The hockey analytics community has spent a good amount of time exploring the value in isolating blueline events, specifically entries and exits. For those unfamiliar with these events, an entry is the act of entering the offensive zone, which is commonly done with possession as a carry in or without possession as a dump in. An exit is much the same process, but exiting the defensive zone. There has been a wealth of information written about the former and some written about the latter, but this piece is about what the inverse of these events can tell us about teams, specifically forechecking.



In examining the percentage of zone exits a team’s opponents complete while maintaining possession of the puck, we can evaluate how successful teams forecheck and disrupt the opposition during this phase of the game. If we can measure it, we can then assign values to it and learn how important that aspect of the game is in generating shots and goals compared to others. Let’s...