Stats glossary

The position the NHL lists him at. C center, L left wing, R right wing, D defenseman, G goalie. Centers and wingers are the forwards.

Games played in the season or span shown, by a player or a team.

Example: “.912 SV% · 2.45 GAA · 12 GP” means he has played 12 games.

Goals scored. Goals in a shootout don’t count toward a player’s total.

Example: “2 goals, 1 assist” means he scored twice and set up one more.

An assist goes to the last one or two teammates who passed or shot the puck before the goal, so up to two players get one on each goal. A goal scored straight off an opponent’s mistake can have none.

What is an assist in hockey? →

Goals plus assists. The Art Ross Trophy goes to the regular-season points leader.

Example: 2 goals and 1 assist make 3 points.

How do points work in hockey? →

He gets a plus when his team scores while he’s on the ice and a minus when it allows a goal. Power-play goals don’t count, but goals scored while his team is a skater down do. It depends a lot on his teammates and his goalie, so it’s a rough guide to how he plays.

Example: If his team scores twice and allows one goal while he’s on the ice, he’s +1.

What is plus/minus in hockey? →

Goals scored on the power play, when his team had an extra skater because an opponent was in the penalty box. Some sites use the same letters for points per game; here they always mean power-play goals.

What is a power-play goal? →

Goals and assists on the power play, when his team had an extra skater because of a penalty. It shows how much of his scoring comes with the extra skater.

Shots the goalie had to stop, plus goals. A shot that misses the net, hits the post or gets blocked doesn’t count.

His goals divided by his shots on goal. It swings a lot over a few dozen shots, so a hot or cold start often drifts back toward his usual rate. The Regression watch page compares it with his rate over whichever of the previous three regular seasons he played.

Example: 12.5 means 1 goal for every 8 shots on goal.

What is shooting percentage in hockey? →

The goal that took the winning team’s score one past the losing team’s final total, as the NHL counts it. The losing team’s later goals don’t move it, so it isn’t always the goal that broke the last tie. An overtime winner is always the game-winner; a game decided in a shootout has none.

Example: In a 3–2 win, the winning team’s third goal is the game-winner. In a 4–1 win it’s the winning team’s second goal, even when its first goal opened the scoring and it never trailed.

What is a game-winning goal in hockey? →

Minutes spent in the penalty box, added up over the games shown. Longer penalties add more minutes, so a few serious ones can push the total up fast.

What does PIM mean in hockey? →

Minutes and seconds he was on the ice in this game, power plays and penalty kills included.

Example: 12:34 means 12 minutes and 34 seconds on the ice.

Counts: Every situation

Average minutes and seconds on the ice per game, power plays and penalty kills included. Coaches give their best players the most minutes, so it shows how much he’s trusted.

Example: 12:34 means 12 minutes and 34 seconds a game.

What is TOI in hockey? →

Counts: Every situation

Average minutes per game at 5-on-5: five skaters a side and both goalies in net. Next to his ice time per game, it shows how much of his time comes on the power play or penalty kill. Shot share, chance share and the other advanced stats are based on these minutes.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

The games the NHL has posted shift charts for, which is where his advanced stats (shot share, own chances, goals vs chances) come from, since they need to know who was on the ice. Shown only when it’s fewer than his games played: a game’s chart usually comes a few hours after it ends, and a game whose chart is late or doesn’t add up to the NHL’s ice time is left out until a usable one comes, which for some games is never. GP and goals are the NHL’s own, from all his games.

Example: “GP 10, Charted GP 8” means his ixG and G−xG cover 8 of his 10 games, so G−xG can differ from G minus ixG.

Body checks on the opponent with the puck, as counted by the scorers at each arena. Arenas count hits a little differently, so compare them with care.

Opponents’ shots he got in front of before they reached the net. Defensemen usually block the most.

The share of his faceoffs he won. Centers take most of a team’s faceoffs, so it’s mostly a stat for them.

