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If you have ever watched a Devils' broadcast you may already be familiar with the term scoring chance. It is something that gets mentioned everyone once in awhile or it will show up in a graphic. Even though scoring chances are used by the Devils and probably many other teams it is not a stat that is publicly available. This is why a handful of fans decided to start recording and sharing scoring chances online.
Right now there are 8 teams being covered: the Oilers by Dennis King at MC79Hockey; the Panthers by Derek Zona at Litter Box Cats; the Rangers by George E. Ays at Blueshirt Banter; the Flyers by ToddtheFox at Broad Street Hockey; the Flames by Kent Wilson at Flames Nation; the Capitals by Neil Greenberg at Russian Machine Never Breaks; the Leafs at Under the Helmet of Slava Duris; and the Canadiens by Olivier at En attendant les Nordiques. This list could be larger if there are others, like myself, who will be starting this year.
Since this a new concept at In Lou We Trust it seems appropriate to give an overview of what exactly a scoring chance is and how it is recorded. Considering John has been using plenty of advanced stats for awhile now this really shouldn't be hard to grasp. If you understand Corsi/Fenwick then understanding how scoring chances work will not be a problem for you.
What is a scoring chance?
Now if you follow hockey you have probably heard someone use a variation of this quote "We may have given up a lot of shots but they weren't quality shots". Scoring chances are the stat that can either prove or disprove such statement. A scoring chance is defined as a shot directed toward the opposing net from a dangerous scoring area (shown below, it's the area within the black line). Missed shots count but blocked shots do not. Players on the ice when a scoring chance is taken are awarded either a chance for (+1) or a chance against (-1). If you want to find out if a team is really preventing or getting quality shots you want to look at the scoring chances.
How are scoring chances recorded?
The most common tables you'll see associated with scoring chances come courtesy of Time on Ice. The script here allows those who track scoring chances to easily create something like this:
Team
Period
Time
Note
Boston
New Jersey
NJD
1
18:35
Tallinder from Elias
17
18
40
44
46
55
1
7
12
21
26
29
5v5
NJD
1
18:13
Elias from Rolston, Goal
17
18
40
44
46
55
1
7
12
21
26
29
5v5
NJD
1
15:11
Pelley own rebound
11
12
20
22
40
54
1
10
11
18
22
34
5v5
NJD
1
14:17
Kovalchuk from Zajac
12
19
37
40
54
63
1
2
6
17
19
32
5v5
BOS
1
14:04
Seguin from Seidenberg
12
19
37
40
54
63
1
2
6
17
19
32
5v5
BOS
1
12:05
Campbell from Paille
11
20
22
40
44
55
1
2
6
10
11
18
5v5
BOS
1
11:21
Peverly from Ryder, Post
21
37
40
49
63
73
1
2
7
17
19
5v4
BOS
1
11:13
Ryder
21
37
40
49
63
73
1
2
7
12
26
5v4
BOS
1
9:56
Peverly from Seidenberg rebound,Goal
12
21
40
49
63
73
1
6
7
16
19
29
5v5
NJD
1
8:58
Josefson from Clarkson
11
20
22
40
44
55
1
2
6
14
16
23
5v5
NJD
1
2:05
Clarkson from Tedenby
11
20
40
44
55
1
17
21
23
26
34
5v4
NJD
2
13:36
Zajac from Palmieri
19
37
40
44
55
63
1
7
17
19
29
32
5v5
NJD
2
11:13
Clarkson from Henrique
12
23
40
49
54
73
1
7
14
16
23
29
5v5
NJD
2
7:16
Zharkov from Mair, Miss
11
20
21
22
34
40
1
11
18
22
23
34
5v5
NJD
2
6:46
Clarkson from Zharkov
11
20
21
22
34
40
1
11
18
22
23
34
5v5
BOS
3
18:19
Ryder deflection from Bergeron, Miss
37
40
44
49
63
73
1
2
6
12
26
5v4
NJD
3
16:00
Zharkov breakaway, Goal
11
20
22
40
44
55
1
7
10
11
18
29
5v5
NJD
3
14:03
Zajac, Miss
19
37
40
44
55
63
1
2
6
17
19
32
5v5
NJD
3
13:53
Kovalchuk from Zajac
19
37
40
44
55
63
1
2
6
17
19
32
5v5
NJD
3
10:50
Urbom Wraparound Goal
21
23
34
40
49
73
1
14
16
22
23
34
5v5
BOS
3
8:50
Marchand from Sequin
19
37
40
44
55
63
1
17
19
22
32
34
5v5
BOS
3
8:49
Bergeron from Marchand rebound, Miss
19
37
40
44
55
63
1
17
19
22
32
34
5v5
NJD
3
3:22
Zharkov from Mair, Miss
21
23
34
40
49
73
1
7
16
17
23
29
5v5
NJD
3
1:02
Mair breakaway
11
12
20
21
22
40
1
2
6
10
11
18
5v5
BOS
3
0:04
Kelly deflection from Seidenberg, Goal
23
40
44
49
55
73
1
7
12
21
26
29
5v5
This is a summary of all the scoring chances in a game. It shows the period, time remaining, players on the ice, and situation. In the notes I'll tell you who actually took the chance, who set it up, and whether it missed the net or was a goal.
