How do assists work in hockey

A hockey player who passes the puck to a teammate who scores is given an assist. A hockey player who passes the puck to a teammate who passes the puck to a teammate who scores is also credited with an assist. To distinguish the two types of assists, the first one is called a primary assist and the other is called a secondary assist. Every sport has a historical group of simple statistics which defined how casual fans and even insiders thought about players for a long time.

Examining the statistics can also tell us something about the culture of the sport. From this, we can intuit that hockey values teamwork and spreads out credit for achievements more than most sports. The hockey assist is not without its critics. I've got an idea. Instead of a shootout, why not just have the two teams' enforcers duke it out at center ice, first one to fall loses. Thank goodness sanity reigns in the playoffs, where shootouts are dead and good old-fashioned overtime decides the outcome.

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Ad Choices. Don't settle for anything less than responsible journalism. Subscribe today. By Scott Toole. Montreal Canadiens fans walk through the concourse with Boston Bruins fans prior to game 2 of their opening-round playoff series in Boston on Saturday night.

In fact, the Knights' first goal by Karlsson looks exactly as you described it. It may have originally been listed as "unassisted", but as you can see in the box score, is is now listed as assisted from Marchessault and Smith. Sign up to join this community.

The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. What resets the counter for a hockey assist? Ask Question. Asked 3 years, 8 months ago. Active 3 years, 8 months ago. Viewed times. Improve this question. JohnP JohnP 1 1 silver badge 4 4 bronze badges.