Plus/Minus

Plus/Minus is an interesting though sometimes useless hockey statistic. It is defined in Total Hockey as: "a statistic that attempts to express a player's defensive value. A player is award a "plus" each time he's on the ice when his team scores an even strength or shorthanded goal. He is charged with a "minus" for each even-strength or short handed goal the other team scores when he's on the ice. A player's Plus/Minus rating is the number left over when the minuses are subtracted from the pluses." Note power play goals are not included in any plus minus study.

Below are the plus/minus ratings of the individuals who participated in the 1972 Summit Series:

Soviet Player Rating Canadian Player Rating
Shadrin 7 White 7
Yakushev 5 Henderson 6
Liapkin 3 Stapleton 6
Anisin 3 Bergman 5
Paladiev 2 Park 4
Zimin 1 D. Hull 4
Vasiliev 1 Ellis 3
Shatalov 1 P. Esposito 2
Kharlamov 0 Clarke 2
Martyniuk 0 Cashman 2
Volchknov 0 Perreault 2
Bodunov -1 Gilbert 1
Gusev -1 P. Mahovlich 1
Starshinov -1 Mikita 1
Lutchenko -1 Parise 1
Blinov -2 Goldsworthy 0
Lebedev -2 Berenson 0
Ragulin -2 Cournoyer 0
Solodukhin -2 Redmond -1
Mikhailov -4 Savard -1
Kuzkin -5 Awrey -2
Tsygankov -5 Ratelle -2
Maltsev -6 F. Mahovlich -2
Petrov -6 hadfield -3
Mishakov -7 Lapointe -3
Vikulov -8 Seiling -6
 

From the authors of 1972 Summit Series.com:  

The History of the Canada Cup and 
The World Cup of Hockey

In Bookstores Everywhere October 2002