Example: 52.3 means he won about 52 of every 100 faceoffs.

What is faceoff percentage in hockey? →

Times he lost the puck by his own mistake, such as a pass straight to an opponent. Like hits, the count depends on the scorers at each arena.

Times he took the puck off an opponent, for example by lifting his stick or picking off a pass. Like hits, the count depends on the scorers at each arena.

Times he went out onto the ice. Skaters change often to stay fresh. In the 2025–26 regular season, counting every situation, about 3 in 4 shifts ended in under 60 seconds.

His total divided by his games played, times the games each team plays in the regular season. It assumes he plays every game from here at the same rate, so it moves a lot early in the season.

Example: 30 points in 25 games, in an 84-game season, is a pace of 101.

The win goes to the goalie who was in net when his team scored the game-winning goal, overtime included, or, in a shootout win, in net for the shootout. Only one goalie gets the win in each game.

Games he lost in regulation, the first 60 minutes, while he was in net for the deciding goal (in the playoffs, overtime losses too, except in 2020’s round-robin seeding games).

Games he lost in overtime or a shootout. They get their own column because his team still earns a standings point for each. The playoffs have no overtime losses: there, an overtime loss is an L, except in 2020’s round-robin seeding games.

His saves divided by the shots on goal he faced, in every situation, written as a decimal as the NHL does. It doesn’t account for how hard the shots were; goals saved vs average does.

Example: .912 means about 91 saves for every 100 shots.

What is save percentage in hockey? →

Counts: Every situation

Goals he allows per 60 minutes in net, about one full game. Lower is better, but a team that gives up lots of good chances makes any goalie’s average worse. Goals saved vs average is a fairer measure of the goalie himself.

Example: 2.45 means he allows about two and a half goals per 60 minutes in net.

What is GAA in hockey? →

Shots on goal he faced: his saves plus the goals he allowed.

Shots on goal he stopped. Saves divided by shots against gives his save percentage.

Goals scored on him while he was in net. Goals into an empty net and shootout goals don’t count against him.

Games where he allowed no goals. If two goalies split a game without allowing a goal, neither gets the shutout.

What is a shutout in hockey? →

The result credited to him. Only the goalie in net for the deciding goal gets a decision, so a goalie who came in partway through, or was replaced, can have a blank. W: he got the win. L: a loss (in the playoffs, overtime losses too, except in 2020’s round-robin seeding games). O: a regular-season or preseason loss in overtime or a shootout (also in 2020’s round-robin seeding games).

Minutes and seconds he played in this game. A full game in regulation is 60 minutes; overtime adds more, and pulling him for an extra skater takes some away.

How many goals a goalie saved compared with an average goalie facing the same shots. We add up what every shot he faced was worth, then take away the goals he actually let in. It counts every situation. Each season’s shot values are scaled so the league’s add up to its actual goals, so average means that season’s average (until a season has 1,000 goals, the season before’s).

Example: +8 means 8 fewer goals got past him than an average goalie would allow; −8 means 8 more.

Analysts call this goals saved above expected.

What is GSAx in hockey? →

Counts: Every situation

Add up what every unblocked shot he faced was worth, rated by how often shots like it go in, in every situation. Missed shots count; blocked shots don’t. Take away the goals he let in and you get his goals saved vs average. Each season’s shot values are scaled so the league’s add up to its actual goals, so average means that season’s average (until a season has 1,000 goals, the season before’s).

Analysts call this expected goals against.

Counts: Every situation

How hard the shots he faced were, written as a save percentage: what an average goalie would stop, in every situation. It comes from our own play-by-play, so read it with goals saved vs average, or with his save % from the same games (his player page puts the two side by side), not against the NHL’s save %, which can count different games. Each season’s shot values are scaled so the league’s add up to its actual goals, so average means that season’s average (until a season has 1,000 goals, the season before’s).

Analysts call this expected save percentage.

