Empty-Net Lab
NHL Empty-Net Goals & Goalie Pull Tracker 2026-27
When does each coach pull the goalie, how often does the extra attacker score, and who is on the ice for it at both ends? Every number comes from the NHL shift charts, so a pull is timed to the second and delayed-penalty pulls are left out. The season in progress, updated nightly.
When NHL teams pull the goalie, 2026-27
Share of trailing teams with the goalie pulled, by time left in the 3rd period
When NHL teams pull the goalie, 2026-27. Down 1: half pulled by 2:04 remaining, 56% pulled with 2:00 left (17 trailing spells); Down 2: half pulled by 2:58 remaining, 100% pulled with 2:00 left (18 trailing spells).
Goalie pulls and empty-net goals by team, 2026-27
| Team | Median pull, down 1 | Pulled by 2:00 | Median pull, down 2 | 6v5 time | GF pulled | ENG against | ENG for | GA vs extra attacker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not ranked: fewer than 10 late one-goal deficits (team), most deficits first | ||||||||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 2:49 (3) | 50% | – (1) | 2:25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Boston Bruins | 2:34 (1) | 100% | 3:08 (1) | 3:03 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Buffalo Sabres | – (1) | 0% | 2:25 (1) | 0:18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Calgary Flames | – (1) | 0% | 2:58 (1) | 0:14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 0:59 (1) | 0% | 2:46 (1) | 1:12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Stars | 1:36 (1) | 0% | 4:15 (1) | 3:19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 2:14 (1) | 100% | – (1) | 0:58 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 1:09 (1) | 0% | – (0) | 0:26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Los Angeles Kings | – (1) | 0% | – (2) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 0:51 (1) | 0% | 3:30 (1) | 2:29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New York Islanders | 2:04 (1) | 100% | – (1) | 2:04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New York Rangers | – (1) | 0% | 2:42 (1) | 0:11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Seattle Kraken | 1:59 (1) | 0% | – (1) | 0:54 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 2:20 (1) | 100% | – (1) | 2:20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Washington Capitals | 2:28 (1) | 100% | 1:57 (1) | 2:20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Anaheim Ducks | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | – (0) | – | – (1) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Colorado Avalanche | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Florida Panthers | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota Wild | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| New Jersey Devils | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nashville Predators | – (0) | – | 2:23 (1) | 1:29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ottawa Senators | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| San Jose Sharks | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. Louis Blues | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | – (0) | – | – (0) | 3:19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Utah Mammoth | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vancouver Canucks | – (0) | – | 0:56 (1) | 0:56 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Winnipeg Jets | – (0) | – | – (0) | 0:00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Sorted by median pull time, earliest first, for teams with 10+ late one-goal deficits; smaller samples follow, unranked. In brackets: late deficits behind the median (trailing by one or two in the last 10:00); team-season samples are small (split-half r = 0.30), so treat gaps of 15-20 seconds as noise. "Pulled by 2:00" is the share of late one-goal deficits with the goalie out with 2:00 or more left. GF / ENG against: goals for and empty-net goals against while this team had its goalie pulled. ENG for / GA vs extra attacker: the same when the opponent pulled.
