Understanding Ice Hockey Statistics

Ice Hockey Stats (shortened for statistics) is a recordtime the player was on the rink and the teams have
of the performance of the team and the players. Inthe same number of players.
other words, it shows the standing of the team one isG, A and GP holds the same meaning when one is
interested at. Many find it hard to understand thelooking at a goaltenders stats. The number of games
statistics since reveals only numbers and abbreviations,he has started is represented by GS. GA stands for
the meanings of which are unknown to lay persons.goals against, which is the sum of goals against the
Discussed below are abbreviations used in the recordsgoaltender and its average is denoted as GAA. W, L,
and what do they stand for.T, and SO are used in the same manner the team
A players statistics include the following abbreviations:stats use it (see below). SOG, or shots on the goal, is
G is for goal and A is for assist, which is the totalthe number of goals dealt. SV, or saves, is the total
number of scores and assists the player madenumber of shots deflected by the goaltender.
respectively. PTS is the scoring points determined byW stands for wins, L is for Losses. GP stands for the
adding his goals and assists. PIM stands for Penaltiesnumber of games played by the team. T is for ties,
infraction minutes or penalties in minutes, which are theSOL for shootout losses (which are games lost in
number of penalties called to the player. GP is theshootouts) and OTL is overtime losses. PTL is the
number of games the player has entered. TOIabbreviation for points, which is determined by wins,
indicates the total time he spent playing on the rink.losses, overtime losses, shootout losses and ties. PTS
PPG and PPA show the number of goals and assistsis the tool that matters most to the team since it
(respectively) done by the player while his team wasdictates the current standing of the team. GF and GA
on power play. SHG and SHA are for goals andare goals for and goals against respectively.
assists accomplished during the time when they areWith all these letters flooding the sheets, an amateur
shorthanded (lacking a player). +/- is a sign unique tocan get a rough idea on the standing of a team by
the players stats and stands for goals scored for thelooking at the W, L, T, SOL, OTL and PTS. All the
team minus the goals scored against the time for theothers only become useful in breaking ties.