#TACTICOS

[ikram1909]

https://x.com/magicalxavi/status/1824767269546922335?s=46&t=n0WKUc5Y-w3K4ghuvgYnXw

Forever one of my fav Gavi videos ❤️ #30 Gavi you’ll never be forgotten 😭😭

#30 Gavi will always be special to me 😭😭

[tacticoal]

Author reccomendations?

if you haven't already, please check out these authors !

@ink-n-shadow; wonderful writer, and an even better friend ! my blog aesthetic is heavily inspired by hers, and her works are truly a wonder to read. she's the one who helps me get my ideas up and running, and makes sure i'm never broken.

Favorite work/series: demon!ghost x broken angel!reader (full series in her masterlist)

@simonrillleyyysss; jordi's masterlist is always there when i need something soft and sweet (and sometimes sexy). even if i've burned through each work, she's always there to make me feel just as giddy <3

Favorite work/series: simon x crybaby!reader (though her nikto works are DELICIOUSSS)

@starsofang; such a sweetheart to talk to !!! her works (esp her series !!) are so super emotional and heart-touching, and so so well written. i'm never a series fan, but i'm on the edge of my seat for her stuff. please send her love !!

Favorite work/series: Change of Heart; hitman!ghost x reader (full series in her masterlist)

@v1x3n; angst GODDESS... genuinely makes my heart hurt so bad it's insane how good she is. also has a very big masterlist in multiple fandoms for you to go through and enjoy (i certainly have...).

Favorite work/series: TF141 SMAU

@gloomwitchwrites; the most welcoming member of this community i've met, poppy has been for me since day 1. genuinely the sweetest person i've ever met, and their works are to die for. very consistent writer for TF141 headcannons too.

Favorite work/series: TF141 Imagines & What-If's

to these writers -- hi !! hello !!!! i love you all, and please continue writing. you and your works are truly beloved by me and many others. much love to you all !! <3

[seedlessmuffins]

Are you new to hockey and confused about stats? Are you an old hat at this sport but still confused about stats and too scared to ask? Do you think you are proficient in stats and then, all of a sudden, a new acronym comes out of nowhere to re-confuse you about stats?

This season, seemingly more than any other, every other hockey tweet and article mentions an incomprehensible acronym jumble and a percentage sign. With the NHL making more advanced statistics accessible to the public, these different stats seem to have more of an impact than ever on how people talk about and analyze the game, but it can feel like explanations of these numbers and codes are hard to find. 

I’ve written a handy guide to some of the most common stats, talking about what the acronyms stand for, the data that the stat is looking at, and why each stat is important so you can better understand the tweets and articles from all the hockey analysts.

There are three main categories of stats to look at: skater stats, goalie stats, and team stats, and these stats were accurate as of 5:00 pm on Saturday, March 2. 

Skater Stats:

SH%

Shooting % (SH%) is the percentage of shots a player attempted that resulted in goals. This is calculated by multiplying goals by 100 and dividing by shots. This shows a player’s conversion rate, or how many goals they score for every 100 shots. It's useful when looking at goal pace, and whether a skater is just on a hot/cold streak or if their goals are indicative of their average abilities. 

An average shot conversion rate is between 9% and 13%, but skaters can have seasons where more of their shots go in or less of their shots go in. SH% fluctuates from less than 1% to over 20% depending on the skater’s luck. It is also important to look at the sample size. On Natural Stat Trick, if you sort by pure SH%, it shows you that Vasily Ponomarev (CAR) has the highest SH% of the players who have more than 1 goal on 1 shot, with a 33.33% SH%. This is because he has scored 1 goal on 3 shots, so the low sample size inflates his SH%. 

Highest SH%: Sam Reinhart (FLA) with a 25.31% SH% from 41 goals on 162 shots. It would seem like this year, lots of bounces are going Reinhart’s way. 

Average SH%: David Pastrnak (BOS) with a 12.67% SH% from 38 goals on 300 shots. This is league average, despite how many goals and shots he has. 

Lowest SH%: Seth Jones (CHI) with a 0.90% SH% from 1 goal on 111 shots. This is extremely unlucky, his SH% says he is due for some bounces. 

