What is a PP1 spot actually worth?
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2026-27 · measured from NHL shift charts and play-by-play
A first-unit spot on Utah was worth 1.500 power-play goals a game in 2026-27 so far (through 12 Oct); the same spot on St. Louis (one of 3 level) was worth 0.000 — a first unit that has not scored a power-play goal. The label is identical. The asset is not.
Across all 32 clubs the difference is almost entirely deployment and finishing: how efficient the unit is once out there explains 87.2%, what share of the club's power-play time it is on for explains 15.6% and how often the club draws a penalty explains 19.6% of the spread in first-unit goals per game.
Carolina's first unit ranked 13th in efficiency and 5th in production, because Carolina gave it 72.0% of its power-play time — 13th of 32.
How this is measured
First-unit goals per game decomposes exactly: the minutes the unit is on the ice per game, times its goals per minute, is its goals per game. That is an identity rather than a model, which is why this page says "because" about the share term and does not say it about anything else. Opportunity — how often the club draws a penalty — sits outside that product as context.
This table covers the 2026-27 regular season · updated nightly.
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What is a PP1 spot actually worth?
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Measured from the NHL's own shift charts: 89 games in 2026-27.
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Most power plays drawn · Heaviest PP1 lean · Most stable units · Longest streaks · Top 10: best PP clubs · Top 10: worst PP clubs