Counts: Every situation

Our estimate of how likely he is to start, from his team’s recent goalie use, rest and schedule. A team’s goalies always add up to 100%. Once the puck drops, the estimate gives way to “Confirmed”: the goalie the NHL’s live data shows in net.

Example: 62% means he starts about 6 times in 10 in a spot like this.

He started the game, taken from the final box score, so it’s no longer an estimate.

He was in net at puck drop, from the NHL’s live data, so it’s no longer our estimate. Until then every starter is our estimate.

Our estimate gives him a 75% or higher chance to start, about 3 in 4 or better, but it stays an estimate until puck drop.

Example: “Likely 80%” means an 80% chance to start.

Our estimate gives him a 60 to 74% chance to start: more likely than not, but far from certain.

Our estimate gives no goalie a 60% chance to start, so either could get the net until puck drop.

Wins, regulation losses and overtime or shootout losses, in that order. For a goalie, it counts the games he was in net for the deciding goal.

Example: 8-3-1 is 8 wins, 3 regulation losses and 1 overtime or shootout loss.

Games won, however they were won: in regulation, overtime or a shootout. Each is worth 2 standings points. Since 2019–20, regulation wins are also counted on their own, as the first tiebreaker.

Games lost with no point. Nearly all are lost in regulation, the first 60 minutes; overtime and shootout losses earn a point and are counted apart, with one exception: a team that pulls its goalie for an extra skater in overtime and gives up the winning goal into the empty net gets no point, and the NHL counts the game as a regulation loss.

Games lost in overtime or a shootout. Each is still worth 1 standings point, which is why they’re kept apart from regulation losses. The one exception: a team that pulls its goalie for an extra skater in overtime and gives up the winning goal into the empty net gets no point, and the NHL counts the game as a regulation loss.

What does OTL mean in hockey? →

Games still level after overtime. Before shootouts began in 2005–06, they ended as ties, worth 1 standings point to each team. Standings from those seasons have a T column, and W + L + T + OTL adds up to games played.

Standings points: 2 for a win, 1 for an overtime or shootout loss and none for a regulation loss, with one exception: a team that pulls its goalie for an extra skater in overtime and gives up the winning goal into the empty net gets no point, and the NHL counts the game as a regulation loss. Not the same as a player’s points, which are goals plus assists.

Example: A team at 8-3-1 has 17 points: 2 for each of its 8 wins and 1 for its overtime loss.

How do NHL standings points work? →

Standings points earned divided by the most they could have earned, 2 for every game played. Written as a decimal, like save percentage. It’s fairer than points when teams have played different numbers of games.

Example: .625 means they’ve earned 5 of every 8 points they could have.

What is points percentage in the NHL? →

Wins in the first 60 minutes, so overtime and shootout wins don’t count. Since 2019–20, when teams finish tied on points, the one with more regulation wins goes ahead. From 2010–11 to 2018–19 the first tiebreaker was regulation and overtime wins (ROW), and before that, wins.

What are regulation wins in the NHL? →

Wins in regulation or overtime: every win but a shootout win. From 2010–11 to 2018–19, when teams finished tied on points, the one with more ROW went ahead, so standings for those seasons show ROW where later ones show regulation wins (RW).

Goals the team scored. A shootout win adds one goal to its score, as in the NHL’s standings, however many shootout attempts went in.

Example: A game tied 2–2 and won in a shootout goes in as a 3–2 win: 3 goals for.

Goals the team allowed. A shootout loss adds one goal against, as in the NHL’s standings.

Example: A game tied 2–2 and lost in a shootout goes in as a 2–3 loss: 3 goals against.

Goals scored minus goals allowed. Over a season it’s a good sign of how strong a team is, since a few close wins or losses can make its record look better or worse than it should.

Example: Scoring 3 and allowing 2 is a difference of +1; the other way round, −1.

