How the ratings work
Each player gets a game score from 23 stats: the box score, every shot with its expected-goal value, and what happened while he was on the ice at even strength (matched from the NHL's shift charts). That score is compared with every game played at the same position this season. Where it lands sets the rating. Forwards and defensemen are weighted differently. A defenseman's score leans more on keeping chances against down (compared with what's typical for his minutes), blocked shots, takeaways and moving the puck, and less on shot volume.
During a live game, ratings update every minute and are compared with full games, so they start low and climb as players build their night.
| Rating | Means the game beat | How often |
|---|
Ratings are the player's percentile converted to a normal score z, then , capped between 3.0 and 10.0.
What the advanced stats mean
- Expected goals (xG) is the chance an average shooter scores from that shot, based on distance, angle, shot type, rebounds, rush chances, and the power play. Finished games use MoneyPuck.com's expected goals, which MoneyPuck posts overnight. During live games, and until MoneyPuck's numbers arrive, this site uses its own model, trained to match MoneyPuck's values shot by shot. Empty-net shots are left out of a player's expected goals because empty-net goals have their own weight.
- High-danger chances are unblocked shots from within 25 feet and at most 45 degrees off center.
- On-ice, even strength counts what happened while the player was on the ice with both teams at full strength (including 4-on-4 and overtime 3-on-3). During live games the NHL's shift data can lag a few minutes behind.
- Goals saved above expected (GSAx) is the expected-goal total of unblocked shots a goalie faced minus the goals he allowed, excluding empty-net shots.
- Expected assists are not included. The NHL feed doesn't record passes, so there is no reliable way to know who set up a shot that didn't go in.
- Shootouts don't count toward any rating. Skaters under 5 minutes of ice time get no rating. Goalies are graded against goalies who played at least 20 minutes.