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NHL Game-Winning Goals Leaders
2019-20All situationsThrough 71 team games
Leon Draisaitl (EDM) and David Pastrnak (BOS) lead NHL skaters with 10 GWG in 2019-20, ahead of David Perron (STL) (9).
Leaders: Game-Winning Goals, 2019-20
1stLeon DraisaitlEDM · 71 GP10
2ndDavid PastrnakBOS · 70 GP10
3rdDavid PerronSTL · 71 GP9
4thJack EichelBUF · 68 GP9
5thKyle ConnorWPG · 71 GP7
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 2019-20, 432 skaters qualify for this board; the median is 2 and Leon Draisaitl leads at 10.
Game-Winning Goals leaderboard
| # | Player | Team | GWG | GP | Per game | G | Pctl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leon DraisaitlFEDM | EDM | 10 | 71 | 0.14 | 43 | 100 | 100% |
| 2 | David PastrnakFBOS | BOS | 10 | 70 | 0.14 | 48 | 100 | 100% |
| 3 | David PerronFSTL | STL | 9 | 71 | 0.13 | 25 | 99 | 0.2% |
| 4 | Jack EichelFBUF | BUF | 9 | 68 | 0.13 | 36 | 99 | 100% |
| 5 | Kyle ConnorFWPG | WPG | 7 | 71 | 0.10 | 38 | 99 | 99% |
| 6 |  Elias LindholmFCGY | CGY | 7 | 70 | 0.10 | 29 | 99 | 43%▲1.9 |
| 7 |  Alex KillornFTBL | TBL | 7 | 68 | 0.10 | 26 | 99 | 5.1% |
| 8 |  William NylanderFTOR | TOR | 7 | 68 | 0.10 | 31 | 99 | 99% |
| 9 |  Jeff CarterFLAK | LAK | 7 | 60 | 0.12 | 17 | 99 | — |
| 10 |  Reilly SmithFVGK | VGK | 6 | 71 | 0.08 | 27 | 96 | — |
| 11 |  Mark ScheifeleFWPG | WPG | 6 | 71 | 0.08 | 29 | 96 | 98%▼0.6 |
| 12 |  Claude GirouxFPHI | PHI | 6 | 69 | 0.09 | 21 | 96 | 32%▲0.9 |
| 13 |  John CarlsonDWSH | WSH | 6 | 69 | 0.09 | 15 | 96 | 98% |
| 14 |  Tyler SeguinFDAL | DAL | 6 | 69 | 0.09 | 17 | 96 | 20%▲1.8 |
| 15 |  Jake VirtanenFVAN | VAN | 6 | 69 | 0.09 | 18 | 96 | — |
| 16 |  Jakub VranaFWSH | WSH | 6 | 69 | 0.09 | 25 | 96 | — |
| 17 |  Anders LeeFNYI | NYI | 6 | 68 | 0.09 | 20 | 96 | 29%▼0.6 |
| 18 |  Nikita KucherovFTBL | TBL | 6 | 68 | 0.09 | 33 | 96 | 100% |
| 19 |  Evander KaneFSJS | SJS | 6 | 64 | 0.09 | 26 | 96 | 3.9% |
| 20 |  Connor McDavidFEDM | EDM | 6 | 64 | 0.09 | 34 | 96 | 100% |
| 21 |  Andre BurakovskyFCOL | COL | 6 | 58 | 0.10 | 20 | 96 | 4.8%▼1.7 |
| 22 |  Steven StamkosFTBL | TBL | 6 | 57 | 0.11 | 29 | 96 | 95%▲0.7 |
| 23 |  Mika ZibanejadFNYR | NYR | 6 | 57 | 0.11 | 41 | 96 | 98% |
| 24 |  Max PaciorettyFVGK | VGK | 5 | 71 | 0.07 | 32 | 91 | — |
| 25 |  Nikolaj EhlersFWPG | WPG | 5 | 71 | 0.07 | 25 | 91 | 87%▼2 |
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the NHL in Game-Winning Goals in 2019-20?
Leon Draisaitl leads with 10. The median of the 432 qualified skaters is 2.
Which defenseman leads in Game-Winning Goals in 2019-20?
John Carlson leads NHL defensemen with 6; the top forward is Leon Draisaitl 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).