After years of running a system called the Common Sense Scoring Index, we’ve scaled things back a bit on that and have changed up the postgame analysis to combine a lot of the great analytics being captured in real-time for game these days.
We’ll still be breaking down goal-scoring and penalty plays to try and correct for how broken the NHL’s standard plus/minus system works; we’ll just do it with the understanding that the new system is still heavily reliant upon goal-scoring events, which don’t really tell the whole story about how a particular game went from a standpoint of what is and isn’t teachable about the “right way” to play. After all, like it or not, luck is still a pretty big part of this game and it is entirely uncontrollable.
Here’s how it breaks out:
Plus/Minus Adjustments:
| Goal-Scored Plus | These are plus ratings awarded to a player when it was deemed that a defensive contribution he made on the ice (whether by starting or preventing transition) helped lead directly to a goal. | ||
| Coverage Minus | Given to a player who made a mistake in defensive coverage that was determined to have led directly to an opponent scoring. | ||
| Turnover Minus | Given to a player who was judged to be directly or indirectly at fault for a turnover that the opposition used to score a goal against his team. | ||
| Overall Plus | Given to a player whose overall play during the game was ascertained to have positively impacted puck possession for his team in a way that he was not properly credited for in the official stats. | ||
| Overall Minus | Given to a player whose overall play during the game was ascertained to have negatively impacted puck possession for his team in a way that he was not properly credited for in the official stats. | ||
| Penalty Plus | Given to a player who worked to force the opposition to take a penalty. | ||
| Penalty Minus | Given to a player who either committed a bad penalty of his own or made a mistake which forced his teammate to take a bad penalty. | ||
| Shift Change Plus | Created to allow for correction of official plus/minus stats to either give or take away credit on a play when a goal is scored during or after a line change in which a more deserving player was not on the ice during the scoring play. | ||
| Shift Change Minus | Created to allow for correction of official plus/minus stats to either give or take away credit on a play when a goal is scored during or after a line change in which a more deserving player was not on the ice during the scoring play. | ||
| Power Play Plus Lost | Designed as a minus category to clear undeserved plus ratings from players who were on the ice when a goal was scored between the time a power play ended and the penalized player was able to get back in the play. | ||
| Penalty Kill Minus Cleared | Designed as a plus category to clear undeserved minus ratings from players who were on the ice when a goal was scored between the time a power play ended and the penalized player was able to get back in the play. | ||
| Goal Against Minus Cleared | Given to a player who was deemed to have been in position and not-at-fault for a goal scored. These are also given to players on the ice for a bad goal against. A player may have minuses added on for specific faults, but he will have his official minus cleared to track goaltender fault. | ||
| Goal Saved Plus | Given to a player who does anything that prevents what should be considered a surefire goal. Lifting the stick of a player preparing to receive a pass on a wide-open backdoor and outright making a save on a shot are both examples of this. |
Adjustments can be made by half-points or whole and players are not limited to a maximum of one on a plus or a minus. If a play is good enough, a player can find himself with more than one assist. If a turnover is bad enough, he can find himself with multiple minuses on the same goal. Large adjustments are uncommon, but are used when called for.
