all goals

NHL regular season, from 1933-34 (the first season the split is published)

Show data
The power play produced 34.2% of goals in 2005-06 and 19.7% in 2025-26, back to the levels of the 1960s and 1970s.
SeasonPower-play share of goals
1933-3415.8%
1934-3515.8%
1935-3617.1%
1936-3712.3%
1937-3812.2%
1938-3915.0%
1939-4010.5%
1940-4110.2%
1941-4214.1%
1942-4315.5%
1943-449.7%
1944-4511.2%
1945-4613.2%
1946-4716.9%
1947-4817.0%
1948-4919.6%
1949-5019.8%
1950-5116.2%
1951-5220.2%
1952-5319.9%
1953-5424.7%
1954-5522.9%
1955-5623.9%
1956-5723.4%
1957-5820.9%
1958-5921.4%
1959-6018.4%
1960-6119.6%
1961-6219.0%
1962-6318.6%
1963-6420.7%
1964-6524.3%
1965-6623.3%
1966-6720.3%
1967-6819.8%
1968-6920.3%
1969-7024.9%
1970-7122.1%
1971-7221.8%
1972-7319.1%
1973-7419.7%
1974-7523.5%
1975-7624.2%
1976-7719.8%
1977-7820.4%
1978-7922.0%
1979-8021.8%
1980-8124.9%
1981-8222.8%
1982-8323.0%
1983-8423.4%
1984-8522.9%
1985-8625.7%
1986-8724.6%
1987-8829.9%
1988-8928.3%
1989-9025.9%
1990-9125.7%
1991-9227.8%
1992-9328.5%
1993-9427.9%
1994-9525.9%
1995-9628.8%
1996-9722.9%
1997-9826.5%
1998-9926.3%
1999-0023.7%
2000-0127.7%
2001-0224.8%
2002-0327.4%
2003-0427.2%
2004-05–
2005-0634.2%
2006-0729.6%
2007-0828.0%
2008-0927.7%
2009-1024.5%
2010-1123.4%
2011-1221.5%
2012-1322.8%
2013-1421.9%
2014-1521.4%
2015-1621.8%
2016-1721.0%
2017-1820.9%
2018-1919.3%
2019-2020.0%
2020-2119.7%
2021-2219.2%
2022-2320.8%
2023-2420.5%
2024-2519.4%
2025-2619.7%
  • Power-play era: 1979-80 to 2005-06
Goals by strength from NHL skater totals (shootout goals are not goals here).

Where the scoring rebound came from

Goals bottomed out at about 5.33 a game across 2011-12 to 2015-16 and rose to 6.17 across 2021-22 to 2025-26. With fewer power plays, the extra goals had to come from somewhere else. Empty-net goals matter here: the NHL counts most of them as even-strength goals, and goalie pulls have become far more common.

Goals per game by strength since 2005-06

Both teams, NHL regular season

Show data
Even-strength goals with a goalie in net rose from 3.72 a game in 2015-16 to 4.40 in 2025-26, while power-play goals stayed near 1.2.
SeasonEven strength, goalie in netPower playEmpty net
2005-063.58 goals a game2.07 goals a game0.15 goals a game
2006-073.67 goals a game1.71 goals a game0.17 goals a game
2007-083.55 goals a game1.52 goals a game0.18 goals a game
2008-093.75 goals a game1.58 goals a game0.19 goals a game
2009-103.86 goals a game1.35 goals a game0.17 goals a game
2010-113.84 goals a game1.28 goals a game0.19 goals a game
2011-123.83 goals a game1.15 goals a game0.19 goals a game
2012-133.78 goals a game1.21 goals a game0.19 goals a game
2013-143.83 goals a game1.17 goals a game0.18 goals a game
2014-153.81 goals a game1.14 goals a game0.24 goals a game
2015-163.72 goals a game1.16 goals a game0.30 goals a game
2016-173.92 goals a game1.14 goals a game0.24 goals a game
2017-184.19 goals a game1.23 goals a game0.28 goals a game
2018-194.30 goals a game1.15 goals a game0.32 goals a game
2019-204.28 goals a game1.19 goals a game0.31 goals a game
2020-214.21 goals a game1.14 goals a game0.30 goals a game
2021-224.50 goals a game1.19 goals a game0.36 goals a game
2022-234.45 goals a game1.31 goals a game0.33 goals a game
2023-244.38 goals a game1.27 goals a game0.34 goals a game
2024-254.29 goals a game1.17 goals a game0.40 goals a game
2025-264.40 goals a game1.22 goals a game0.39 goals a game
Even strength with goalie in net = even-strength goals minus empty-net goals (empty-net goals are published from 2005-06). A few empty-net goals are scored shorthanded or on the power play, so this line runs slightly low.
Goals per game, both teams, five-season averages (weighted by games).
Strength2011-12 to 2015-162021-22 to 2025-26ChangeShare of the rise
Even strength, goalie in net3.794.40+0.6173%

