How Ice Hockey Points Work: Goals, Assists and Standings

In ice hockey, a player’s points are goals plus assists. A team’s standings points come from game results—not from adding up its players’ scoring totals. The same label describes two different measures, so first check whether you are reading a player stat line or a league table. The NHL’s statistical glossary defines both separately.

Player points: goals + assists

Player points = goals + assists

A player with 12 goals and 18 assists has 30 points. Each goal and each assist contributes one point; goals do not receive extra weight in this total.

On a single goal, the NHL can award credit to three players:

• Goal scorer: one goal and one point.
• Primary assister: one assist and one point—the last teammate to touch the puck before the scorer.
• Secondary assister: one assist and one point—the teammate who touched it before the primary assister.

There can also be one assist or no assists. Eligibility depends on the scoring sequence, including whether the opposing team controlled the puck in between. The scorer cannot receive an assist on the same goal. These distinctions are set out in the NHL’s assist and points definitions.

For example, suppose Alex passes to Blake, Blake passes to Casey, and Casey scores, with no intervening opposition possession:

What changes	Credit
Casey’s record	+1 goal, +1 point
Blake’s record	+1 primary assist, +1 point
Alex’s record	+1 secondary assist, +1 point
Team’s game score	+1 goal
Team’s standings points	Determined by the game’s result, not this goal alone

That is three individual points from one team goal, not three goals on the scoreboard. USA Hockey’s 2025–2029 Rule 617 likewise specifies a maximum of two assists and one point per goal or assist in a player’s record.

Which scoring situations count?

Standard NHL player point totals combine even-strength, power-play and shorthanded production. Empty-net goals and assists also count. Power-play points are a subset of total points, not an extra amount to add to them, under the NHL’s statistical definitions.

Shootouts are different: a successful shootout attempt does not add a goal or point to the player’s ordinary scoring total. The winning team receives one extra goal in the final score, but the decisive shooter does not receive a personal goal under Rule 84.4 of the 2026–27 NHL rulebook. See the fuller explanation of how shootout goals are recorded.

Team points: the NHL standings calculation

The NHL’s regular-season standings use these values:

• 2 points for a win in regulation, overtime or a shootout.
• 1 point for an overtime or shootout loss.
• 0 points for a regulation loss.

These values appear in the official NHL standings legend. A bigger winning margin does not earn more standings points.

NHL standings points = (2 × wins) + overtime/shootout losses

A hypothetical 10–5–3 record means 10 wins, five regulation losses and three overtime/shootout losses:

(2 × 10) + 3 = 23 points in 18 games.

The final record column may be labelled OT or OTL; our guide to OTL explains that format.

Do not apply the NHL formula to every competition. For example, the 2026 men’s IIHF World Championship group stage awarded three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime/shootout win, one for an overtime/shootout loss and zero for a regulation loss, as detailed in the Bruins’ tournament guide.

What player points tell you—and what they miss

Points measure credited scoring production, not skating speed, shot speed or complete player value.

For comparisons, points per game = points ÷ games played. A hypothetical player with 30 points in 40 games averages 0.75 points per game. That accounts for games played, but not differences in ice time or power-play opportunity—a limitation the NHL glossary explicitly notes.

For a closer comparison, examine points per 60 minutes at the same strength state, alongside the actual ice time and role. For example, 5-on-5 points per 60 = 5-on-5 points ÷ 5-on-5 minutes played × 60. Keep goals, primary assists and secondary assists visible: identical point totals can describe very different scoring profiles.

Also check abbreviations carefully. The NHL glossary uses P/GP for points per game and PPG for power-play goals. The hockey stats abbreviation guide helps distinguish totals, rates and situation-specific columns.