The table below, also from Time on Ice, shows you the scoring chances for (green) and against (red) for each individual player while at even strength, power plays, and short handed.
#
Player
EV
PP
SH
1
J. Hedberg
54:00
15
6
2:00
1
0
4:00
0
3
2
M. Fraser
18:32
5
4
0:00
0
0
2:27
0
3
6
A. Greene
20:50
5
5
0:00
0
0
1:28
0
1
7
H. Tallinder
17:40
5
2
0:00
0
0
1:17
0
2
10
R. Pelley
10:47
6
1
0:00
0
0
0:00
0
0
11
A. Mair
11:07
5
1
0:00
0
0
0:00
0
0
12
B. Rolston
15:27
2
1
1:26
0
0
1:41
0
2
14
A. Henrique
12:36
3
0
0:45
0
0
0:00
0
0
16
J. Josefson
12:55
2
1
0:45
0
0
0:03
0
0
17
I. Kovalchuk
16:17
4
3
2:00
1
0
1:18
0
1
18
V. Zharkov
8:48
6
1
0:00
0
0
0:58
0
0
19
T. Zajac
14:56
4
4
0:45
0
0
2:13
0
0
21
M. Tedenby
15:58
2
1
1:15
1
0
0:00
0
0
22
A. Urbom
16:28
5
0
0:00
0
0
0:00
0
0
23
D. Clarkson
13:28
4
0
1:15
1
0
0:00
0
0
26
P. Elias
15:20
2
1
1:15
1
0
1:47
0
3
29
A. Salmela
18:32
5
2
0:00
0
0
1:33
0
0
32
N. Palmieri
14:16
4
3
0:00
0
0
0:00
0
0
34
M. Fayne
16:03
5
0
0:34
1
0
1:15
0
0
Finally the other table you'll see in my posts will show the players actual chances and chances assists. This is something I noticed George E. Ays use prominently in his posts and I feel it is good to know who is actually getting into the scoring area and who is finding these players.
| Player | Chances | Chance on Goal | Chance Assist |
| Clarkson | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Zharkov | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Kovalchuk | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Zajac | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Josefson | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Mair | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Elias | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Urbom | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Tallinder | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Pelley | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Henrique | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Palmieri | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tedenby | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rolston | 0 | 0 |
1 |
Now there are plenty of other tables, graphs, and charts that can be associated with scoring chances but since I am still new to this I'll be sticking to the basics for now. As I get more comfortable, I will try to bring you more advanced stuff that you might see others doing.
Scoring Chances vs Corsi
So how does scoring chances relate to everyone's favorite advanced stat, Corsi? Corsi approximates puck possession; if you have a high Corsi that means you are attempting more shots than your opponent, which means you have the puck more often and in an attacking position. Scoring chances measure how well a player is utilizing that puck possession and if they are getting off quality shots. I find that it complements Corsi quite well and helps paint a much clearer picture to how a player performed.
Lets use the Devils' last game of the 2010-11 season for some examples. The Devils defeated the Bruins 3-2. I recommend going through John's recap of the game and checking out the Corsi numbers. John first mentions the great play of Vladimir Zharkov and his line in general. They all finished with a +6 or better Corsi. Not only were they controlling possession, they were also finding their way into the scoring area and getting chances. They all finished the game with +4 or better in scoring chances.
The Elias line finished with the highest Corsi all at +7 or better yet they weren't as successful in getting into the scoring area only managing +1 each in scoring chances. The defensive pairing of Fayne and Urbom seemed to struggle finishing -2 and -1 respectively in Corsi, but they both managed to finish +5 in scoring chances. They actually finished the game without a scoring chance against. Even though Fayne and Urbom did not fare well in keeping the Bruins out of their zone, they did manage to prevent them from getting into the scoring area.
Conclusion
Hopefully after reading this you will have a good understanding of what a scoring chance is. If not, feel free to comment below. I am new to writing here at In Lou We Trust so feel free to critique as much as you would like. My goal is to bring you this information as clearly as possible, so any help from the readers and other scoring chance trackers is welcome. I'm looking forward to adding another element to ILWT this season.