Continues below

Rows 2–5 of 5
Strength2011-12 to 2015-162021-22 to 2025-26ChangeShare of the rise
Empty-net goals0.220.36+0.1417%
Power-play goals1.161.23+0.078%
Shorthanded goals0.150.17+0.022%
All goals5.336.17+0.84100%

So the hunch mostly holds: the rebound did not come from the power play. About 73% came at even strength into a guarded net, and about 17% came from empty nets, which is the goalie pull changing the end of games. The power play added 8%. (Shares do not add to exactly 100% because of rounding.) The goalie pull’s true share is a little bigger than the empty-net line: the guarded-net bucket still holds the extra-attacker goals scored by the team that pulled its goalie, about 0.1 a game in recent seasons.

Fewer power plays, but better ones

Teams convert more of the chances they get. League power-play success was 17.7% in 2005-06 and 21.6% in 2024-25, the best since 22.1% in 1985-86. A rarer, more skilled power play is still a smaller part of the game: 1.2 goals a game against 2.1 in 2005-06.

League power-play percentage

Power-play goals ÷ power-play chances, NHL regular season

Show data
League power-play success rose from 17.7% in 2005-06 to 21.6% in 2024-25, the highest since 1985-86.
SeasonPower-play %
1977-7821.2%
1978-7922.7%
1979-8021.9%
1980-8122.5%
1981-8222.9%
1982-8323.0%
1983-8422.0%
1984-8522.1%
1985-8622.1%
1986-8721.0%
1987-8820.3%
1988-8921.0%
1989-9020.8%
1990-9119.4%
1991-9219.2%
1992-9319.6%
1993-9418.6%
1994-9517.7%
1995-9617.9%
1996-9716.3%
1997-9815.1%
1998-9915.8%
1999-0016.2%
2000-0116.6%
2001-0215.8%
2002-0316.4%
2003-0416.5%
2004-05–
2005-0617.7%
2006-0717.6%
2007-0817.7%
2008-0918.9%
2009-1018.2%
2010-1118.0%
2011-1217.3%
2012-1318.2%
2013-1417.9%
2014-1518.7%
2015-1618.7%
2016-1719.1%
2017-1820.2%
2018-1919.8%
2019-2020.0%
2020-2119.8%
2021-2220.6%
2022-2321.3%
2023-2421.0%
2024-2521.6%
2025-2621.1%

What it means for how games are decided

  • Special teams decide less. With about six chances a game, the power play produces about a fifth of all goals, down from a third in 2005-06.
  • The goalie pull matters more. Empty-net goals went from 0.14 a game in 2005-06 to about 0.4, roughly a third of what the power play produces.
  • Season splits are short. 2012-13 (48 games), 2019-20 (cut short) and 2020-21 (56 games) are rates per game, so they still compare, but they carry more noise.

Show the work

Tests written down
Not in advance (exploratory)
Results computed

League totals for every NHL regular season: power-play chances from 1977-78, goals by strength from 1933-34, empty-net goals from 2005-06, from the NHL stats API. The rebound comparison uses five-season averages weighted by games, so no single season sets it.

Every test we graded
TestResultVerdict
Power-play chances hit a record low5.41 a game in 2024-25 (since 1977-78)Holds
The scoring rebound came entirely at even strengthAbout three quarters at even strength, a sixth empty net, under a tenth power playMostly holds

Frequently asked questions

Why are there fewer power plays in the NHL?

Fewer minor penalties are called: about 6 a game in 2024-25 against 12.8 in 2005-06. The season totals cannot say how much is players taking fewer penalties and how much is referees calling fewer.

What is the record low for NHL power-play opportunities?

5.41 a game (both teams) in 2024-25, the fewest since the NHL began tracking power-play chances in 1977-78. 2025-26 was 5.76.

What share of NHL goals are power-play goals?

About 20%. It was 19.7% in 2025-26, down from 34.2% in 2005-06. Every season since 2016-17 has been at 21% or below, a run last seen before 1953.

Did NHL scoring go up because of the power play?

No. Comparing 2021-26 with 2011-16, about three quarters of the extra goals came at even strength into a guarded net, about a sixth from empty nets, and under a tenth from the power play.

More in The Vanishing Game

All How Hockey Changed research

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Sources and method

  1. NHL stats (NHL.com), every season since 1917-18
  2. NHL stats API: team power play, penalties and realtime totals; skater goals by strength
  3. Scouting the Refs: NHL historical rule changes
  4. ESPN: why penalties and power plays are down in 2024-25

Research and analysis, not betting advice. Past results do not guarantee future returns; bet only what you can afford to lose.