Goalie pull timing by coach, 2026-27
| Coach | Team | Median pull, down 1 | Pulled by 2:00 | Median pull, down 2 | Tied it, down 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not ranked: fewer than 10 late one-goal deficits (coach), most deficits first | |||||
| Jim Hiller | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2:49 (3) | 50% | – (1) | 0 / 2 |
| Glen Gulutzan | Dallas Stars | 1:36 (1) | 0% | 4:15 (1) | 0 / 1 |
| Jeff Blashill | Chicago Blackhawks | 0:59 (1) | 0% | 2:46 (1) | 0 / 1 |
| Lane Lambert | Seattle Kraken | 1:59 (1) | 0% | – (1) | 0 / 1 |
| Lindy Ruff | Buffalo Sabres | – (1) | 0% | 2:25 (1) | 0 / 0 |
| Marco Sturm | Boston Bruins | 2:34 (1) | 100% | 3:08 (1) | 1 / 1 |
| Martin St. Louis | Montreal Canadiens | 0:51 (1) | 0% | 3:30 (1) | 1 / 1 |
| Mike Babcock | Edmonton Oilers | 1:09 (1) | 0% | – (0) | 1 / 1 |
| Mike Sullivan | New York Rangers | – (1) | 0% | 2:42 (1) | 0 / 0 |
| Peter DeBoer | New York Islanders | 2:04 (1) | 100% | – (1) | 0 / 1 |
| Ryan Craig | Vegas Golden Knights | 2:20 (1) | 100% | – (1) | 0 / 1 |
| Spencer Carbery | Washington Capitals | 2:28 (1) | 100% | 1:57 (1) | 0 / 1 |
| Todd McLellan | Detroit Red Wings | 2:14 (1) | 100% | – (1) | 0 / 1 |
| Andrew Brunette | Nashville Predators | – (0) | – | 2:23 (1) | 0 / 0 |
| Manny Malhotra | Vancouver Canucks | – (0) | – | 0:56 (1) | 0 / 0 |
| Peter Laviolette | Los Angeles Kings | – (0) | – | – (1) | 0 / 0 |
| Rick Bowness | Columbus Blue Jackets | – (0) | – | – (1) | 0 / 0 |
Head coach behind the bench in each game, from the NHL game center. Interim coaches get their own row. Coaches with fewer than 10 late one-goal deficits are listed after the ranked ones.
Who is on the ice: extra attacker and empty-net defense, 2026-27
Empty-net goals
- 1Aatu RätyVAN1 G, 0 A
- 2Connor McDavidEDM1 G, 0 A
- 3Eeli TolvanenNYR1 G, 0 A
- 4Igor ShesterkinNYR1 G, 0 A
- 5Jake GuentzelTBL1 G, 0 A
- 6Jimmy SnuggerudSTL1 G, 0 A
- 7Kirill KaprizovMIN1 G, 0 A
- 8Mark KastelicBOS1 G, 0 A
- 9Mark StoneVGK1 G, 0 A
- 10Mathieu OlivierCBJ1 G, 0 A
Goals and assists into an empty net while the other team had really pulled its goalie.
Most 6-on-5 ice time
- 1Brayden PointTBL3:19
- 2Jake GuentzelTBL3:19
- 3Nikita KucherovTBL3:19
- 4Jason RobertsonDAL3:13
- 5Mikko RantanenDAL3:13
- 6Wyatt JohnstonDAL3:13
- 7Roope HintzDAL3:07
- 8Miro HeiskanenDAL3:05
- 9John CarlsonTBL2:54
- 10Brandon HagelTBL2:50
Time on the ice as the extra-attacker unit; % = share of his team's pulled time in games he dressed.
Most empty-net defense time
- 1J.T. MillerNYR3:08
- 2Marcus PetterssonNYR2:54
- 3Kirill KaprizovMIN2:33
- 4Blake LizottePIT2:22
- 5Trevor van RiemsdykPIT2:22
- 6Nikita KucherovTBL2:20
- 7Olli MaattaMIN2:20
- 8Matt BoldyMIN2:06
- 9Declan CarlilePIT2:02
- 10Tim WasheANA2:01
Time on the ice protecting a lead against an empty net: the players a coach trusts to close, and who get the empty-net chances.
Extra-attacker points
- 1Ivan DemidovMTL1 G, 1 A
- 2Nick SuzukiMTL0 G, 2 A
- 3Chris KreiderMTL1 G, 0 A
- 4Elias LindholmBOS1 G, 0 A
- 5Vasily PodkolzinEDM1 G, 0 A
- 6David PastrnakBOS0 G, 1 A
- 7Evan BouchardEDM0 G, 1 A
- 8Lane HutsonMTL0 G, 1 A
- 9Leon DraisaitlEDM0 G, 1 A
- 10Mason LohreiBOS0 G, 1 A
Goals and assists with his own goalie pulled.
How we measure it
- We find every goalie pull in the 3rd period from the NHL shift charts: the stretches in which a trailing team had no goalie on the ice.
