Points in the NHL: A Complete Guide for Canadian Fans
What This Guide Covers
In this guide to NHL points, you’ll find information and explainers for this core form of NHL scoring statistic, the records around it, and how it came to be. As well as these key areas, we’ll also run you through how team points work and dip into the advanced stats and strategies that contribute to NHL points scoring.
Why Points Matter in Hockey
Points are the key metric of offensive success for players in the NHL. Whether a player has made a goal happen or scored one themselves, the points column indicates their direct involvement in NHL scoring.
The Canadian Love Affair with NHL Stats
Sports stats are beloved by fans, offering a clear and unbiased way of seeing the contributions of a player to a game, their team, and the league. For Canadian hockey fans, the love affair with NHL stats has even led to some distinctly advanced stats in the form of Corsi and the league producing its own special stats matrix, NHL Edge.
NHL Points System: The Basics
What are Points in the NHL?
In the NHL, points are a statistic that’s awarded to a player for contributing to a goal. However, points are also the metric by which teams are ranked in the league standings, representing a combination of wins and losses in overtime.
How Players Earn Points (Goals and Assists)
Players can earn NHL points in three ways. The first is by scoring a goal. The second is by having the primary assist on a goal. The third is to provide the secondary assist for a goal. So, every goal can give out up to three points to up to three different players.
How Teams Earn Points (Standings System)
NHL teams get themselves two points for winning a game and one point for losing a game in overtime or in a shootout – both of which take place if the score is tied at the end of the regulation 60 minutes. Teams don’t earn a point if they lose a game during regulation time.
Player Points: Breaking it Down
Goals vs Assists: Equal Value, Different Roles
A player’s NHL points tally represents the combination of the goals and assists that they’ve scored.
For the purposes of NHL points, goals and assists have equal value – adding one point to the points column – but they naturally have a different impact on the game.
This is more colloquially noted when reading or writing player stats. The standard is to write that a player has X goals and X points to denote their goal-scoring within the context of their points tally.
Primary vs Secondary Assists
Primary assists go to the last player on the same team as the goalscorer to have the puck if possession hasn’t changed in between, while the secondary assists follow the same rules but for the player who provided the pass that set up the primary assist. Both count in baseline stats as assists.
Power Play and Short-Handed Points
Power play points showcase a skater’s ability to capitalize on the man advantage. Short-handed points are rarer and perhaps more coveted as they show a player’s ability to punish teams even when on a unit of fewer players on the ice.
Even-Strength Points and Their Significance
The vast majority of the time, NHL teams are playing at even strength, and it’s during these spells that players need to step up and beat their opponents with well-crafted goals. These make up the majority of NHL player points.
Team Points and the Standings
NHL Standings Point System (Win, Loss, OT)
In the NHL, a team will get two points for a win in regulation time (the first 60 minutes of three periods), two points for a win in overtime (the period after regulation or the subsequent shootout), and one point for losing in overtime. These points reflect directly in the standings to rank teams.
Three-Point Games and the “Loser Point”
If regulation time ends in a tie, the game goes from awarding two points to the winning team and zero to the losing team to giving two points to the overtime winning team and one point to the overtime losing team. This split is also reflected in hockey betting with the moneyline covering regulation and the moneyline including overtime covering the total possible result.
How Standings Affect Playoff Qualification
In the standings, the three teams with the most points in each of the four divisions go straight into the playoffs. In each conference, there are then also two wild card spots. These go to the four teams that didn’t amass enough points to secure a divisional spot but have more points than the other teams in their conference.
Historical Evolution of the Points System
Early NHL Scoring Formats
While we do have stats for assists and points for the inaugural NHL season (1917-18) now, the first season recorded if the player played the game and if they scored a goal.
Introduction of the Assist
The NHL officially began to record assists in the 1918-19 season, increasing the number of assists recorded on each goal to three – so, potentially, four points per goal – from the 1930-31 season to the 1935-36 season.
Overtime and the Shootout Era Changes
It took until 1983-84 for the NHL to decide its regulation games with a sudden-death period of overtime. Once those five minutes expired, it’d be deemed a draw, but it did give extra time for point scoring. In 2005-06, the shootout came in to create the loser point system, but goals scored in the shootout don’t get added to a player’s career stats as goals and points.
Points per Game (PPG): A Deeper Metric
How PPG is Calculated
Points per game is calculated by dividing the total NHL points scored by the number of games played.
Comparing Players Across Eras Using PPG
Rule changes, equipment development, how scoring is recorded, and the changing of strategies all influence players’ rates of scoring NHL points through the different eras of the league. Looking at league averages, for example, the goals per game rate in 2024-25 was 3.01, while in 2001-02 it was 2.62, and in 1981-82, dominated by Gretzky, the average was 4.01 goals per game.
Pros and Cons of Using PPG
On the pro side, taking a points per game average view does reflect how consistently effective each player was on the ice and removes the bias created by long-term injuries.
However, PPG does come with the drawback of not weighing in the era of the player. For that, the player’s PPG would need to be taken in the context of the league average goals per game.
