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NHL Game-Winning Goals Leaders
2017-18All situationsThrough 82 team games
Brayden Point (TBL) and 
Nathan MacKinnon (COL) lead NHL skaters with 12 GWG in 2017-18, ahead of 
Sean Monahan (CGY) (11).
Leaders: Game-Winning Goals, 2017-18
- 1stBrayden PointTBL · 82 GP12Share
- 2ndNathan MacKinnonCOL · 74 GP12Share
- 3rdSean MonahanCGY · 74 GP11Share
4thBrayden SchennSTL · 82 GP8Share
5thBrandon SaadCHI · 82 GP8Share
The full ranked table, with filters, follows.
What Game-Winning Goals measures
This board ranks every NHL skater by game-winning goals, regular season only, listing players with at least one. Pick any season back to 2017-18 above the table. Goals that were the winning team's (loser's final score + 1)th goal, shootouts excluded.
Game-winning goals are goals plus timing luck: year-to-year correlation is weak (about 0.1 beyond what goals explain).
The game-winning goal is the winning team's goal that put it one ahead of the loser's final total: in a 5-2 win, the third goal. Shootout winners do not count. GWG mostly follows goals: the best scorers on the best teams pile them up. Season to season the total has almost no skill signal beyond goal scoring. In 2017-18, 453 skaters qualify for this board; the median is 2 and Brayden Point leads at 12.
Game-Winning Goals leaderboard
| # | Player | Team | GWG | GP | Per game | G | Pctl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brayden PointFTBL | TBL | 12 | 82 | 0.15 | 32 | 100 | 92%▼1.7 |
| 2 | Nathan MacKinnonFCOL | COL | 12 | 74 | 0.16 | 39 | 100 | 100% |
| 3 | Sean MonahanFCGY | CGY | 11 | 74 | 0.15 | 31 | 100 | 16%▼0.9 |
| 4 | Brayden SchennFSTL | STL | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 28 | 99 | 36%▼0.5 |
| 5 | Brandon SaadFCHI | CHI | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 18 | 99 | — |
| 6 |  William NylanderFTOR | TOR | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 20 | 99 | 99% |
| 7 |  Patrik LaineFWPG | WPG | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 44 | 99 | 8.1% |
| 8 |  Adam HenriqueFANA/NJD | ANA/NJD | 8 | 81 | 0.10 | 24 | 99 | 0.4% |
| 9 |  Evgeny KuznetsovFWSH | WSH | 8 | 79 | 0.10 | 27 | 99 | — |
| 10 |  Brad MarchandFBOS | BOS | 8 | 68 | 0.12 | 34 | 99 | 65%▼2.8 |
| 11 |  Alex OvechkinFWSH | WSH | 7 | 82 | 0.09 | 49 | 97 | 88%▼4 |
| 12 |  Jamie BennFDAL | DAL | 7 | 82 | 0.09 | 36 | 97 | 17%▼1.7 |
| 13 |  Jason ZuckerFMIN | MIN | 7 | 82 | 0.09 | 33 | 97 | 21%▼0.8 |
| 14 |  Nikolaj EhlersFWPG | WPG | 7 | 82 | 0.09 | 29 | 97 | 87%▼2 |
| 15 |  Connor McDavidFEDM | EDM | 7 | 82 | 0.09 | 41 | 97 | 100% |
| 16 |  Jordan EberleFNYI | NYI | 7 | 81 | 0.09 | 25 | 97 | 52%▲6.7 |
| 17 |  Nikita KucherovFTBL | TBL | 7 | 80 | 0.09 | 39 | 97 | 100% |
| 18 |  Evgeni MalkinFPIT | PIT | 7 | 78 | 0.09 | 42 | 97 | 84%▼1 |
| 19 |  Taylor HallFNJD | NJD | 7 | 76 | 0.09 | 39 | 97 | 34%▼7.9 |
| 20 |  Kyle ConnorFWPG | WPG | 7 | 76 | 0.09 | 31 | 97 | 99% |
| 21 |  Sidney CrosbyFPIT | PIT | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 29 | 94 | 99% |
| 22 |  Anze KopitarFLAK | LAK | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 35 | 94 | 0.4% |
| 23 |  Phil KesselFPIT | PIT | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 34 | 94 | — |
| 24 |  Tyler ToffoliFLAK | LAK | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 24 | 94 | 38%▲0.5 |
| 25 |  Tyler SeguinFDAL | DAL | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 40 | 94 | 20%▲1.8 |
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the NHL in Game-Winning Goals in 2017-18?
Brayden Point leads with 12. The median of the 453 qualified skaters is 2.
Which defenseman leads in Game-Winning Goals in 2017-18?
Brandon Montour leads NHL defensemen with 5; the top forward is Brayden Point at 12.
How is Game-Winning Goals calculated?
Goals that were the winning team's (loser's final score + 1)th goal, shootouts excluded. Regular season only, from the NHL's official game data.
How reliable is Game-Winning Goals?
Game-winning goals are goals plus timing luck: year-to-year correlation is weak (about 0.1 beyond what goals explain).