+/-

Plus/Minus is a stat to measure defensive efforts. Every time a player is on the ice when their team scores a goal, they get a +1, whether they are involved in the goal or not. When a player is on the ice when the other team scores a goal, they get a -1. If a player is on the ice for 2 goals for their team and one goal for the other team, they would end the night with a +1. If a player ends the night with 0, they were on the ice for equal amounts of goals for and against. 

However, a disclaimer; +/- is an imperfect stat, and it is not always useful without context. It is a useful at-a-glance stat to quickly see defensive performance, but more context is necessary to see if a player is good defensively or not. This is because +/- is often influenced by factors outside of a player’s control, highly variable factors. Some variables that can influence +/- without player input are goalie SV%, the amount of time the player spends on ice and whether they are spending that time in the offensive or defensive zone, and the amount of time a player spends on the power play or penalty kill. Nick Suzuki (MTL) has a +/- of -14, but he also has the fifth-highest TOI of any forward in the league and has very positive defensive numbers in other areas, such as takeaways and offensive zone time.

Highest +/-: Gustav Forsling (FLA) with +39 in 59GP

Average +/-: Mikko Rantanen (COL) with +5 in 61GP

Lowest +/-: Philipp Kurashev (CHI) with -32 in 53GP

Goalie Stats:

GSAA

Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA) is the difference between a goalie’s goals against and a goalie’s goals against with the same shot against and the average save % (SV%). If you were comparing Goalie A with Average Goalie, who has the same goals against and shots against just an average SV%, GSAA measures how many more (or fewer) goals against Goalie A would save over Average Goalie. 

For example, if Thatcher Demko (VAN) was compared to Average Goalie, with the same goals and shots against and an average SV%, Demko would have saved 6.80 goals more than Average Goalie. This is useful for evaluating how goalies perform compared to the average, as well as how much they need to bail out their team. For example, a goalie like Sam Montembeault (MTL) might have a lower SV%, but a higher GSAA because he faces many more shots than a lot of goalies but saves many of them. This is a good stat to evaluate goalie quality. 

Highest GSAA: Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) is +26.74 GSAA, which is crazy. Hellebuyck is crazy good. 

Average GSAA: John Gibson (ANA) is -1.09 GSAA, the closest to the hypothetical Average Goalie this season. 

Lowest GSAA: Arvid Soderblom (CHI) is -17.34 GSAA, yikes! 

SV%

Save % (SV%) is the percentage of shots against a goalie that a goalie saved. This is calculated by dividing the number of saves by the amount of shots against. This is useful as an initial evaluation of a goalie’s quality and should be used in conjunction with GSAA to evaluate a goalie’s performance more accurately, as SV% doesn’t account for any extenuating circumstances. Igor Shesterkin (NYR), for example, has had some stretches of poor SV% this season. These weren’t entirely his fault, as he was not getting the defensive support he was used to, therefore he was letting in more goals. 

League average SV% this season is around 0.903% and typical SV% ranges from 0.870% to around 0.930%. Similarly to SH%, it is important to look at the sample size for SV%, as the number of shots a goalie has faced can affect their SV%, and can show whether it is just a hot/cold streak or a reliable measure of performance. 

Highest SV%: Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) with a 0.940% SV% by making 948 saves on 1008 shots. 

Average SV%: John Gibson (ANA) with a 0.913% SV% by making 752  saves on 824 shots. 

Lowest SV%: Jonas Johansson (TBL) with a 0.895% SV% by making only 513 saves on 573 shots. 

GAA or GA/G

Goals against per game, known as GAA or GA/G (I will be referring to it as GAA, but different websites use different acronyms), are the average amount of goals per game that a goalie allows. This is calculated by multiplying the goals against by 60 and dividing it by the goalie’s time on ice. This number is indicative of how many goals on average a goalie gives up, which isolates a goalie’s performance and is indicative of how good a goalie is, separate from their defensive core. It is especially useful when looking at good goalies on bad defensive teams, as it isolates the goalie from the skaters. A lower GAA means a goalie lets in fewer goals per game, and a higher one means a goalie lets in more. In this case, a lower number is better. 

Lowest GAA: Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) with 2.23 GAA through 43 games played. 

Average GAA: Jake Oettinger (DAL) with 2.92 GAA through 38 games played. 

