Hockey analytics, defined.
Plain-language definitions of the metrics and concepts every hockey analyst needs — no jargon, no gatekeeping. Start with the term you keep seeing.
Corsi
CF%A shot-attempt metric counting all shots on goal, missed shots and blocked shots, used as a proxy for puck possession.
Expected goals
xGA shot-quality metric that estimates the probability each shot becomes a goal, based on factors like location and shot type.
Fenwick
FF%A shot-attempt metric like Corsi but excluding blocked shots, often used as a possession and shot-suppression proxy.
Goals / wins above replacement
GAR / WARCatch-all value metrics that estimate how many goals or wins a player adds versus a freely available replacement.
High-danger chances
HDCFScoring chances from the most dangerous areas of the ice (typically the slot), where shots convert at much higher rates.
PDO
The sum of a team’s shooting percentage and save percentage, used as a rough indicator of luck that tends to regress toward 100.
Penalty-kill percentage
PK%The share of times shorthanded that a team prevents the opponent from scoring.
Possession
An umbrella idea for controlling the puck and the shot share; usually measured with proxies like Corsi and zone entries.
Power-play percentage
PP%The share of power plays on which a team scores at least one goal.
Regularized adjusted plus-minus
RAPMA regression method that isolates a player’s on-ice impact after adjusting for teammates, competition and situation.
Save percentage
SV%The share of shots on goal a goaltender stops; increasingly adjusted for shot quality.
Shooting percentage
SH%The share of shots on goal that become goals — high variance in small samples.
Zone entries
How a team gains the offensive zone — carrying the puck in vs dumping it — and how effectively they generate offense from each.