NHL DATA STORY

Beyond the Points

What makes a great hockey player? Points tell part of the story. These charts explore how top players score, shoot, and contribute to the game beyond the scoreboard.

Three ways to read player performance

This dataset compares NHL players across scoring, shooting, and plus/minus. Looking at different statistics together reveals that high point totals do not always mean the same style of play or overall result.

01 / SCORING

Goals + Assists = Points

The ten highest point scorers are split into goals and assists to show how each player builds their total.

Stacked bar chart of goals and assists for the top ten players
Takeaway

Nathan MacKinnon leads this group with 37 points. His 17 goals and 20 assists show a balanced contribution. The stacked bars make it easy to see that players can reach similar totals through different combinations of scoring and playmaking.

02 / SHOOTING

More Shots, More Accuracy?

Each dot represents one of the fifteen highest point scorers. The chart compares how often players shoot with how often those shots become goals.

Scatter plot comparing shots and shooting percentage
Takeaway

A high shot count does not automatically mean a high shooting percentage. The scatter plot displays both measures at once, making differences in shot volume and accuracy easy to spot.

03 / ON-ICE IMPACT

Points Do Not Tell the Whole Story

Plus/minus for the same fifteen top point scorers, with positive and negative values shown on opposite sides of the zero line.

Bar chart of plus-minus for the top fifteen point scorers
Takeaway

Connor McDavid has 33 points but a -5 plus/minus, while Nathan MacKinnon pairs the highest point total with +23. These differences show that offensive production and plus/minus describe different aspects of player performance.

SOURCE DATA

Original Dataset

The complete dataset is included below. Scroll horizontally to view all of the columns.

Name Team Position GamesPlayed Goals Assists Points PlusMinus PenaltyMinutes AvgTimeOnIce PPGoals PPAssists Shots ShootingPercentage Shifts GameWinningGoals FaceoffWinPercentage
Nathan MacKinnonCOLC22172037231221:44549418.1511248.5
Macklin CelebriniSJC2314203451220:31486720.9496348.7
Connor McDavidEDMC24102333-51023:203107213.9545047.8
Connor BedardCHIC2213183192221:07467218.1514250.2
Jack EichelVGKC221020304221:020129111511249.4
William NylanderTORRW1910192951220:16234422.7459138.9
David PastrnakBOSRW24111829-71420:09588512.94962100
Cale MakarCOLD2292029221025:35:00076214.559130
Leo CarlssonANAC22111829112319:37275520548346.1
Mark ScheifeleWPGC2111172861620:18334922.4467251.3
Leon DraisaitlEDMC241414286622:29755923.7561156.9
Mikko RantanenDALRW22101828-45720:384115817.2488148.3
Martin NecasCOLC22131528191621:06344628.3501053.8
Jason RobertsonDALLW221315289220:21479613.548210
John TavaresTORC221215273618:35226618.2473160.9
Kirill KaprizovMINLW231314271622:10647816.747910
Cutter GauthierANALW22131326131217:58329713.4496241.2
Matt BoldyMINLW2313122531221:03567517.3478239.4
Brad MarchandFLALW21131225-61818:11266021.7471120
Nikita KucherovTBRW201015251620:29346016.744430
Bo HorvatNYIC23141125132020:22357917.7549359.1
Dylan LarkinDETC23131225112220:42327816.7566356.7
Kyle ConnorMPGLW211114255620:34157614.548010
Troy TerryANARW227182514418:54065313.2527166.7
Alex DeBrincatDETRW23111425-2418:00638812.5488240
Evgeni MalkinPITC216182441417:41285211.5429045
Lucas RaymondDETLW21717247418:15165313.24652100
Sidney CrosbyPITC21131023-32419:09624628.3464153.5
Tom WilsonWSHRW23121123115219:29425223.1541150
Nick SuzukiMTLC215182311420:27364411.4466052.3
Morgan GeekieBOSC2417623-7817:43436526.2472243
Josh MorrisseyWPGD21517227624:32:00153713.560400
Jake GuentzelTBC221210224620:44336418.8512253.8
Nick SchmaltzUTAC231012220419:29335817.2536238.3
Brandon HagelTBLW21111122101219:27126217.7503344.8
Jesper BrattNJLW22517220818:1515501049820
Cole CaufieldMTLRW21139229818:28155922440340
Kirill MarchenkoCBJRW22814228818:57166512.347120
Matthew KniesTORLW19517224820:32204211.945000
Trevor ZegrasPHIC2171421-12018:29265014454037.8
Tim StutzleOTTC221110217820:07245918.6571360.4
Wyatt JohnstonDALC22111021-3621:04856217.7533251
Logan CooleyUTAC231382152018:33314827.1510140.3
Will SmithSJC23714215818:06155313.2458217.4
Alex OvechkinWSHLW231011217417:51135418.54683100
John CarlsonWSHD22516218623:1005501052400
Sam ReinhartFLAC2213821-8221:02446320.6526532.4
Alex TuchBUGRW228132133318:30115016570044.4
Mitch MarnerVGKRW22417216420:44143910.3489052
Zach WerenskiCBJD23714218026:26:0015897.960900