Goals scored divided by games played, so teams that have played different numbers of games compare fairly. Shootout winners aren’t counted, as in the NHL’s team stats, so it can be a little below GF ÷ GP in the standings, where a shootout win adds a goal.

Goals allowed divided by games played. Lower is better. It reflects both the defense and the goalies. Shootout winners aren’t counted, as in the NHL’s team stats, so it can be a little below GA ÷ GP in the standings, where a shootout loss adds a goal against.

Shots on goal the team takes, divided by games played. Missed and blocked shots don’t count.

Shots on goal the team allows, divided by games played. Lower is better: their goalies face less work.

Power plays that ended in a goal, divided by the power plays the team had. A power play is the time with an extra skater because an opponent took a penalty.

Example: 25 means they score on about 1 power play in 4.

What is power-play percentage? →

The share of the other team’s power plays they got through without allowing a goal, while a skater down because of their own penalty.

Example: 80 means they kill off 4 penalties in 5.

What is penalty-kill percentage? →

The share of all faceoffs the team won. Winning the draw starts the play with the puck.

Minutes the team’s players spent in the penalty box, added up. Longer penalties add more minutes, so a few serious ones can push the total up fast.

Body checks the team’s players made on the opponent with the puck, as counted by the scorers at each arena. Arenas count hits a little differently, so compare them with care.

Opponents’ shots the team’s players got in front of before they reached the net.

Times the team’s players lost the puck by their own mistake, such as a pass straight to an opponent. Like hits, the count depends on the scorers at each arena.

Times the team’s players took the puck off an opponent, for example by lifting a stick or picking off a pass. Like hits, the count depends on the scorers at each arena.

Wins, regulation losses and overtime losses over the last 10 games, written like a record. It shows which teams are in form.

The team’s current run of the same result. W is wins, L losses with no point and OT overtime or shootout losses; the number is how many in a row.

Example: W3 means they’ve won their last 3 games.

A letter after a team’s name in the standings, shown once the result is certain. x clinched a playoff spot, y clinched the division, z clinched the conference, p clinched the best record in the league (the Presidents’ Trophy), e eliminated from the playoffs.

What do x, y and z mean in NHL standings? →

The years a team is a Stanley Cup contender. We count a team as in its window when it has made the playoffs at least 4 times in the last 5 seasons and won at least 3 playoff series in the last 4 playoffs, the record recent Stanley Cup winners had going in. It describes a team’s recent playoff history; it isn’t a prediction.

Example: Making the playoffs all 5 seasons without winning a series isn’t enough: the team is still 3 series wins short.

What is a Stanley Cup window? →

Where a team qualified for the playoffs. D1–D4: its place in its division (today’s format takes the top three from each). C1–C12: its place in its conference, in seasons seeded that way. WC1 and WC2: it got one of the conference’s two wild cards, for the best records outside the division top threes.

We play out the rest of the season 20,000 times, game by game, and average each team’s final points. Where a range is given, 8 of every 10 of those simulated seasons finished inside it.

Example: “96 projected points” is their average final total across the simulations.

How often they finished first in their division when we played out the rest of the season 20,000 times.

How often they made the playoffs when we played out the rest of the season 20,000 times. It moves after every game, theirs and their rivals’.

Example: 70% means they got in about 7 times in 10.

In our 20,000 simulated seasons, a team with a certain points total got into the playoffs 19 times in 20. This is how many more points they need from their remaining games to reach it.

Each team’s playoff chance if the team wins this game, in regulation, overtime or a shootout. Comparing the two columns shows which result each team should root for. Green marks the result that helps that team.

How many percentage points a team’s playoff chance changes between a win and a loss in this game. The biggest swing can belong to a team that isn’t playing, when the result helps or hurts a rival.

Example: An 8.4-point swing means its chance is 8.4 points higher if the game goes its way.

Wins divided by games played, written as a decimal. Overtime and shootout wins count as wins, and every loss counts against it, however it came.

Example: .550 means 55 wins in every 100 games.