Highest GAA: Arvid Soderblom (CHI) with 3.97 GAA through 22 games played. 

Team Stats:

P%

P%, or Points %, is the percentage of available points a team has won. For example, if a team has played 50 games and won all 50, they would have the maximum amount of points: 1.000 because every win is 2 points. Therefore they would have a 100% P%. If they won 40 of those 50 games, they would have 80 points and a 0.800 P%. If they won only 30 games but lost the remaining 20 all in overtime or a shootout, they would also have 80 points and an 80% P%, as OT and SO losses still gain a point. 

P% is useful to look at throughout the season when teams have not played the same number of games. As of the time of writing, some teams have played up to 60 games while other teams have played only 55. When comparing the two teams, P% is a more accurate way to look at the standings, because it levels the playing field when there is a discrepancy in the amount of games played.  

Sometimes people talk about being above or below “500 hockey,” and this is talking about P%! “500 hockey” is when a team has won 50% of the available points. Above 0.500 is usually seen as a positive. There is only one team exactly at 0.500 P%, and that is somehow the Buffalo Sabres!

Highest P%: Florida Panthers, with 0.700 P% from 84 points in 60 games played (wow!)

League Average P%: Washington Capitals, with 0.551 P% from 65 points in 59 games played

Lowest P%: Chicago Blackhawks, with 0.292 P% from 35 points in 60 games played (yikes.)

PDO

If you are a fan of the Vancouver Canucks like I am, you have probably heard this acronym from both the media and opposing fans all season. PDO, also known as “puck luck,” is just adding a team’s combined shooting % with a team’s combined save %. The team’s combined shooting % is the average of the shooting % for all a team’s skaters, and the combined save % is the average of all a team’s goalies. 

PDO is important to know what percentage of a team’s shots are going in the net and how many shots are being saved by the goalies; basically, just puck luck! The average PDO in the league is 100.0, but depending on a team’s SH% and SV% throughout a season, these numbers usually fluctuate between 95% and 105%.

Highest PDO: Vancouver Canucks, with 103.4 from a combined 11.36 skater SH% and a 92.09 goalie SV%, those lucky ducks.

Lowest PDO: San Jose Sharks, with 97.4 from a combined 6.78 skater SH% and a 90.59 goalie SV%. Better find some four-leaf clovers, SJ. 

Corsi/CF%

Corsi is a number that combines any shot attempt outside of a shootout. This includes goals, shots on the net, shots that miss the net, and shots that are blocked by the opposing team. There are two types of corsi, corsi for (CF) and corsi against (CA). CF is the amount of shots that Team A makes on Team B. CA is the measure of how many shots Team B takes against Team A. 

For example, if Team A has 3 goals, 30 shots, and 30 blocked shots or missed shots, their CA would be 63. If Team B scored 2 goals on Team A and also had 20 shots and 20 blocked shots, Team A’s CA is 42. 

Got that? Great! Stay with me for this next part. 

CF% is the important stat, as it measures the percentage of total Corsi while a team is on the ice. It shows how the percentage of CF a team has vs CA. In other words, CF% measures how many more total shot attempts Team A has on Team B’s net than Team B has on Team A’s net. 

Hold on – don’t close the page, I know it’s confusing. Maybe this will make sense with some examples. 

The team with the best CF% is the Carolina Hurricanes, with 59.56 CF%. They have 3468 CF, or total shots, and 2355 CA, or shots the other teams took against them. Of the total goals, shots, and shot attempts on the ice in any Carolina Hurricanes game, the Canes have just under 60% of them. That is an impressive share of the shots. This stat helps you evaluate offensive versus defensive possession, as a high CF% (like the Canes) indicates high offensive possession. The more time spent in the offensive zone, the more goals, shots and shot attempts, and therefore a higher CF%!

Highest CF%: Carolina Hurricanes, as I said, super impressive!

Average CF%: Ottawa Senators, with 50.15% of the total shots on the ice in their games (or just over 50% CF%). Sens the most equal offensive zone vs defensive zone time? Makes sense!

Lowest CF%: San Jose Sharks, with 43.48% CF%. San Jose is not great at controlling play, but what did we expect? 

These are some of the most common stats and acronyms that you will come across in your analytics research, happy reading!

