NHL Stats – Part 1: Basic Counting Stats for Skaters

Written by: Trent Raynard

More than ever, hockey is turning into a sport where both the teams themselves and the fans who watch the sport care about “the stats.” Coaches talk about them in interviews, commentators use them to compare performances, and fans use them to try to dunk on their rival team’s players. This season, I thought that I would do a series of posts for hockey fans out there who might not be so confident in the world of hockey statistics. For this first post, I thought we should start out easy: basic counting stats for skaters. For each statistic, I will include its abbreviation, its full name, and a brief description of what it is. If appropriate, I will also state how the statistic is calculated and any additional information that I consider interesting.

I want to say first and foremost that there is no definitive list of which statistics are the most important. All stats have subjective importance depending on the situation being discussed and what each individual personally values. However, some stats seem to have acquired more or less value in the minds of “The Hockey World” in general, and I will attempt to point these stats out as we come to them.

What are “Counting Stats?”

Counting stats are exactly what they sound like: statistics that you can count as a hockey match progresses. Counting stats were the first statistics that were tracked in professional hockey, and if you go to the stats page of nhl.com, the first statistics that you encounter will be counting stats. Some of the most prestigious NHL awards are awarded to players based on these stats.

In more recent years, the term “counting stats” has sometimes been used in a derisive fashion. “Of course you think that Player A is better than Player B because you only look at counting stats!”  As much as advanced analytics have cemented their value in hockey today (and we will talk about them in future posts), it is impossible to deny the importance of counting stats and their impact on the game as a whole.

The Basics

GP: Games Played – Games played is simply the number of games that a skater has participated in.

G: Goals – Often called “the most difficult thing to do in hockey,” a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line in front of the net. Goals is such an important stat that it has its own trophy. The player with the most goals at the end of an NHL season is awarded the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Scoring a goal is sometimes called “lighting the lamp,” in reference to the red light that above the net that illuminates when a goal is scored.

Sportsnet file photo

A: Assists – An assist is given to either one or two players when a goal is scored. These players either passed, shot, or deflected the puck towards their teammate who scored a goal. The slang term “apple” is sometimes used to refer to an assist. 

P: Points – A goal and an assist are both considered “points” in hockey. Neither is worth more or fewer points than the other. A player with one goal and two assists in a game recorded three points. The player with the most points at the end of an NHL season is awarded the Art Ross Trophy.

S: Shot on Goal – A shot that would enter the opposing net as a goal if it were not stopped by an opposing player (usually the goaltender) is labeled a shot on goal (or just a “shot”). Shots that hit a post, hit the side of the net, or miss the net entirely do not count as a shot on goal.

PIM: Penalties in Minutes – PIM (sometimes called “PIMs”) are how many minutes worth of penalties a player has received. Penalties are given for a myriad of infractions in hockey. Penalties vary in length depending on the type of infraction: 2 minutes (minor or bench minor penalty), 4 minutes (double minor penalty), 5 minutes (major penalty), 10 minutes (misconduct or game misconduct penalty), or 15 minutes (match penalty). 

FOW: Faceoff Wins – A faceoff happens after every stoppage in play. During a faceoff, the two teams line up in opposition to each other around a “faceoff dot.” A player from each team tries to get control of the puck after it is dropped onto the dot by a linesman. Whichever player wins the faceoff is credited with a faceoff win.

Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

TOI: Time on Ice – Time on ice refers to the amount of time that a player has spent on the ice. Both time on ice and faceoffs wins were not tracked in the NHL until the 1997-98 season.

+/-: Plus/Minus: And now we have arrived at potentially the most controversial counting stat. Plus/minus gives a player a value of +1 for every goal that their team scores when that player is on the ice and a value of -1 for every goal that the opposing team scores when that player is on the ice. Power Play goals for or against do not count towards plus/minus, but short-handed goals for or against do. Penalty shot goals are also excluded. From 1983-2008, the player with the highest plus/minus at the end of an NHL season was awarded the Plus-Minus Award.

Plus/minus was first used in hockey by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1950s. It was used internally as an attempt to measure a player’s general impact on the team’s performance. It became an official NHL statistic in the 1959-60 season. It has fallen out of favour in recent years with both analysts and fans, however. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to discount plus/minus entirely. If you want to make people mad on Twitter, just bring up a player’s plus/minus. 

Well, that’s it for the first post in this series. Are you upset that I didn’t discuss Corsi, GSAx, or why in the world people care about /60 stats? Don’t panic: we’ll get there! The season is long, and we’re taking things one stat at a time.