Not only does Nathan MacKinnon lead the NHL in points, but he also leads the league in points that actually matter. Here's the top 25 NHL situational scorers at the halfway point.
When the NHL season hit the midway point Saturday night, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche emerged as the early front-runner for the Hart Trophy.
That rarified status is backed up by THN's NHL Situational Scoring race.
Situational Scoring is a stat unique to the Hockey News that measures offensive contributions at key moments in the game. And MacKinnon, who leads the scoring race, is clearly doing that.
But what about MacKinnon's Cole Harbour running mate Sidney Crosby, who sits sixth in the race? Pretty impressive.
Here's the NHL ranking with stats updated as of Jan. 4. If you're unfamiliar with Situational Scoring or need a refresher, keep reading.
NHL Situational Scoring: Top 25 At The Halfway Point
Situational Scoring tracks the points that matter the most. Goals and assists are assigned a value depending on the situation and added up in the total (SS points). Scroll to the right for more numbers.
As always, there are a couple of things to note, the most important being that goals are weighted more heavily than assists, with goals worth one point and assists worth half a point.
In this system, goals can be worth more than one point and assists worth more than a half a point. For example, the first goal of a game is automatically worth two points, one for being the first goal of the game and one for putting that player's team ahead in a game. An overtime goal is worth three: one for putting the team ahead, one for being the game-winner and one for the overtime goal. If that is the only goal in a 1-0 game, it's worth four.
It can all be a little confusing, so here's a glossary:
FIRST: When a player scores the first goal of the game.
AHEAD: Any goal that puts a team ahead at any point in the game, including overtime.
TIED: Any goal that pulls a team into a tie at any point in the game.
COMEBACK: A goal that is scored when a team is trailing by two goals or more and is part of a series of goals that eventually ties the game, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the game.
WINNER: A game-winning goal, but not by the NHL's definition. The game-winner in this category is the goal that puts a team ahead in a game to stay. So in other words, you could have a 7-6 game and maybe the first goal of the game was the game-winner.
OT: Overtime goal.
SO: Only shootout game-winning goals are counted in this category.
NHL: Where the player stands in the actual NHL scoring race.
Take a look at the list, watch the video column above for more, and let us know your thoughts.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.