A Glossary of Terms - Advanced Analytics

More and more often fans are looking for simple, to the point explanations of the terms we use regularly on the site. I figured it was easiest to write an article and have it linked on the main page for easy reference.

• Shots % - refers to the percentage of total shots on net that were taken by a player's team while he is on the ice, or in total for a team.
  Fenwick - is a +/- statistic for a player/team that measures how many shots and missed shots were directed for and against the team/player being measured per 60 minutes.
  Relative Fenwick - is a measurement of a player's Fenwick success relative to his own teammates per 60 minutes.
  Fenwick % - refers to the percentage of total shots and missed shots that were taken by a player's team while he is on the ice, or in total for a team.
• Corsi - is a +/- statistic for a player/team that measures all shot attempts, including misses and blocked shots, directed for and against the team/player being measured per 60 minutes.
  Relative Corsi - is a measurement of a player's Corsi success relative to his own teammates per 60 minutes.
  Corsi % - refers to the percentage of total shot attempts that were taken by a player's team while he is on the ice, or in total for a team.
• On ice shooting % - refers to team shooting success while a player is on the ice.
• On ice save % - refers to the goaltender's save percentage while a player is on the ice.
• PDO - an addition of on ice shooting % and on ice save % to create a number that quantifies a team's variable success. Over time, this number will always trend towards 100%
• Offensive zone start % - is the percentage of total shifts a player starts in the offensive zone, not including neutral zone shifts.
• Offensive zone finish % - is the percentage of total shifts a player ends in the offensive zone, not including neutral zone shifts.
• Quality of competition - a measure of the relative +/- score of the opponents a player faces on average, weighted against ice time played against each player.
• Quality of teammates - a measure of the relative +/- score of the teammates a player plays with on average, weighted against ice time played with each player.
• Corsi quality of competition - a measure of the average Corsi score of the opponents a player faces, weighted against ice time played against each player.
• Corsi quality of teammates - a measure of the average Corsi score of the teammates a player plays with on average, weighted against ice time played with each player
• Relative Corsi quality of competition - a measure of the average relative Corsi score of the opponents a player faces, weighted against the ice time played against each player
• Relative Corsi quality of teammates - a measure of the average relative Corsi score of the teammates a player plays with, weighted against the ice time played with each player.
• True +/- - similar to traditional +/-, but removing shorthanded goals against and empty net goals against. Essentially it is even strength +/-.
• Score effects - the term given to the natural tendency of teams to stop pushing the offense when they have a lead, which allows a trailing team to outshoot their opponent. This phenomena occurs with every team in the NHL, some worse than others./