Milestone Markers in Points
50, 100, and 150-Point Seasons
The first recorded 50-point season in the NHL came in 1927-28 when Howie Morenz put up 33 goals and 51 points for the Montréal Canadiens.
In 1968-69, Phil Esposito became the first player to break the 100-point mark in one season, ending with 126 points for the Boston Bruins. Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe also broke past 100 points that season.
Just a couple of seasons later, in 1970-71, Esposito became the first to get 150 points in a single season.
Fastest to 1,000 Career Points
Wayne Gretzky’s record for the fastest to 1,000 career NHL points stands at doing so in just 424 games.
Most Points in a Single Game
One of the few offensive records that Gretzky doesn’t own is that of scoring the most NHL points in a single game. That record goes to Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who scored six goals and ten points in February 1976 against the Boston Bruins.
Canadian NHL Legends and Their Point Records
Wayne Gretzky: The Untouchable Standard
Wayne Gretzky’s record of 2,857 points beats the next-best in the NHL record books by 936 points. While he enjoyed a long career of 1,487 games over 20 seasons, his average is seemingly untouchable at 1.92 points per game.
Mario Lemieux: Canada’s Powerhouse
Mario Lemieux’s NHL scoring is both supremely impressive and historic while also being a tale of what could have been. Despite having to miss many games and seasons due to health issues, Lemieux stands eighth in the all-time points table with 1,723 from just 915 games. That’s a per-game average of 1.88.
Sidney Crosby and the Modern Era Greats
Sidney Crosby (1,687 points), Alex Ovechkin (1,623 points), Joe Thornton (1,539 points), and, due to his absurd longevity, Jaromír Jágr (1,921 points) have all been able to carve out a top-20 place among NHL point scorers in the modern era.
Current Canadian Stars to Watch
Connor McDavid’s Point Production
Connor McDavid’s rate of scoring is unprecedented in the modern era, even when weighing in the exploits of Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. He broke through at a relative ebb for scoring in the league and has helped to propel the numbers upward. A constant favourite to score a point in betting circles, the 28-year-old is averaging 1.52 points per game.
Nathan MacKinnon’s Impact on Colorado
Drafted first overall in a stacked 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Nathan MacKinnon has become a powerhouse for the Colorado Avalanche, forming the spearhead of a core that’s since gone on to win the Stanley Cup. The big-bodied center is scoring at a rate of 1.17 points per game.
Canadian Rookies Making a Mark
This season, all eyes were on the most recent No. 1 pick, Macklin Celebrini. The North Vancouver native joined the San Jose Sharks – a team very deep into a rebuild – and still managed to score 63 points in his rookie season despite his team only amassing 52 points in the standings.
International Comparisons
Canadians vs Americans in Points Production
Americans make up the second-largest national contingent in the NHL, but when it comes to the top point scorer trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, only a handful of Americans have broken the run of wins by Canadians or Europeans.
European Influence on NHL Scoring
In European ice hockey, with larger rinks and more time on the puck, the focus is on skill and crafting goals. Through the influx of Europeans over the last several decades, we’ve seen Finn Jari Kurri become Gretzky’s beloved wingman, the Sedin twins take it in turns to win the Art Ross Trophy, and Jaromír Jágr climb to second of all-time for points scored.
Scoring Trends by Country of Origin
Generally speaking, Canadians tend to be the most prominent among the highest-scoring players in the NHL. In the modern game, however, several Europeans have emerged as top goal scorers.
Positional Contributions to Points
Forwards: Point Leaders by Design
By design, the forward line of an NHL team is primed to score points. A classic view is to have a high-IQ center who can win the puck and pick passes that the wings can latch onto and shoot from. On any breakaway, it’ll be the forwards beaming ahead to make the most of any potential scoring situation.
Defensemen Who Score: The Elite Few
The idea of the two-way defenseman brings about a desire for teams to have their blueliners contribute to scoring more, but there’s also an elite cohort of offensive defensemen who put up huge tallies. This elite group is led by the legendary Bobby Orr: the only defenseman to win the Art Ross Trophy, which he achieved twice.
Goalie Points: Rare but Real
Goaltenders don’t tend to score in the NHL, but there was a point when a fair few were scoring more and more. In the late 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, the likes of Tom Barrasso, Grant Fuhr, Martin Brodeur, and Patrick Roy became known for their playmaking skills. Brodeur even recorded a couple of goals in his vaunted career.
Points and Player Value
Role of Points in Contract Negotiations
If a player has more points for a team, they’re naturally seen as more important for their offensive output, and thus, can command a better deal.
Points vs Intangibles: Are They Everything?
Points aren’t everything in hockey, and especially not in the NHL. With teams like the Florida Panthers showcasing the need for grinding physicality, stamina, body checking, stick checking, and pass percentage stats have all become much more prominent intangibles.
How GMs and Scouts View Points
GMs and scouts certainly take points into consideration, but will invariably take the points in context, such as by reviewing the quality of the players around the target and how their playing style aligns with any given strategy.
