The CH has the worst power play in the NHL (according to advanced statistics)

Félix Forget
The CH has the worst power play in the NHL (according to advanced statistics)
Credit: Capture d'écran | Twitter

The Canadiens' power play hasn't exactly been effective since the start of the season. Despite all the talent on the team, they've scored just once (thanks to Zachary Bolduc, on the second wave) in 13 power-play opportunities.

The sample size is very small, of course. But it's still a fact.

As a result, the Habs (7.7%) currently rank 27th in the NHL in power-play efficiency for the 2026-27 season. Only the Devils (7.1%), the Flyers (6.7%), the Lightning (6.3%), the Panthers (4.3%), and the Sabres (0%) are doing worse than Martin St-Louis's team.

That said, it's even worse when you look at the advanced statistics: in fact, no team performs worse than the Habs in terms of expected goals per 60 minutes on the power play.

This means that no team is worse than the Canadiens at creating scoring chances on the power play this season. That's… concerning.

Of course, it's still pretty early to panic. Given how small the sample size is, there's reason to believe this is more of a temporary slump than anything else.

Especially since, of the team's 13 power-play situations this season, nine of them have come in the last two games, in which Ivan Demidov did not play. That said, there have still been some power-play drills with the Russian.

We'll have to hope that, sooner or later, the immense talent of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovský, and Lane Hutson (and, upon his return, Ivan Demidov) will allow the team to regain its footing on the power play. We know this approach can work (the team ranked 10th in the NHL with a 23.1% power-play efficiency last year), and they'll need to find a way to recreate that magic.

Because right now, the team isn't generating anything on the power play. And if that doesn't change, it's going to be pretty tough to find success.


In a Nutshell

– In case you were wondering.

– Several scouts at the Bell Centre today.

– One to watch.

– The Bruins held their ground in Charlie McAvoy's absence.

– Interesting.

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