Every team’s goals added up, divided by the number of games played. It counts both teams, so it’s about twice a single team’s goals per game. Shootout goals don’t count.

Every goalie’s saves added up, divided by every shot on goal they faced, in every situation. Written as a decimal as the NHL does.

Counts: Every situation

The number on his jersey this season.

L or R: the side of his body he carries his stick on, with the blade on that side.

For goalies, L or R: the hand he wears his catching glove on.

Height in feet and inches, as the NHL lists it.

Weight in pounds, as the NHL lists it.

His age today, from his date of birth.

The country he was born in.

A team moves a player from its minor-league club (usually its AHL team) to its NHL roster, often to replace someone hurt or out of form. Teams call it a recall. He can be sent back down any time, and some players go back and forth all season.

A team moves a player off its NHL roster to its minor-league club, to play more minutes there or to free a roster spot. Teams call it an assignment or a reassignment. Older players may have to clear waivers first.

A team lends a player to another club for a while without giving up his rights: young players to the AHL before they need waivers, injured players to the AHL to get back up to speed (a conditioning loan), or prospects to a European club. We count a loan to the AHL or ECHL as a send-down; a loan to Europe isn’t one.

Before a team can send down or release most veterans, it puts them on waivers: for about a day, any other team can claim the player and take on his contract. If nobody claims him, he can go to the minors. Young players with few NHL games are exempt.

How do waivers work in the NHL? →

A team puts a hurt player on injured reserve to take him off its active roster, which frees his roster spot for someone else, often a call-up. He must stay off for at least seven days, and is activated when he can play again.

What is LTIR in the NHL? →

Long-term injured reserve is for a player expected to miss at least 10 games and 24 days. While he’s on it, his team may go over the salary cap by up to his salary, to replace him. He’s activated, and the team has to be back under the cap, when he returns.

What is LTIR in the NHL? →

Most moves come from team announcements, as ESPN lists them, and a few never get listed. So once a day we also check every NHL team’s roster on NHL.com, and date what changed the day we saw it. A player on a team’s roster who wasn’t on it the day before shows as added to that roster, or, if he was on another team’s the day before, as joining one team and leaving the other. These entries are tagged “NHL roster”. A roster doesn’t say how a player got there (a call-up, a trade, a claim or a signing), so we don’t either. When ESPN lists the same player joining the same team within 7 days of ours, before or after, ESPN’s entry replaces ours, since it says how he got there. A player called up and sent back down between two daily checks is never seen. We check from opening night to the end of the playoffs. These moves are listed, and each day’s count of moves includes them, but the stats and rankings leave them out (busiest teams, Back and forth and the move counts).

A game is three 20-minute periods. The linescore shows the goals each team scored in each one.

Played when the score is tied after three periods. In the regular season it’s up to 5 minutes of 3-on-3, and the first goal wins; if no one scores, a shootout decides it. In the playoffs, teams play full 20-minute periods at 5-on-5 until someone scores (2OT is the second overtime).

How does overtime work in the NHL? →

If overtime ends tied in the regular season, players from each team take turns one-on-one against the other goalie. The winner gets one goal added to its final score, however many shootout attempts went in. Shootout goals don’t count toward any player’s goals.

Example: A game tied 2–2 after overtime and won in the shootout ends 3–2.

How does a shootout work in the NHL? →

The final score: every goal in regulation and overtime, plus one for the shootout winner.

How many of their power plays in this game ended in a goal. A power play is the time with an extra skater because an opponent took a penalty.

Example: 1/3 means they scored on 1 of their 3 power plays.

A goal scored while the scoring team had an extra skater because an opponent was in the penalty box.

A goal scored while the scoring team was a skater down because one of its own players was in the penalty box.

What is a shorthanded goal? →

A goal scored into an empty net, after the other team pulled its goalie for an extra skater, usually late in a game it was losing. It doesn’t count against the goalie.

