Every Detroit Red Wings fan knows how abysmal the penalty kill was last season, and how it almost single-handedly ruined the 2024-25 campaign. There were other factors at play, like an injury to glue player Andrew Copp that caused the team to tank after they lost him for the year. And even Copp sounded off with his thoughts on the Wings' playoff drought.
Keeping players like Copp healthy is one way for the Wings to at least give themselves a chance to make a decent playoff run. Ditto for if they find the high-octane play that made them so dangerous with the puck in 2023-24. And in case you need a refresher, they finished ninth in the league with 275 goals.
That season, the penalty kill finished with a 79.58 percentage, just above league average. And guess what? The Wings' quest to the playoffs ended at Game No. 82. Fast-forward to 2024-25, and with a PK of 70.11%, they finished over 8 percentage points below the league average. So, is it any coincidence they regressed?
So, that's the bad news, considering just five of the league's 16 playoff teams landed in the bottom 16 in penalty kill percentage. Do the math, and that's less than one-third of the entire playoff field.
The Red Wings' PK unit was the biggest issue
No, they didn't score as well, finishing 22nd with 235 goals, but that number was nowhere near historically bad. And we're not talking about historically bad in franchise terms, but in league history. Oh, and speaking of which, the Wings have had some league-worst PK units for a while now.
In 2019-20, they ended up with a 74.3 PK percentage. Fast-forward to 2021-22, and it landed at 73.8. Not as poor as the 70.11 they bottomed out at last season, but neither the 2019-20 nor 2021-22 squads were remotely close to playoff contention.
The 2024-25 team wasn't the 2023-24 squad, but at least they sat two games outside of the first wild card spot on March 1 when they had 66 points. When you're one of the top eight teams with just a week to go before the trade deadline, that alone shows me you're more than playoff-caliber.
Red Wings penalty kill can't derail the 2025-26 season
Now, for the good news. One year after posting league-worst PK units in 2019-20 and 2021-22, the Wings improved by at least 4 percentage points the following season. If the Wings improved by 4 points against this season, they would still have one of the worst PK units in hockey, if the 2024-25 rankings are anything to go by. Roughly 29th in the league, all things equal.
These data points aren't saying that a bad penalty kill alone will tank a season. But if you're the Red Wings and if you want to do all you can to increase your odds of making the playoffs, you better get that penalty kill up to scratch, and ideally in the top 16. If not, you made your job way tougher if you hope to end this inexcusable playoff drought.