Stats were retrieved via Natural Stat Trick and ESPN’s NHL Player Stats, and definitions were retrieved with the assistance of Natural Stat Trick’s Stat Glossary. 

[crystaldeclear]

What is in the water that every Arsenal player is expecting this year lmao?

[bellcza]

regarding our high-line offside trap: it’s not luck if the opponent has to be 100% perfect against us.

[syrupoison]

anyways. manu ballon d'or 2025 who says no

[fiveeatseight]

I just wasted my time and watched a video on YouTube with the title “why the pedri vs jude debate is pointless”. And it’s a Madridista’s channel. By reading the title you would think he would at least TRY to be unbiased, but no. Either way, the video and comments just reminded me how funny that debate actually is. I still firmly believe that Pedri is the better midfielder while Jude is the better goalscorer. However, they have this whole stupid debate going on even though they don’t even play the same position and a “pedri vs valverde comparison” would actually be more correct atp.

Anyway, I saw many comments saying Pedri and Jude would be legendary in a midfield TOGETHER. And honestly I think that’s so true because their player profiles complement each other perfectly. And I get this feeling that Jude could actually convert the many chances that Pedri creates. That’s why having them both on the same team JUST for one single match is a little guilty pleasure wish of mine. ☹️ And since they’re both ambassadors for Adidas, I always hope that they make some kind of commercial where Pedri and Jude are seen playing together because I know they would instantly have a connection. And I’ve seen Jude always getting so excited whenever someone creates a good chance for him to score from … so this leads us to the following conclusion: Jude would ADORE and love the shit out of Pedri if they played on the same team. I just know it. Just imagine how he would lift and manhandle Pedri into a crushing hug that would cover his entire tiny body with Jude’s 😫 (oriol romeu literally called Pedri’s body tiny in an interview, I will never forget that, that man was one of us 😔) Since Jude is very affectionate with his teammates, I’m certain he would pepper Pedri with endless kisses 🥺 Born to be lovers, forced to be rivals 😔💘

Btw, another interesting comment that I stumbled upon was someone saying that Real Madrid needs Pedri more than Barca needs Jude. And I’m afraid they cooked with that comment. Since Kroos left, Real Madrid DESPERATELY needs someone like Pedri. We don’t lack a Jude. Fermin is like our Jude. They always substitute Modric so that their midfield can gain some control. It’s literally so dumb how they slander Pedri even though they know damn well Pedri would walk right into their team and starting eleven if he wasn’t a Barca player.

oh anon you should see their stats comparison from december 2024. crazy how they complete each other’s weakness, isnt it?

pedri definitely mogs jude AND that roadrunner valverde in a term of being central midfielder. but yeah, their comparison is unfair cus they have different roles in general. jude is a box crashing CAM, pedri mostly plays as a deep controller which you cannot judge with g/a stats. they should compare jude with someone like olmo or fermin instead. and it’s hilarious when drid fans try to bring up g/a to say jude is better cause they will never do that with modric or kroos💀

jude converting pedri’s chances is a wet dream of mine NGL. reaalllly hope that adidas could pull through whatever levers they have to put judepedri in the same team together, but i just know it’s impossible💔 there’s gotta be some clauses within madrid/barca terms that prevent that, somehow🤔

fuuuckkk you make me long to see them celebrating together anon😭 jude generally has good positioning and goal instinct, meanwhile pedri could find him easily and feed him his sexy passes … UGH TOO GOOD. remember that viral video of jude carrying vazquez with ONE arm … yeah he 100% could do that to pedri alright😮‍💨

about madrid needing someone like pedri is also true. notice how madrid is in shambles once their no #8 left? their current midfield quality is actually dogshit😭 but what can i say, drid fans have some hate-boner for pedri. but best believe you’ll see mbappe fans hating on jude cause he cant be the midfielder they want, now that there’s a “real” attacker added to their roster

[halfturn]

the urge to quote tweet every single jon mackenzie post with "was just saying this to the lads down the pub"

[archivingbarca]

Hiii I'm back early

I was going to ask this in the comments but I feel like it's deserving of an ask lol

Which would you say is the most distinctive part of Flick's system in the attack?