What is an empty-net goal? →

A goal scored on a penalty shot: after a foul took away a clear scoring chance, the fouled player skated in alone against the goalie, with every other skater out of the play.

Of the regular-season games played, the share that were tied after three periods and went to overtime, including those a shootout decided.

Of the games where one team led after two periods, the share that team won, in regulation, overtime or a shootout. Games tied after two don’t count. Worked out from the NHL’s goals by period.

Every shot a team tried, whether it was on goal, missed the net or got blocked. A team can only try shots when it has the puck in the other team’s end, so lots of attempts usually means it spent lots of time there.

Analysts call this Corsi.

What is Corsi in hockey? →

Shot attempts that weren’t blocked, so shots on goal plus shots that missed the net. Blocking shots is partly a defensive skill, so some analysts prefer to leave them out.

Analysts call this Fenwick.

What is Fenwick in hockey? →

We rate every unblocked shot by how often shots like it go in, looking at distance, angle, shot type, whether it came off a rebound or a rush, how many skaters each side had (3-on-3 overtime, a power play, a goalie pulled for an extra attacker, a penalty shot), and what happened just before it, such as a pass across the front of the net or a turnover. Add up a team’s or player’s shots and you get how many goals their chances were worth. A team that scores well below that ran into a hot goalie, didn’t finish or was unlucky. A game’s number is the model’s own; season tables scale each season’s shot values so the league’s add up to its actual goals.

Example: At 5-on-5, a shot from right in front of the net goes in about 1 time in 9; one from the blue line, about 1 time in 80.

Analysts call this expected goals.

What are expected goals (xG) in hockey? →

The team’s part of both teams’ total in each row of the game’s shot table. In the 5-on-5 table, the shot attempts row is its shot share and the chances worth row its chance share.

Every time a team tries a shot, whether it’s on goal, misses the net or gets blocked, it’s a sign it has the puck in the other team’s end. Shot share is the part of all those tries that one team took, at 5-on-5. For a player, it counts only the time he’s on the ice. NHL.com’s SAT% also counts shots blocked by the shooter’s own teammate, apparently as attempts for the other team; we leave them out, so the two usually differ by a few tenths and now and then by about a point.

Example: 56.1 means his team took 56.1% of the attempts while he played: more than its opponents.

Analysts call this Corsi.

What is Corsi in hockey? →

Counts: 5-on-5 only

Shot share for two teammates at once: of the shot attempts at 5-on-5 while both were on the ice, the share their team took. Above 50% means their team had the puck more when they played together.

Analysts call this Corsi.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

The same as shot share, at 5-on-5, but leaving out shots that got blocked before reaching the net. Blocking shots is partly a defensive skill, so some analysts prefer this.

Analysts call this Fenwick.

What is Fenwick in hockey? →

Counts: 5-on-5 only

A player’s shot share compared with his team’s shot share when he’s on the bench, in percentage points, at 5-on-5. It helps compare players on good and bad teams.

Example: +3 means his team has the puck noticeably more when he plays.

Analysts call this relative Corsi.

What is relative Corsi in hockey? →

Counts: 5-on-5 only

Of all the scoring chances created at 5-on-5 while a player is on the ice (or in a team’s games), the share his team created, with each shot rated by how often shots like it go in. A few good chances can count for more than lots of weak shots. Over a season it’s one of the better signs of which teams and players are outplaying their opponents.

Example: 58.3 means his team created 58.3% of the chances while he played.

Analysts call this expected goals share.

What is xGF% in hockey? →

Counts: 5-on-5 only

How many goals a team’s shots were worth at 5-on-5, scaled to 60 minutes of 5-on-5 so teams that spend more time on power plays and penalty kills compare fairly. Higher is better. Each season’s shot values are scaled so the league’s add up to its actual goals, so average means that season’s average (until a season has 1,000 goals, the season before’s).

