What is not mentioned, but relevant when it comes to winning hockey games? Goals are very important, but the penalty kill is an aspect of every team’s game, not usually talked about much.
With their penalty kill having its high and low moments over the last couple seasons, the Edmonton Oilers and their penalty kill is what I will be discussing today.
I’ll be taking a look at the line combinations, season percentages (last three seasons), and the top players that make up the Oilers penalty kill.
Penalty kill line combinations
Since the 2022–23 season, the Oilers top penalty killers (based on their time on ice) have been the same players a few times, but the Oilers have realistically run with many different players on their penalty kill.
2025
Mattias Ekholm – Ty Emberson
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Adam Henrique
2024
Cody Ceci – Darnell Nurse
Mattias Ekholm – Vincent Desharnais
2023
Darnell Nurse – Cody Ceci
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Brett Kulak
There have been four guys that seem to have been key pieces for the Oilers penalty kill over the last three years: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mattias Ekholm, Cody Ceci, and Darnell Nurse.
Later in this article, I will take a look at each of these four players and what they have brought to the Oilers penalty kill over the last few years. I might even talk about the greatest Oilers defenceman, who is now working with the team behind the bench.
Comparing penalty kill percentages
The biggest take away from the Oilers penalty kill in the last three seasons, is that they have not had their penalty kill in the top 10 league-wide, and have one of the worst penalty kills this season as well.
2023: 20th in the NHL at 77.0%
2024: 15th in the NHL at 79.5%
2025: 26th in the NHL at 74.8%
What is a big factor that has been contributing to the ranking of the Oilers penalty kill? It could be the players that are on the ice the most when the team is down a man, or it could be that the team is getting stuck without possession, so they can’t get the puck down the ice to run the clock down.
I am going to be looking at the blocked shots compared to the net shots when the Oilers are down a man on the penalty kill.
Blocked shots compared to shots on net
56 blocks in 2025
119 blocks in 2024
82 blocks in 2023
As you can see, the top-four players on the Oilers penalty kill, haven’t really had any problems when it came to blocking shots with their bodies. The Oilers have killed 532 penalties over the last three seasons, and the top-four players have blocked a total of 257 shots. That means that they have blocked an average of one shot every 2.07 times they killed off a penalty.
28 shots in 2023
24 shots in 2024
13 shots in 2025
From the shorthanded chances that the top-four have had, the Oilers penalty killers have had 65 opportunities to score a shorthanded goal, even though they were trying to kill a penalty. This is a random stat, but the Oilers every 8.18 penalties killed, have scored at least one shorthanded goal over the last three years.
Penalty kill streak
The Edmonton Oilers penalty kill, really showed what it could do in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year. The Oilers top penalty killers were able to shine when they didn’t allow a goal 34 straight times. Unfortunately that streak came to an end, when the Oilers went down 3–1 in the series to the Florida Panthers.
Throughout the Oilers season, they went from having a 79.5% penalty kill (regular season), to a jaw-dropping 94.3% penalty kill in the playoffs. So the Oilers penalty kill has shown us what it can be like when it is at its best, but based on how this season has played out, it might be a while before we see another Oilers penalty kill that consistent and dominate.
In depth look at the penalty kill players
It’s time to take a look into the Oilers top-four penalty killers, and what they brought to the team penalty kill over the last three seasons.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Every penalty kill needs some offensive prowess, and Nugent-Hopkins is able to bring that. As a forward on a penalty kill, it’s automatically very hard to get that puck from your defensive zone into the offensive zone for a scoring chance. In the last three seasons, Nugent-Hopkins has one shorthanded goal and seven shorthanded points. Although Nuge hasn’t produced much on the penalty kill, he has managed to bring his presence to it, and has made it known.
Mattias Ekholm
Defence kills penalties, because that’s their job, and that’s what the Oilers core defenceman in Ekholm has done for the team. Ekholm has only been an Oiler for three seasons, and has been a key piece of the penalty kill since day one. Like Nugent-Hopkins, Ekholm has scored one shorthanded goal, but only has two shorthanded points. Ekholm is a big body, that uses his size to his advantage when killing penalties. He is able to lay big hits, and force the puck off the offenders sticks when there is pressure in the defensive zone.
Cody Ceci
Although he is not an Edmonton Oiler anymore, Cody Ceci was another BIG body that brought his size to the penalty kill. In the 2023–24 season, Ceci only produced one shorthanded point with no goals. Ceci definitely helped the Oilers when it came to getting the puck down the ice to kill time on their penalty kill.
Darnell Nurse
The brother of Sarah Nurse, Darnell Nurse has played his entire NHL career (11 seasons) as an Oiler. Over his last three seasons, Nurse has been very consistent when shorthanded, putting up four goals (six total in his career) and five points. Considering shorthanded points are very difficult to put up, Nurse has definitely impressed us when he plays on the Oilers penalty kill.
Paul Coffey
Who is widely considered as the greatest Edmonton Oilers defenceman and one of the best NHL defenders of all time? Paul Coffey. He is now helping run defensive systems behind the Oilers bench. Coffey played 532 games and amazed us with 209 goals and 460 assists, for 669 career points. Shorthanded, Coffey was really good putting up 15 goals and 24 assists. That totals 39 points in seven years as an Oiler.
As the blue line coach, Coffey is in charge of the defenders and setting up systems to help them succeed come game time. The Oilers penalty kill hasn’t been good over the last couple years (see season percentages above) and I’m sure that surprises plenty of fans considering that the Oilers defenders have such a high level player coaching them behind the bench.
Will the Oilers penalty kill improve? Will it stay consistent and become one of the best in the NHL? Those are all important questions that myself and all Oilers fans should follow until the end of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
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