- Delayed-penalty pulls are removed. If the play-by-play shows a delayed penalty called on the other team as the goalie left, the time before the whistle does not count; a pull of 90 seconds or less that ends at a penalty on the other team with more than 5:00 left is treated the same way even when the delayed-penalty event is missing.
- Pull timing is measured as a survival curve (Kaplan-Meier). Every stretch in which a team trails by one (or two) enters the curve when it starts, or at 10:00 left if it started earlier, and leaves when the coach pulls the goalie or the score changes. "Median pull" is the time left at which half of teams in that spot have pulled. A deficit that starts with the goalie already out (he stayed on the bench through a goal) is left out of the curve: that pull was decided at the earlier score.
- That matters: averaging pull times only over the games that reached a pull favors late pulls, because a deficit that is erased early never shows one.
- Empty-net goals for and against are counted only while a goalie is really pulled, per 60 minutes of 6-on-5 (or 6-on-4) time. Rates need at least 10 minutes of pulled time before we show them.
- Player shares: a skater’s ice time in his team’s pulls, divided by the team’s total pulled time in the games he dressed. Empty-net defense is the same with the opponent pulling.
- Rankings of teams and coaches by pull time need at least 10 late one-goal deficits; smaller samples are listed after the ranked ones. Team pages cover the whole franchise (the Arizona Coyotes and Utah Hockey Club seasons are on the Utah Mammoth page).
- Coaches come from the NHL game center (head coach behind each bench). Seasons start in 2017-18, the first season of full shift data in our engine. Regular season only on these pages.
What repeats and what does not
- League trend: coaches pull earlier every year. The median pull down one moved from 1:40 left in 2017-18 to 2:00 in 2025-26, and down two from 2:30 to 3:23. Pulling down one ties the game about 14-16% of the time in every season.
- Team pull timing repeats, but only moderately. Splitting each team-season into odd and even games, the two halves’ median pull times correlate at r = 0.30 (284 team-seasons). Season to season it is r = 0.43 when the coach stays and 0.22 after a coaching change, which is why the coach tables matter. Read gaps of 15-20 seconds between teams as noise.
- Player roles are the stable part. A skater’s share of his team’s 6-on-5 time correlates r = 0.88 from one season to the next (same team, 2,683 pairs), and his share of empty-net defense time r = 0.75. Empty-net defense share tracks empty-net points (r = 0.47 within a season).
- Team empty-net goals per game do not repeat well (split-half r = 0.19): they depend on game states nobody controls. So we do not publish a nightly "empty-net goal odds" by team; the player shares are the signal to use.
FAQ
When do NHL coaches pull the goalie when down by one?
In 2026-27, half of NHL teams trailing by one had pulled their goalie with 2:04 left in the 3rd period, and 56% had pulled with 2:00 or more left (17 late one-goal deficits). Down by two, the median pull came with 2:58 left.
How often does pulling the goalie work?
With the goalie pulled, trailing teams scored 8.6 goals per 60 minutes and allowed 23.6 empty-net goals per 60 in 2026-27. Of 12 pulls while down one, 3 (25%) ended with the tying goal before the goalie went back in. An empty-net goal against usually just turns a one-goal loss into a two-goal loss; the tying goal turns a likely loss into at least a point.
Who scores the most empty-net goals?
The skaters a coach sends out to protect a late lead: usually the top centers, shutdown forwards and top-pair defensemen. Their share of empty-net defense time is very stable from season to season (r = 0.75) and tracks empty-net points, so the empty-net defense board on this page is the best guide to who gets those goals.
Do empty-net goals count in fantasy hockey?
Yes. An empty-net goal counts as a goal and a point for the scorer and the assists in Yahoo, ESPN and Fantrax, and a goal allowed into an empty net does not count against the goalie’s goals-against average or save percentage. The players a coach trusts to defend a late lead get the empty-net chances, which is why the empty-net defense shares on this page matter for goals and points.
Does an empty-net goal count against the goalie?
No. The goalie was not on the ice, so the goal is charged to the team but not to the goalie: it does not change his save percentage or goals-against average.