Hows does the +/- system work in hockey?

Answer 1

OK stick with me here:
Bob Smith is on the ice for a goal his team scored at even strength. He is now +1.
Later that same game his team is short handed and they allow a goal. He is still +1 because power play goals do not count either for or against +/-.
Later that same game he has a run of bad luck and is on the ice for 2 quick goals scored against his team at even strength. He is now -1.
And finally while his team is killing a penalty (his team is short handed) He scores a goal and is back to even.
Essentially goals scored at even strength will affect all players on the ice at that time (minus the goalie) They get a +1 if their team scores and a -1 if the opponent scores.
While on the power play, goals scored count neither as a + for the scoring team players or as a minus for the penalty killers.
While short handed if the penalty killing team scores, all players on the ice for that team get a + while the team that gave up the shorty has their players credited with a minus.
Hope that helped.

Answer 2

Plus/minus is an ice hockey statistic that measures the team goal differential when a specific player is on the ice. A player's plus/minus is increased by one every time his team scores an even strength or shorthanded goal while he is on the ice. Whenever the team is scored against while at even strength or on a power play when the player is on the ice, his plus/minus is decreased by one. The statistic is sometimes called the plus/minus ratio even though it is a difference, not a ratio.

A player's plus/minus statistic can be calculated for a single game or for the season as a whole. For instance, if a player enters a game with a season total plus/minus of -8, then accumulates a statistic of +3 for a single game, the season total will change to a -5.

Plus/minus is mainly used to measure defencemen and forwards who play a defensive role since offensive forwards are better measured by scoring statistics such as goals and assists. It is directly affected by team performance, thus accurate comparisons can only be made by taking into consideration the defensive performances of the team as a whole; for example, a player who is +15 on a powerful offensive team is considered by hockey statisticians to have done worse defensively than one who is +10 on a poor defensive team.

The Montreal Canadiens were the first team to track +/-, starting sometime in the 1950s. Other teams followed in the early 1960s, and the NHL started officially compiling the ratings in 1968. Emile Francis is often credited with devising the system, but he only popularized and adapted the system in use by the Canadiens. Since 1983 the NHL Plus/Minus Award has been awarded to the National Hockey League player with the highest plus/minus at the end of the regular season; since they log more even-strength ice time, the winners tend to be defencemen. The most prominent plus/minus winner was Boston Bruins' defenceman Bobby Orr, who led the league six times (and whose defence partner Dallas Smith was the first league leader). Wayne Gretzky led the league four times, and Chris Pronger and John LeClair have each led twice.

Answer 3

tmlfan has the best answer thus far. Most people don't realize that being on the ice for a shorthanded goal affects plus/minus while power play goals have no affect.

Answer 4

wen a player is on the ice wen their team scores they get + 1 and wen theyre on wen the other team scores they get - 1 and then u add up the total at the end of the game

Answer 5

when you are on the ice at even strength and your team scores a goal you get a + (plus)
The opposite is true for a - (minus)
Does that help? My husband helped me with this answer.

Answer 6

if you are on the ice and your team scores it is + and if you are on the ice when the other team scores it is -