Blackhawks penalty kill struggling early, but last season offers hope

Through five games, the Chicago Blackhawks (1-4-0) have surrendered five power-play goals on 15 opportunities. The team sits 25th in the NHL rankings with a 66.7% penalty kill, a sharp contrast to their 2025-26 finish. Despite finishing with the second-worst record, the Blackhawks had the second-best penalty kill at 83.6%, trailing only the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche, which led the league with 84.6%. Now, one of Chicago's few bright spots from last season has become an early concern.

Blackhawks also surrendered early power-play goals last season

In a slight case of déjà vu, Chicago fans shouldn’t be overly alarmed by the team’s slow start to killing penalties this season, since that’s how it went last year. The Blackhawks gave up a power-play goal in their first three contests, as the Florida Panthers went 1-for-2 on the power play, followed by the Boston Bruins, who were 1-for-5. 

Meanwhile, who could forget Chicago’s parade to the penalty box in their home opener against the Montreal Canadiens? Thankfully, their Original Six rival scored only two power-play goals on 10 chances. In their fourth and fifth games, the Blackhawks held the Utah Mammoth and St. Louis Blues to no power-play goals, killing five penalties in the two games.

By game, Chicago’s penalty kill was 50%, 80%, 80%, 100%, and 100%, for an 81.8% success rate through their first five games. Twelve months later, with the same coaching staff and a slight personnel upgrade, the Blackhawks' penalty kill is operating 15.1 percentage points below its mark through four games last season.

Blackhawks' penalty kill remained a strength throughout last season

In October 2025, Chicago played 11 games, going 5-4-2, with modest power-play success at 16.6% and an 85.1% penalty kill. Moreover, the team continued those trends into November, going 6-5-3 with a 31.5% power-play rate and an 82.9% penalty-kill rate, their third-worst PK month of the season. 

When the season took a turn for the worse with a 3-9-2 December record, the power play tanked down to 11% while the penalty kill numbers stayed roughly the same at 82.2%. With a bounceback performance in January (7-7-2), the special teams improved to 17.7% and a season-best 91.8% on the PK. 

Despite only four games in February because of the Olympic break, the Blackhawks went 1-3-0, but special teams had nothing to do with it. The PP stayed at 17.6%, and the PK stayed clean at 90%. In the final full month of hockey, March, special teams numbers dropped dramatically, while Chicago went 5-6-5. Their power play was only 11.6% effective, and their penalty kill fell to 76.7%. 

In the final seven games, the Blackhawks went 2-5-0, with a 9.5% power play and a penalty kill that returned to their season average of 80%. 

Over a long season, a team's special-teams totals will have peaks and valleys. Even elite teams like the Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Avalanche go through dry spells in power-play production and penalty-killing. As last season showed, the Blackhawks can overcome occasional penalty-kill struggles and still finish among the NHL's best. However, maintaining that consistency all season will be the real challenge.

Five games won't define a season, and the Blackhawks proved last year that their penalty kill can overcome an inconsistent start. However, with Chicago already struggling to win games, getting one of its most reliable units back on track could make the difference between another frustrating loss and a much-needed victory.

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