Analysts call this expected goals for per 60.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

How many goals its opponents’ shots were worth at 5-on-5, scaled to 60 minutes of 5-on-5. Lower is better: the team keeps opponents away from dangerous spots. Each season’s shot values are scaled so the league’s add up to its actual goals, so average means that season’s average (until a season has 1,000 goals, the season before’s).

Analysts call this expected goals against per 60.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

Only the shots a player takes himself, each rated by how often shots like it go in, in every situation. A player with lots of own chances is getting to dangerous spots, whether or not the goals have come yet. Each season’s shot values are scaled so the league’s add up to its actual goals, so average means that season’s average (until a season has 1,000 goals, the season before’s).

Analysts call this individual expected goals.

Counts: Every situation

His goals minus what his own shots were worth, in every situation. Above zero over several seasons usually means a real finisher; above zero over a few weeks is often a hot streak. Below zero means the goals haven’t matched his chances, through poor finishing, hot goalies or bad luck. Each season’s shot values are scaled so the league’s add up to its actual goals, so average means that season’s average (until a season has 1,000 goals, the season before’s).

Analysts call this goals above expected.

Counts: Every situation

Of all the goals scored at 5-on-5 while he was on the ice (or in the team’s games), the share his team scored. Compare it with chance share: a much better goal share than chance share usually means great goaltending or finishing, or some luck.

Analysts call this goals-for percentage.

What is GF% in hockey? →

Counts: 5-on-5 only

Add a team’s shooting percentage to its save percentage at 5-on-5 and you get a number that averages about 1.000. For a player, it uses his team’s numbers while he’s on the ice. Well above 1.000 means pucks are going in at one end and staying out at the other more than usual. That rarely lasts, so a team far above it often cools off and one far below often picks up. It’s partly skill, though: elite finishers and goalies can stay above it for a long time.

Example: 1.012 is a little above average; 0.998 a little below.

Analysts call this PDO (the letters don’t stand for anything).

What is PDO in hockey? →

Counts: 5-on-5 only

Of the faceoffs he was on the ice for in either end at 5-on-5, the share taken in the other team’s end. Faceoffs at center ice don’t count. A high number means the coach sends him out when there’s a chance to attack; a low number means he’s trusted to defend. It helps explain his other stats: players who start in the attacking end find it easier to get shots.

Analysts call this offensive-zone start percentage.

What are zone starts in hockey? →

Counts: 5-on-5 only

The straight-line distance from where a shot was taken to the middle of the net, in feet, using the location the NHL records for every shot. Closer shots go in far more often.

His goals this season minus the goals he’d have at his usual shooting percentage on the same shots. A big number either way often shrinks as the season goes on.

His goals divided by his shots on goal over whichever of the previous three regular seasons he played (at least 100 shots). Over that many shots, luck mostly evens out, so it’s a fair guide to how well he shoots.

His shots on goal this season multiplied by his usual shooting percentage. It treats every shot the same; own chances worth instead rates each shot by where it came from.

The team’s goals divided by its shots on goal, at 5-on-5 only. Added to its 5-on-5 save percentage, it makes the team’s puck luck.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

The team’s saves at 5-on-5 divided by its saves plus goals against, so every goal against counts as a shot, even one a defender put in his own net. That’s how the NHL works it out for a team; a goalie’s own save percentage counts only shots on goal. Written as a decimal like a goalie’s save percentage. Added to its 5-on-5 shooting percentage, it makes the team’s puck luck.

Example: .920 means 92 saves for every 100 shots.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

Games we have shot-by-shot data for, which every scoring chances stat needs. It can be a little lower than games played if a game’s data is missing.

For each game, we look at how often teams with scoring chances like theirs go on to win, and add those up over the season. The chances count in every situation except shots into an empty net, which go to the team already ahead. It’s how many wins their play earned, before goaltending, finishing and luck.

Analysts call this expected wins.

Actual wins minus the wins their scoring chances earned. A team well above zero is winning more than its play suggests, often thanks to a hot goalie or finishing; one well below has been unlucky or let down in net.

