Hockey slang is a colorful and fast-paced lingo that captures the intensity and culture of the game. It’s a language of its own, fast, gritty, and full of personality, just like hockey. It’s how players bond, chirp, and celebrate, turning everyday plays into legends. A goal isn’t just a goal, it’s a snipe. A fight isn’t just a scuffle; it’s dropping the mitts. And if someone’s got great hands? They dangle through defenders like they’re standing still. The puck becomes the biscuit, the arena is the barn, and if you’re not pulling your weight, you’re a plug or a duster, maybe even a pylon if he's a defensman. It’s not just slang, it’s hockey’s attitude, wrapped in tape, sharpened on the ice, and probably missing a chiclet or two.

Apple: Assist a goal, earn an apple. It’s a sweet way to contribute to the team's or teammates' success.

Ex: “Gretsky’s got so many apples he could own an orchard.” The Great One holds the league record of 1,963 assists.

Bar Down: When the puck hits the crossbar and goes into the net.

Barn: Hockey arena.

Barnburner: A high-scoring game.

Ex: The Miracle on Ice, the legendary 1980 Winter Olympics between the United States and the former Soviet Union, is considered a barnburner because of the intense rivalry, close score of 4-3, and the United States' unexpected yet iconic victory.

Beauty/Beautician: A term of endearment for a fellow player based on his performance on and off the ice.

Ex: Johnny Gaudreau will forever be considered a beauty. Great player, greater person.

Beak: Trash talk.

Ex: Florida Panther, Brad Marchand, is known for his beaking, he’s the kind of player that will do a deep dive on the internet to psych out his opponents.

Bender: A player whose ankles bend or buckle beneath them while they’re skating (a bad player if you will).

Biscuit: The puck.

Biscuit in the Basket: A goal where the biscuit hits the back of the net.

Bottle Rocket: When a goal breaks the goalie’s water bottle off the top of the net.

Bucket: Helmet.

Celly: Celebration following a goal.

Cheese: Top shelf of the net.

Ex: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, besties on the Pittsburgh Penguins, are known for scoring top cheese.

Chiclets: Teeth.

Ex: NHL legends Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, former Chicago Blackhawks, are missing a chiclet or two. They’re a couple of trendsetters for future generations of players.

Chippy: Players getting irritated with one another.

Ex: The Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers are the two best teams in the league, competing for the Stanley Cup. As we well know, it got chippy on the ice on multiple occasions, as seen in Game 3.

Chirp: To trash-talk the opposing team or opposing players.

Clapper: A slapshot.

Dangle/Deke: When a player is a decoy (deke) who makes moves to fake out the goalie or an opposing player to move them out of position.

Dirty/Filthy: Used to describe an outstanding deke or pass.

Drop the Gloves: A fight.

Dump and chase: Shooting the puck into one of the corners of the offensive zone to then pursue it opposed to carrying it into the zone.

Duster: A player who collects dust sitting on the bench.

Egg: A game that ends 0-0.

Face wash: When a player rubs the palm of their hand on an opponent’s face to throw them off and annoy them.

Fishbowl: A full face shield.

Five-hole: Placing a shot between the goalie's legs.

Flamingo: When a player lifts one leg, standing like a flamingo, to get out of the way of a shot.

Flow: A player with nice hair that flows out of the back of his bucket.

Ex: There’s a reason the mullet is so popular within the hockey community.

Freezing the puck: Holding the puck against the boards with a stick or a skate, or the goalie keeping possession of the puck to get the play to stop.

Garbage: Referring to the puck when there is a rebound.

Picking Up the Garbage: Scoring off a rebounded puck.

Gino: A goal.

Goon: A player who doesn’t do much on the ice other than to get into fights or make illegal hits, a.k.a. an enforcer.

Ex: In the 1980s, the Philadelphia Flyers were known for their goon-like antics.

Gongshow: A game that gets out of control from either big hits or high scores.

Gordie Howe Hat Trick: When a player scores a goal, assists a goal, and gets in a fight all in one game.

Grenade: A bad pass, bouncy and erratic rather than smooth and flush on the ice.

Grinder: A player known for his work ethic and checking ability, often associated with a strongly defensive player who doesn’t score as many points.

Grocery Stick: The player who sits between the offensive and defensive side of the bench.

Hands: A player with good stickhandling and often dangles opposing players.

Hoser: A term for calling a player or team a loser. The term was created before the Zamboni, back when the losing team had to hose down the ice following a game—a very quintessential Canadian insult.
Kronwalled: A huge hit made by a defenseman on a player trying to carry the puck out of his zone, named after Red Wings star Niklas Kronwall.

Lettuce: A term for a nice head of hair, not long enough to be considered flow but longer than salad.

Light the Lamp: Scoring a goal, after the red light that goes off when a goal is scored.

Liney: Refers to a linesman, the linesman is responsible for calling offsides, icing, and dropping the puck for face-offs. Lineys are on the ice with the refs.

Lip Lettuce/ Lip Sweater: A mustache.

Lumber: A term for a hockey stick derived from sticks when they were made from wood.

Mitts: Player’s hands, specifically when a player can handle the puck with ease.

Ex: Connor McDavid has great mitts, there is a reason he is already a legend in his own right.

@nhl McDavid’s hands are mesmerizing 😵‍💫 #NHL #hockey #StanleyCup ♬ Vengeance Phonk - TREVASPURA

Mucker: A player, similar to a grinder, but has a more physical temperament to his game, a trouble stirrer if you will.

Pigeon: A player that can’t score on his own, so he relies on others to feed him the puck, aka picking up the garbage.

Pillows: A goalie’s leg pads.

Point: A defenseman in the offensive zone.

Pipe: A goal post.

Plumber: Not the best player, but a hard-working player who does the dirty work in the corners.

Pylon: A slow defenseman who gets skated around.

Rubber/Frozen Rubber: The puck.

Salad: Nice head of hair, short.

Sauce: A pass that is lifted off the ice to make it more difficult to intercept by the opposing team.

Saucy Paws: Slick stick skills, soft hands (not necessarily literal).

Sieve: A goalie that lets in a lot of goals (being full of holes).

Sin Bin: The penalty box.

Snipe: A goal with a precise shot.

Stack the Pads: When a goalie lies on his side and puts his pads on top of each other to make a save.

Stay at Home Defenseman: A defenseman who is strong in the defensive zone but not particularly good in the offensive zone.

Stripes: The referee or linesman.

Suicide Pass: A pass a player is in danger of immediately receiving a hard hit.

Summer Teeth: Missing teeth/gap-toothed grins. (Some’r here, some’r there).

Sweater: Hockey jersey.

Tape to Tape: A stick to stick pass that perfectly lands on your teammate’s blade.

Tendie: A goaltender.

Tic-tac-toe: A quick passing play that ends in a goal.

Top Shelf: The upper section of the net.

Top Cookies: Top shelf (where grandma hides the cookies).

Turtle: When a player avoids a fight by dropping to the ice, it completely covers his head.

Twig: A hockey stick.

Warm Up the Bus: The outcome of the game is all but set, and the visiting team is losing.

Yard Sale: When a player gets hit so hard that they lose their gear (stick, helmet, gloves).

Zamboni: The vehicle that smooths the ice. (I only put this one because I needed a Z)

Apples and Zambonies: Hockey Slang from A-Z

Major League Love: The MLB Couples We Can't Stop Watching