What is 5-on-5 (Even Strength)?

Hockey played with five skaters per side, the most common game state and the baseline for most statistics.

What this tells us

When the game is 5-on-5, neither team has a power play or penalty kill happening — it's straight-up five versus five on the ice. This is where the majority of hockey is played, so most analytics focus on 5-on-5 performance to get a clean picture of how good a team or player really is. It's the "apples to apples" comparison, because power plays and penalty kills are their own special situations with different dynamics.

Limitations

5-on-5 stats don't tell you how a player or team performs in high-leverage moments like power plays, penalty kills, or overtime — which can swing entire seasons. A player might look dominant at 5-on-5 but struggle when the team is down a man, or vice versa. That's why we also show special teams stats separately.

Example

When analysts say "he's a 60-point player," they usually mean at 5-on-5 pace, because that's the most stable measure. Power-play points come and go, but 5-on-5 points show what he does night in and night out.