Cause I've heard a lot about the high line in the defense (which might not even be the biggest Thing but looking at match stats that's usually what hits me) but in terms of attack I generally hear more about individual talent

Thanks so much again for answering all these questions!!! 💙❤️

hello! i would say that balance of profiles in our attack is what’s making it work so well for sure! we have lewy as the target man with so much experience and killer instincts; lamine who’s creative, holds the width and draws defenders away from central areas; raphinha who runs into space through the middle and can deliver the final ball; and olmo who’s excellent at receiving the ball in the pockets of space between the lines

the synergy between are players up front is probably the best in europe, which is why we look so much worse when one of them is missing 🥴 it messes with the balance when we have to shift players around, and the new players often don’t communicate well with each other (which is something flick’s going to have to address quickly…)

here’s a good youtube channel that discusses barça’s tactics if you want to learn more

[whitehartlane]

i rly do dislike the modern debate of ‘who is the goat’ in just about every facet of the game … idk it’s a team sport. to me there is no need to debate who the goat is and there is no need to reach a consensus. each player’s talents and weaknesses are strengthened or exacerbated based on the team around them and the tactics that are employed.

[iamacanal]

Roberto De Zerbi is top, a pioneer, on par with the elites, he is the Mona Lisa, the Venus di Milo, the Fighting Temeraire, the light to my shade, the wind beneath my wings, one of those really pretty blue and pink sunsets, Tangy's ACNH glow up, the whiskers on the most beautiful Ragdoll, a gif set of Alessio Tacchinardi holding a pen, the first time you heard Carrion, Marmite pasta, Romy Schneider just about wearing a shawl, an autumnal sense of melancholy, an Assouline travel book still sealed with a Net a Porter ribbon that you're too afraid to open. He is "Jonestown but make it Scouse", the vibes of "if Alex does it I do it", the human embodiment of John Whaite's heaven and hell cake.

He is not like the other boys (born somewhere between 1977 and 1983, sort of Iberian/Mediterranean, nice cashmere sweater with a progressive, high line, pressing, pretty triangles style). Nuh uh.

[tacticoal]

beautiful beautiful beautiful !!!

in love with the marker-sketch style of the motorcycle <33

i think its illegal to be in the cod fandom and not draw a motorcycle thing at LEAST once

this being said i have zero clue abt motorcycles at all so all of this comes from either a reference photo or my ~imagination~

obligatory close-ups that i liked under the cut

[seedlessmuffins]

im usually a realist on here, and obviously a so loss to end the road trip isn't the way we wanted to go out, but let's consider the circumstances

first of all

the travel schedule was crazy, getting to columbus the night before for an already insanely early 1pm local time start after the full day of back and forth travel they needed to endure is crazy. we fought hard in that game, especially our goaltender who made an impressive 41 saves and was exceptional between the pipes

though we didn't win, we finished 5-1-1 on the road trip, and we are still 1st in the league (3rd by p% if you're a stats nerd like me) and easily 1st in the division with our 8 point gap on VGK and our impressive 13 point gap on LAK.

and, to put it in perspective, here's where we were last year (left) according to moneypuck vs this year (right) at the same time.

going from just a 0.6% chance to make the playoffs at all to a 99.91% chance to make the playoffs and a 18.3% chance to win the cup in just one year is absolutely wild, and im so proud of our team and all we have accomplished.

so yes, we did lose today. but overall, i think we are the biggest winners in the league.

ive been saying it since i was 3, and ill say it again now. go canucks go, we are going to kill it when we get back home

[crystaldeclear]

Big Ange so innovative 😍😍 i too would leave Gabriel wide open on corners

[pedripics]

Is there a mvp given for copa del rey? Pedri would definitely get it for valencia and atletico matches

i think they only give it out in the final

[tacticoal]

this is so unfortunate

@ink-n-shadow GO GO GO !!!

You have to share a bed with the last character in your saved images. Started a new thread

Tagged by @ladamedusoif 💞

It’s Marcus, but I’m pretending it’s Dave for Strangers lol

NPTs @gnpwdrnwhiskey @kteague @trulybetty @lovesbiggerthanpride @psychedelic-ink @undercoverpena @guess-my-next-obsession @dreamymyrrh and whoever else wants to share