Hockey
Plus/Minus Calculator
Calculate plus/minus (+/-) — the net goal differential while a skater is on the ice at even strength or shorthanded.
Informational only — not a substitute for official league statistics or professional judgment.
How it's calculated
Assumptions
- Goals for and against must already exclude power-play goals, matching the NHL's official plus/minus rule — enter only even-strength and shorthanded goals.
Source: Hockey Reference — Glossary (Plus/Minus)
Last reviewed: July 2026
Frequently asked questions
What counts toward plus/minus?
A player gets a "plus" for every goal their team scores at even strength or shorthanded while they're on the ice, and a "minus" for every goal the opposing team scores under the same conditions. Power-play goals are excluded from both sides by the NHL's own scoring rule.
Why are power-play goals excluded?
Power-play goals reflect a man-advantage situation rather than 5-on-5 or shorthanded play, so including them would credit or penalize players for special-teams outcomes that don't reflect their even-strength two-way performance — the thing plus/minus is meant to isolate.
Is plus/minus a reliable measure of player quality?
It's a limited stat — it's heavily influenced by teammates, quality of competition, and puck luck (bounces, goaltending), and it doesn't account for how much ice time a player logs. Modern analytics generally favor rate-based and shot-quality-adjusted metrics over plus/minus for evaluating individual performance.
Do goaltenders have a plus/minus?
No — plus/minus is only tracked for skaters (forwards and defensemen). Goaltenders are evaluated separately through stats like save percentage and goals against average.
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