Plus/Minus Calculator
Calculate plus/minus (+/-) — the net goal differential while a skater is on the ice at even strength or shorthanded.
In plain terms: this is how many goals the team scored minus how many it conceded while this skater was on the ice. It reflects everyone on the ice at the time, not the skater alone.
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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