Corsi Number (or Corsi Rating) is similar to +/- only it counts the number of shots directed towards goal at even strength instead of goals scored/against. Shots directed towards goal include all missed shots and blocked shots. So if you were on the ice for a shot on goal and a missed shot on offense (+2) and a shot on goal on defense (-1), you would have a corsi rating of +1. The metric was developed by Jim Corsi. No, not the bruly former Red Sox reliever pictured above. There is another Jim Corsi who is the goaltending coach for the Buffalo Sabres, who wanted to develop a more accurate statistic to guage a player's performance at even strength. Like all statistical metrics, it isn't perfect but it is another why to break down a player's performance.
This was a weekly post on my old blogspot site. I would look at the shift charts on Time on Ice for every game and add the Corsi Ratings for that game to a spreadsheet to calculate the players' cumulative Corsi Rating. I got a little lazy doing this and missed a few games. Then a few games turned into 25 games. The other day, I realized that I was doing a lot of extra number crunching because Behind the Net already calculates Corsi for every player in the league. However, they present the figure slightly different then I had been. Instead of cumulative ratings, they have broken it down based on Corsi Rating per 60 minutes of even strength ice time. So here are your Good, Bad, and Mediocre Corsi performers based on average 60 minutes of even strength ice time for the Boston Bruins through 55 games:
The Good
Michael Ryder: +7.3
Blake Wheeler:+7.3
Marc Savard: +4.7
The Bad
Chuck Kobasew: -9.7
Stephane Yelle: -9.3
P.J. Axelsson: -7
Note: Martins Karsums (-23, 3 GP) and Johnny Boychuk (-13.4, 1 GP) had lower Corsi ratings but I didn't think it was fair to slap the "Bad" label on them after such limited playing time.
The Mediocre
Marco Sturm: Even
Aaron Ward: +0.3
Matt Lashoff: +0.3
Interesting Facts:
Former Bruin Jeff Hoggan leads the NHL in Corsi per 60 mins with a rating of +54.9....although he has only played 2 games for the Phoenix Coyotes this year.
Sergei Fedorov has a Corsi rating of +26.4 in 27 games played for the Washington Capitals, while Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano has a +23.7 in 53 games.