National Hockey League referee stats for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs; updated through the end of the Stanley Cup Final.
The old saying is that the refs pocket their whistles in the playoffs. The 2026 numbers say otherwise, at least for the small stuff. Officials called 9.8 penalties per game across the 82-game postseason, up over 30% from the 7.4-per-game regular-season rate, and power plays jumped from 5.6 to 6.5 per game. The rough stuff dropped off though, as fighting majors fell from 0.46 per game to 0.10, and majors overall went from 0.48 to 0.13.
- Goals dipped slightly to 5.9 per game (from 6.2), while penalty minutes climbed to 24.0 per game (from 18.0)
- Home ice meant less: home teams won 48% of playoff games, down from 52% in the regular season
- 27% of games needed overtime (22 of 82), about in line with the regular season’s 25%
- The whistle stayed even: 50% of penalties were called on the home team, with a 1.22 average penalty differential
- Coaches challenged sparingly – just 9 total challenges, 6 overturned (67%) – so most officials never saw one in their games
| Name | # | Gms | G/gm | PP Opp/gm | Min/gm | Penl/gm | PIM/gm | % Penl on Hom | Avg Pnl Diff | Home Win % | Gms to OT | Majors/gm | Fight Maj/gm | 3rd Pd Penl% | Chal Ovturn% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blandina, Brandon | 39 | 4 | 5.0 | 8.2 | 10.5 | 12.2 | 26.0 | 45% | 1.75 | 75% | 0% | 0.50 | 0.50 | 33% | -- |
| Brenk, Jake | 26 | 4 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 13.5 | 13.8 | 28.5 | 51% | 1.75 | 75% | 75% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20% | -- |
| Charron, Francis | 6 | 10 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 8.2 | 9.3 | 23.6 | 51% | 1.10 | 50% | 40% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 33% | 100% |
| Dwyer, Gord | 19 | 11 | 5.8 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 8.2 | 21.9 | 56% | 1.45 | 73% | 45% | 0.09 | 0.00 | 30% | -- |
| Furlatt, Eric | 27 | 4 | 5.0 | 8.5 | 14.2 | 16.5 | 42.5 | 45% | 1.50 | 50% | 0% | 0.50 | 0.50 | 39% | 0% |
| Hanson, Trevor | 14 | 7 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 24.1 | 54% | 1.29 | 43% | 14% | 0.14 | 0.00 | 39% | 100% |
| Hebert, Jean | 15 | 14 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 18.3 | 50% | 0.50 | 36% | 21% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 29% | 0% |
| L'Ecuyer, Frederick | 17 | 4 | 7.0 | 5.2 | 10.0 | 11.5 | 30.0 | 50% | 1.00 | 50% | 25% | 1.00 | 1.00 | 28% | -- |
| Lambert, Pierre | 25 | 8 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 15.8 | 58% | 1.25 | 62% | 50% | 0.25 | 0.00 | 21% | 100% |
| Luxmore, T.J. | 21 | 8 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 9.4 | 10.6 | 28.1 | 51% | 1.12 | 50% | 12% | 0.12 | 0.00 | 38% | 100% |
| MacDougall, Peter | 38 | 4 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 18.0 | 50% | 1.00 | 50% | 25% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 28% | -- |
| McCauley, Wes | 4 | 14 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 15.4 | 46% | 1.07 | 50% | 36% | 0.21 | 0.14 | 29% | 100% |
| McIsaac, Jon | 2 | 4 | 4.0 | 6.5 | 8.8 | 9.2 | 18.5 | 46% | 0.75 | 50% | 25% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 35% | -- |
| Nicholson, Kendrick | 30 | 4 | 5.0 | 8.5 | 14.2 | 16.5 | 42.5 | 45% | 1.50 | 50% | 0% | 0.50 | 0.50 | 39% | 0% |
| Rank, Garrett | 7 | 14 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 9.9 | 11.4 | 29.4 | 51% | 1.29 | 43% | 21% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 38% | 0% |
| Rehman, Kyle | 10 | 8 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 11.8 | 13.8 | 38.0 | 52% | 2.25 | 38% | 25% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 43% | -- |
| Rooney, Chris | 5 | 13 | 6.6 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 18.6 | 51% | 1.31 | 38% | 15% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 38% | 100% |
| Skilliter, Graham | 24 | 9 | 6.7 | 5.7 | 8.1 | 9.4 | 27.3 | 52% | 1.44 | 33% | 11% | 0.44 | 0.44 | 35% | -- |
| South, Furman | 13 | 4 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 8.0 | 18.0 | 50% | 1.00 | 25% | 25% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 25% | -- |
| St-Laurent, Francois | 8 | 4 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 13.5 | 13.8 | 28.5 | 51% | 1.75 | 75% | 75% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 20% | -- |
| Sutherland, Kelly | 11 | 9 | 4.4 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 9.0 | 22.2 | 46% | 0.78 | 44% | 22% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 25% | 100% |
| Syvret, Corey | 23 | 3 | 4.7 | 6.7 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 18.7 | 46% | 0.67 | 0% | 33% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18% | -- |
| NHL Average | 5.9 | 6.5 | 8.8 | 9.8 | 24.0 | 50% | 1.22 | 48% | 27% | 0.13 | 0.10 | 32% | 67% |
Stats Key
Gms – Games worked this season
Goals/Gm – Combined goals scored per game
PP/Gm – Combined power plays per game, both teams combined
Minors/Gm – Minor penalty calls per game, both teams combined
Penl/Gm – Penalty calls per game, both teams combined
PIM/Gm – Penalty minutes per game, both teams combined
% Penl Home – Percent of penalties called on the home team
Home Win % – Percentage of home team wins
% Gms OT/SO – Percentage of games worked that go to OT/SO
Penl. Diff. – Penalty Differential represents the absolute value of the variance of penalty calls by team per game. If Team A takes two more penalties (or two fewer) than Team B, this is a 2. Lower numbers indicate less variance between total penalties in a game – that is, a closer number of calls for both teams.
Majors/Gm – Major penalties per game, both teams combined
Fight Maj/Gm – Fighting majors per game, both teams combined
3rd Pd Penl% – Share of all penalties in the official’s games called in the third period
Chal Ovturn% – Share of coach’s challenges (goaltender interference + offside) in the official’s games that resulted in the call being overturned. “-” means that official had no challenges in his games.