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Every hockey stat abbreviation explained in plain English. Whether you're reading a box score for the first time or brushing up before diving into analytics, this is your complete reference.
TL;DR
G = Goals. A = Assists. PTS = Points. SOG = Shots on Goal. S% = Shooting Percentage. +/- = Plus-Minus. TOI = Time on Ice. Those seven cover 90% of what you'll see on any stat sheet. The table below covers all of them, plus the rest.
| Abbrev. | Full Name | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| GP | Games Played | Total games a player has appeared in this season. |
| G | Goals | Pucks put in the net. The stat everyone understands. |
| A | Assists | Credited to the last two players who touched the puck before the goal scorer. Primary assists (A1) are more predictive than secondary assists (A2). |
| PTS | Points | Goals plus assists. The standard offensive counting stat in hockey. |
| SOG | Shots on Goal | Any shot that would go in if the goalie weren't there. Blocked shots and shots that miss the net don't count. |
| S% | Shooting Percentage | Goals divided by shots on goal. League average is around 10%. Anything above 15% over a stretch is usually unsustainable. |
| +/- | Plus-Minus | Plus one for each even-strength or shorthanded goal scored while on ice, minus one for each allowed. Widely criticized because it ignores context. |
| PIM | Penalty Minutes | Total minutes spent in the penalty box. Two minutes per minor, five per major, ten per misconduct. |
| PPG | Power Play Goals | Goals scored while the opposing team is shorthanded due to a penalty. |
| PPA | Power Play Assists | Assists on power play goals. |
| PPP | Power Play Points | PPG plus PPA. A key stat for evaluating PP1 unit players. |
| SHG | Short-Handed Goals | Goals scored while your own team is on the penalty kill. Rare and valuable. |
| GWG | Game-Winning Goals | The goal that gives the winning team one more than the losing team's final total. Looks clutch on paper but is mostly noise. |
| TOI | Time on Ice | Total minutes played per game or season. Top-line forwards typically log 18-22 minutes, top-pair defensemen 22-26. |
| ATOI | Average Time on Ice | TOI divided by games played. Tells you how much a coach trusts a player. |
| FO% | Faceoff Percentage | Faceoffs won divided by faceoffs taken. Above 52% is good. Elite centers push 55%+. |
| HIT | Hits | Physical contact against an opponent who has the puck or just released it. Tracked by arena scorers, so totals vary by building. |
| BLK | Blocked Shots | Shots blocked by a skater (not the goalie). Defensemen and penalty-kill specialists lead this stat. |
| TK | Takeaways | Puck stolen from an opponent through stick work or positioning. Inconsistently tracked across arenas. |
| GV | Giveaways | Losing the puck to the other team through a turnover. Like takeaways, tracking varies by arena. |
Not all stats carry equal weight. Here are the ones analysts and front offices actually rely on when evaluating players.
The foundation of offensive evaluation. Goals are the most valuable single event in hockey. Points (goals + assists) give you the broader picture of total offensive production. The NHL's top scorers typically finish between 100 and 130 points. Check the skater leaderboards to see who's leading the league right now.
Goals divided by shots on goal. League average sits around 10%. If a player is scoring on 18% of their shots over 20 games, they're almost certainly due for a cold streak. S% is one of the best indicators of whether a hot start is real or just luck.
Minutes per game tells you how much the coaching staff trusts a player. Top-line forwards usually play 18-22 minutes. Top-pair defensemen log 22-26. If a player's ATOI suddenly drops, something changed in the coach's evaluation.
Goals and assists scored on the power play. This stat tells you who quarterbacks the PP1 unit and who benefits from special teams time. Players like Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov consistently lead the league in PPP.
Volume matters. Players who generate a lot of shots create more opportunities for goals, tips, and rebounds. A forward averaging 3.5+ shots per game is consistently creating offense. Browse the player hub to compare shot rates across the league.
The most debated stat in hockey. It tries to measure a player's impact on the scoreboard at even strength, but it's heavily influenced by teammates and goaltending. Useful as a starting point, but modern stats like expected goals do a much better job of isolating individual impact.
A typical box score or player page shows columns for GP, G, A, PTS, +/-, PIM, PPP, SOG, and S%. That covers the basics. Here's a simple three-step process for reading any stat sheet quickly.
Quick context checks
Plus-minus tracks even-strength and shorthanded goals for and against while a player is on the ice. You get a +1 for every goal your team scores and a -1 for every goal allowed. Power play goals don't count. It's the most widely known advanced-ish stat but also one of the most misleading because it depends heavily on teammates, opponents, and zone starts.
The league-wide average is roughly 10%. Most forwards who score consistently sit between 10% and 14%. Anything above 15% over a full season is elite and often unsustainable. Anything above 18% over a short stretch is almost certainly luck. Shooting percentage is one of the most common regression indicators in hockey analytics.
TOI (Time on Ice) is the total minutes a player has logged, either per game or for the entire season. ATOI (Average Time on Ice) divides the season total by games played to give you a per-game average. ATOI is more useful for comparing players because it accounts for games missed due to injury or healthy scratches.
Hits, takeaways, giveaways, and blocked shots are recorded by arena scorers, not a centralized system. Each building has its own crew with slightly different interpretations. A hit in Madison Square Garden might not get counted in Raleigh. That's why analysts prefer shot-based and goal-based metrics for cross-team comparisons.
Start with goals, assists, and points for offense. Check shooting percentage to see if the scoring rate is sustainable. Look at ATOI for usage level. For a fuller picture, layer in power play points (PPP) for special teams value and shots on goal (SOG) for shot volume. Once you're comfortable with those, explore expected goals (xG) and Corsi for deeper analysis.