After watching the Hawks blunder through another set of power plays, I wondered how their special teams stacked up against Stanley Cup winners past. Going back to 1970, only two Cup winners entered the playoffs with a worse PP% than the 2011-12 Hawks: Both New Jersey teams from 2003 and 1995, at 11.88% and 13.41% respectively.
It gets worse when considering the play of special teams overall. Only five champions finished with an overall negative PP/PK differential in the regular season:
| Year | Team | PP% | PK% | Differential |
| 2009 | Pittsburgh Penguins (EC) | 17.22 | 82.71 | -0.07 |
| 2003 | New Jersey Devils (EC) | 11.88 | 87.88 | -0.24 |
| 2006 | Carolina Hurricanes (EC) | 17.89 | 81.80 | -0.31 |
| 2011 | Boston Bruins (EC) | 16.17 | 82.64 | -1.19 |
| 1995 | New Jersey Devils (EC) | 13.41 | 81.21 | -5.38 |
The Hawks, entering last night's game with NJD, were at -5.66.
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