Coaching Strategies to Maximize Points
Power Play Units and Set Plays
With the man advantage on the power play, coaches seek to refine their unit to make for the most potent scoring unit possible. Each unit will know exactly where to put the puck after winning a power play faceoff.
Line Combinations to Optimize Production
Coaches always look for strong levels of line chemistry to maximize scoring, which comes down to both the playing style and the synchronicity between players. Generally, a top-tier playmaker will be joined by a sniper to maximize both players’ skills.
Zone Starts and Offensive Deployment
Each set of lines will be well-coached in how to react to a zone start that wins them the puck, being drilled in how to break out of the defensive zone, through the neutral zone, and how to set up scoring opportunities in the offensive zone.
Advanced Stats and Points Analytics
Expected Points (xP): An Emerging Metric?
Expected points (xP) is becoming a popular advanced statistic because it highlights players who are making strong plays that would usually score a point but don’t for whatever reason. It can reveal diamonds in the rough, as it were.
Role of Corsi and Fenwick in Scoring Opportunities
Corsi is a favourite of advanced stats lovers among the NHL fan base, showing the sum of blocked shots, missed shots, and shots on goal, while Fenwick is a variant of Crosi that counts all shot attempts that are not blocked.
Video and Data Tracking in Player Evaluation
All forms of advanced stats have become much easier to track and analyze with advances in video and data-tracking technology. Now, these videos will be analyzed through advanced programs that’ll contribute to player evaluation reports.
NHL Awards Related to Points
Art Ross Trophy: Leading Point Scorer
The Art Ross Trophy is given to the NHL’s top points scorer during the regular season. Gretzky has the record for the most of these trophies with ten.
Hart Trophy: Points vs MVP Impact
The Hart Memorial Trophy is a more subjective award that goes to the player deemed to be the most valuable player to their team. Of course, this can sometimes align with point scoring, but not always.
Ted Lindsay Award: Peer-Recognized Performance
The Ted Lindsay Award is essentially the MVP award as chosen instead by the NHL Players’ Association. It can also be swayed by point scoring, but often, overall skill on the ice is the primary determiner of the win.
Points and Playoff Performance
Regular Season Points vs Playoff Impact
Regular season NHL points and playoff points are recorded separately in career stats, and being a top scorer doesn’t necessarily lend a player to being prevalent in the playoffs. Of course, the best players of all time continue their high outputs at both ends of the season.
“Clutch” Scorers in NHL History
This season, Jaromír Jágr’s record of 135 game-winning goals – the most clutch form of NHL scoring – was pipped by Alex Ovechkin, who reached 136 regular season game-winners. In the postseason, Gretzky and Brett Hull are tied on 24 game-winning goals each.
Canadian Teams with the Most Playoff Points
Sporting a buffer of over 100 wins, were teams to score points in the playoffs, the Montréal Canadiens would lead the way, having won 448 games to the next-best 344 of the Boston Bruins.
FAQ: Points in the NHL – What Canadian Fans Ask Most
Who has the Most NHL Points Ever?
Wayne Gretzky has the most NHL points ever, recording 2,857 points across his 1,487 regular-season NHL games. When adding in his playoff scoring, “The Great One” amassed 3,239 points in 1,695 total games.
Do Assists Count as Much as Goals in NHL Stats?
For the points column of NHL stats, assists do count as much as goals. However, in terms of the weighting of individual NHL stats, assists aren’t considered to be worth as much as goals.
Can a Player Get Two Assists on One Goal?
A single player cannot get two assists on one goal. If puck possession changes in a way that only sees one player of that team touch the puck before the goal, a secondary assist won’t be awarded.
What’s a “Loser Point”?
A loser point is a form of team point that counts toward an NHL team’s tally in the standings. The loser point is one point that’s given to a team that loses the game after regulation time – in overtime or a shootout.
Why Do Canadian Players Lead in Points So Often?
Canadian players lead in points so often in the NHL because the league is dominated by Canadian players and the youth system that generates players from Canada is widely considered to be the best in the world.
Is it Better to Have More Goals or More Assists?
It’s better to have more goals when it comes to NHL stats, but for points tallies, goals and assists count as just one point either way.
Can a Defenseman Lead in Points?
A defenseman can lead in points scoring, and this has occurred. In 1970 and 1975, defenseman Bobby Orr led the NHL with 120 points and 135 points, respectively. However, Orr is the only defenseman to achieve this feat.
How Do NHL Points Differ from International Play?
NHL points are scored solely within the NHL for NHL teams, while points from international play are registered separately as points scored for national teams in international competitions.
Do Playoff Points Count Toward Career Totals?
For player career totals, playoff points are counted separately to the regular season or NHL points count. Usually, the career totals you see for NHL players pertain to their regular-season point scoring.
How Many Points Does it Usually Take to Make the Playoffs?
Over the last five full NHL seasons, from 2018-19 to 2024-25, the average points needed for a team to make it to the playoffs via the lowest wild card place has been 92.6 points.