A faceoff looks like a coin flip, but it is a governed 50/50 battle: nine exact spots, a center on the dot, and a rule that ejects him when...
By Mike Johnson · 9 min read
Save percentage is hockey's go-to goalie stat, but it counts a point-blank chance and a 55-foot floater as the same shot. Here's the SV% for...
By Mike Johnson · 9 min read
What is GAA in hockey? Goals against average is goals per 60 minutes, the oldest goalie stat and the most misleading. How it is calculated,...
By Mike Johnson · 7 min read
Hockey positions explained: six players per side, five skaters and a goalie. What the center, wingers, defensemen, and goalie each do, how l...
By Mike Johnson · 6 min read
What is a penalty kill in hockey? The short-handed team's stand against the power play, four against five. The rules that help the underdog...
By Mike Johnson · 7 min read
What is a pest in hockey? An agitator who chirps and goads stars into dumb penalties, usually without fighting. How a pest differs from an e...
By Mike Johnson · 8 min read
What is a healthy scratch in hockey? A fully fit player the coach leaves out of the lineup, watching from the press box in a suit, not injur...
By Mike Johnson · 8 min read
What is the trapezoid in hockey? The restricted area behind the net where the goalie may play the puck, and the only line on the rink drawn...
By Mike Johnson · 7 min read
What is a hat trick in hockey? Three goals by one player in a single game. But the name came from 1858 cricket, the tradition from a 1946 To...
By Mike Johnson · 8 min read
The tallest, biggest, heaviest and smallest NHL players, verified all-time and for 2026: Chara's unbeaten 6-foot-9 ceiling, the contested 26...
By Mike Johnson · 10 min read
