How 'bout that?

Seems where you play matters in terms of the relationship of special teams to team success.  Consider the following table of our "ecstasy index" (power play plus penalty killing efficiency):

Among Eastern Conference teams that are currently playoff-eligible, six of them are in the top half of the rankings in this measure (note that the Caps are not among those six teams).

Meanwhile, out west, only two teams -- Vancouver and Detroit -- are in the top 15.

So far, special teams seems to matter in the East, not so much in the West.

How 'bout that?