Hockey 101

Do you understand exactly what you are reading when you look at a player’s or team’s stats? Rather than ignore those acronyms and numbers, let’s break it down so you can get a better appreciation for what they mean.

First off – Player stats:

Hopefully, you already know some of the basics by now; GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, so lets look at the others.

P = Points.  Easy- goals plus assists equals points. It ain’t calculus, just simple addition.
+/- = Plus/Minus. Basically, it indicates whether they were on the ice when the opposing team scored (a minus) or on the ice when their own team scored (a plus), but there are other factors involved. For example, a defenseman could be on the ice when the opposing team scored 4 goals (-4), but if that same defenseman also scored a goal (+1), his total +/- for the game would be -3.
PIM = Penalty Minutes. The time a player has spent in the penalty box.
PP = Power Play Goals. That’s the number of goals the player has scored on the Power Play.
SH = Shorthanded Goals. The number of goals the player has scored while the team was on the penalty kill/shorthanded. Shorthanded goals are also called “shorties”
GW = Game Winning Goals. The numbers of goals a player has made that won the game.
S = Shots on Goal.
S% = Shooting Percentage. That’s the total of goals divided by shots on goal. If a player had only made 1 goal in 4 attempts, his S% would be 25%.
OT = Overtime Goals.
TOI/G = Time on Ice per Game. Usually your defensemen have the most time on ice per game.
Sft/G = Average shifts per game. Once again, usually your defensemen have the highest number when it comes to average shifts per game.
FO% = Faceoff Win Percentage. This is the percentage a player (the Center) wins at the faceoff.

Next up – Goalie stats:

GPI  = Games Played in Net. You might also see this as GP for games played.
GS = Games Started. Games started can be different from Games Played if a goalie is relieved during a game.
MIN = Minutes played. This stat includes overtime minutes and deducts time when the team has played with an empty net.
GAA = Goals Against Average. The lower the number, the better.
W = Wins
L = Losses
OT = Overtime losses
SO = Shutouts. Games played where the opponent is unable to score against the goalie.
SA = Shots Against. How many times the opponent fired the puck at your goalie.
GA = Goals Against
SV = Saves
SV% = Save Percentage. Real important number here for the goalie. Divide the number of saves by the number of shots against. The higher the number, the better.
G = Goals and A = Assists PIM = Penalty Minutes. Doesn’t happen often, but goalies can get goals, be credited with assists, and be assessed penalty minutes. If a goalie IS assessed a penalty, another member of the team sits it for him.  (Former Caps goalie Jose Theodore has a goal on his lifetime stats)
TOI = Total Time on Ice.

Finally – Team Stats:

Individual Team Stats by Game:

H/R = Denotes Home or Road game.
DEC = Decision (Win or Loss)
O/S = Overtime/Shootout
OPP = Opponent
RECORD = The teams’ current record.
GF = Goals For and GA = Goals Against.
PPG = Power Play Goals (by us)
PP OPP = Power Play Opportunities - times we were on the power play
PPGA = Power Play Goals Against - PP goals by the opponents.
TS = Times Shorthanded - we were on the penalty kill.
SHGF = Shorthanded Goals For - while we were on the power play.
SHGA = Shorthanded Goals Against -while we were on the penalty kill.
SF = Shots For
SA = Shots Against
ATT = Attendance at the game
W GOALIE = Winning Goalie
W Goal = Winning Goal scored by…

Teams Stats within their Division:

GP, W, L, and OT were explained above.
PTS = Points. Teams get 2 points for every win and 1 point if the team loses in overtime.
GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, DIFF = Difference – the difference between GF and GA.
HOME = Home games record.
AWAY = Away games Record.
SHOOTOUT = Shootout record.
L10 = Last 10 games.
STREAK = Winning or Losing streak.

Many of these are pretty self-explanatory, but knowing a little about what they mean can help you understand how your team or favorite player is doing so far this season. And when you hear commentators talk about some of these stats, or read about them in your favorite blogs, hopefully, they will make a little more sense now. In the meantime, Go Caps!