AcademyAdvanced statistics

How does plus/minus (+/-) work in hockey?

Plus/minus adds 1 when the team scores at even strength while the player is on the ice, and subtracts 1 when it allows an even-strength goal. It measures the overall impact of a shift, not individual production.

Its traps are well known: it depends on linemates, the goalie behind and the opponents faced. An excellent player on a weak team can finish at -10; an average player on an offensive machine at +15. A single game’s +/- means almost nothing.

Read well, it stays valuable: as a season trend, compared to teammates in similar roles, and crossed with SCF%. A player with a good SCF% but bad +/- is probably suffering percentages, not play. RinkLog logs +/- in one tap and puts it back into that context.

RinkLog measures and computes this statistic automatically during your hockey, ball hockey and ringette games.

Try it for free