Example: +6.3 means they’ve won about 6 more games than their chances earned.

Their share of the scoring chances in their games, in every situation (power plays and penalty kills included) except shots into an empty net, which go to the team already ahead. Unlike chance share elsewhere on the site, it isn’t limited to 5-on-5, because wins come from every situation.

Analysts call this expected goals share.

Counts: Every situation

The share of a team’s 5-on-5 time with one of its four most-used forward lines from that game together on the ice. A low number means the coach kept changing who played together.

Example: A typical night in 2025–26 was about 69%.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

When a team is losing by one late in the game, it takes its goalie off for an extra skater. This is the typical time left in the third period when this team does it. Pulls during a delayed penalty don’t count.

How long a skater stays on the ice each time out, in seconds, power plays and penalty kills included. On a player page it’s compared with the average NHL forward or defenseman this season.

Counts: Every situation

The share of his shifts that lasted at least 60 seconds. Tired players make more mistakes, so coaches try to keep shifts short.

Example: In the 2025–26 regular season, counting every situation, about 3 in 4 shifts ended in under 60 seconds.

The share of the 5-on-5 goals they allowed while one of their skaters had been on the ice for 60 seconds or more. A high number suggests tired legs are costing them goals.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

How long each skater on the ice had been out when the goal went in, one bar per player. Taller bars are longer shifts.

Of the defending team’s skaters on the ice when the goal went in, forward or defenseman, the one who had been out longest, and for how long.

Example: “2:28 into shift” means he had been on the ice for 2 minutes 28 seconds.

A label on each goal for how long the defending team’s longest-on player had been out, on the same steps as the bar colors. Fresh legs: under 40 seconds. Normal: 40 to 59. Long shift: 60 to 79. Stuck out there: 80 or more. “Empty net” (no goalie in net) and “Penalty shot” (one shooter against the goalie) get no verdict: tiredness doesn’t apply.

A team’s forward lines, worked out from who was on the ice together at 5-on-5, and numbered by how much time they spent together: line 1 the most.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

A team’s defense pairs, worked out from who was on the ice together at 5-on-5, and numbered by how much time they spent together: pair 1 the most.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

The power-play group he played with most, from who was on the ice together with the extra skater. Unit 1 usually gets the most time. “Rarely” means he was on the power play in fewer than half of his games.

The penalty-kill group he played with most, from who was on the ice together while a skater down. Unit 1 usually gets the most time. “Rarely” means he killed penalties in fewer than half of his games.

Minutes at 5-on-5 that both players, or the whole line or pair, were on the ice at the same time.

Example: “12.3 min together” means 12.3 minutes on the ice at the same time.

Counts: 5-on-5 only

The second of two games on consecutive days. Teams often rest their starting goalie, and tired legs can show late in the game.

What is a back-to-back in the NHL? →

The days between a team’s previous regular-season game and this one with no game. A team’s first game of the season isn’t counted.

The straight-line distance between the cities of each game, in the order played, starting from the team’s home arena. Over a break of 7 or more days off the team goes home and back; shorter trips home between two road games are missed, so the real number can be higher.

Five skaters a side and both goalies in net: no power play, penalty kill or empty net. Most of a game is played this way, and power plays skew the numbers, so most advanced stats use only 5-on-5 time.

What does 5v5 mean in hockey? →

Every moment of the game: 5-on-5, power plays, penalty kills and empty nets. Stats marked this way don’t leave any time out, so power-play specialists get credit for their extra minutes. Shootouts aren’t counted.

Some numbers are shown per 60 minutes of ice time, about one full game, so players and teams who play different amounts compare fairly. A fourth-liner and a top-liner get measured on the same scale.

What does per 60 mean in hockey stats? →

Any skater on the team that was scored on, forward or defenseman. Used instead of “defender”, which can sound like it means only defensemen.