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NHL Game-Winning Goals Leaders
2018-19All situationsThrough 82 team games
Phil Kessel (PIT) leads NHL skaters with 10 GWG in 2018-19, ahead of 
Brad Marchand (BOS) (9).
Leaders: Game-Winning Goals, 2018-19
- 1stPhil KesselPIT · 82 GP10Share
- 2ndBrad MarchandBOS · 79 GP9Share
3rdConnor McDavidEDM · 78 GP9Share
4thGabriel LandeskogCOL · 73 GP9Share
5thJohn TavaresTOR · 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 2018-19, 476 skaters qualify for this board; the median is 2 and Phil Kessel leads at 10.
Game-Winning Goals leaderboard
| # | Player | Team | GWG | GP | Per game | G | Pctl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil KesselFPIT | PIT | 10 | 82 | 0.12 | 27 | 100 | — |
| 2 | Brad MarchandFBOS | BOS | 9 | 79 | 0.11 | 36 | 100 | 65%▼2.8 |
| 3 | Connor McDavidFEDM | EDM | 9 | 78 | 0.12 | 41 | 100 | 100% |
| 4 | Gabriel LandeskogFCOL | COL | 9 | 73 | 0.12 | 34 | 100 | 51%▲4.6 |
| 5 | John TavaresFTOR | TOR | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 47 | 99 | 92%▼2.6 |
| 6 |  Tyler SeguinFDAL | DAL | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 33 | 99 | 20%▲1.8 |
| 7 |  Johnny GaudreauFCGY | CGY | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 36 | 99 | — |
| 8 |  Nikita KucherovFTBL | TBL | 8 | 82 | 0.10 | 41 | 99 | 100% |
| 9 |  Cam AtkinsonFCBJ | CBJ | 8 | 80 | 0.10 | 41 | 99 | — |
| 10 |  Artemi PanarinFCBJ | CBJ | 8 | 79 | 0.10 | 28 | 99 | 96%▼1.6 |
| 11 |  Sebastian AhoFCAR | CAR | 7 | 82 | 0.09 | 30 | 97 | 100% |
| 12 |  Patrick KaneFCHI | CHI | 7 | 81 | 0.09 | 44 | 97 | 69%▼1.3 |
| 13 |  Brayden PointFTBL | TBL | 7 | 79 | 0.09 | 41 | 97 | 92%▼1.7 |
| 14 |  Elias PetterssonFVAN | VAN | 7 | 71 | 0.10 | 28 | 97 | 95%▲1.1 |
| 15 |  Alexander RadulovFDAL | DAL | 7 | 70 | 0.10 | 29 | 97 | — |
| 16 |  Viktor ArvidssonFNSH | NSH | 7 | 58 | 0.12 | 34 | 97 | 40%▼1.1 |
| 17 |  Brent BurnsDSJS | SJS | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 16 | 96 | 44%▼2.7 |
| 18 |  Steven StamkosFTBL | TBL | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 45 | 96 | 95%▲0.7 |
| 19 |  Mike HoffmanFFLA | FLA | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 36 | 96 | — |
| 20 |  Jeff SkinnerFBUF | BUF | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 40 | 96 | 0.1% |
| 21 |  Mark ScheifeleFWPG | WPG | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 38 | 96 | 98%▼0.6 |
| 22 |  Jonathan MarchessaultFVGK | VGK | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 25 | 96 | 19% |
| 23 |  Nathan MacKinnonFCOL | COL | 6 | 82 | 0.07 | 41 | 96 | 100% |
| 24 |  Eric StaalFMIN | MIN | 6 | 81 | 0.07 | 22 | 96 | — |
| 25 |  Ryan JohansenFNSH | NSH | 6 | 80 | 0.07 | 14 | 96 | — |
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the NHL in Game-Winning Goals in 2018-19?
Phil Kessel leads with 10. The median of the 476 qualified skaters is 2.
Which defenseman leads in Game-Winning Goals in 2018-19?
Brent Burns leads NHL defensemen with 6; the top forward is Phil Kessel at 10.
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).