More skater stats
NHL Game-Winning Goals Leaders: Pittsburgh Penguins
2023-24All situationsThrough 82 team games
Erik Karlsson (PIT) and 
Jeff Carter (PIT) lead NHL skaters with 4 GWG for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023-24, ahead of 
Sidney Crosby (PIT) (3).
Leaders: Game-Winning Goals, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2023-24
- 1stErik KarlssonPIT · 82 GP4
- 2ndJeff CarterPIT · 72 GP4
- 3rdSidney CrosbyPIT · 82 GP3
4thMichael BuntingCAR/PIT · 81 GP3
5thReilly SmithPIT · 76 GP3
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 2023-24, 19 skaters qualify for this board; the median is 2 and Erik Karlsson leads at 4.
Game-Winning Goals leaderboard
| # | Player | Team | GWG | GP | Per game | G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik KarlssonDPIT | PIT | 4 | 82 | 0.05 | 11 | 95% |
| 2 | Jeff CarterFPIT | PIT | 4 | 72 | 0.06 | 11 | — |
| 3 | Sidney CrosbyFPIT | PIT | 3 | 82 | 0.04 | 42 | 99% |
| 4 | Michael BuntingFCAR/PIT | CAR/PIT | 3 | 81 | 0.04 | 19 | 3.6%▼0.8 |
| 5 | Reilly SmithFPIT | PIT | 3 | 76 | 0.04 | 13 | — |
| 6 |  Bryan RustFPIT | PIT | 3 | 62 | 0.05 | 28 | 80%▼2.9 |
| 7 |  Evgeni MalkinFPIT | PIT | 2 | 82 | 0.02 | 27 | 84%▼1 |
| 8 |  Kris LetangDPIT | PIT | 2 | 82 | 0.02 | 10 | 54%▼2.9 |
| 9 |  Drew O'ConnorFPIT | PIT | 2 | 79 | 0.03 | 16 | 5.9% |
| 10 |  Rickard RakellFPIT | PIT | 2 | 70 | 0.03 | 15 | 70%▼6.3 |
| 11 |  Jake GuentzelFPIT/CAR | PIT/CAR | 2 | 67 | 0.03 | 30 | 100%▲0.5 |
| 12 |  Alex NylanderFCBJ/PIT | CBJ/PIT | 2 | 28 | 0.07 | 11 | — |
| 13 |  Marcus PetterssonDPIT | PIT | 1 | 82 | 0.01 | 4 | 6.6%▲0.8 |
| 14 |  Ryan GravesDPIT | PIT | 1 | 70 | 0.01 | 3 | 0.1% |
| 15 |  Emil BemstromFCBJ/PIT | CBJ/PIT | 1 | 56 | 0.02 | 8 | — |
| 16 |  Noel AcciariFPIT | PIT | 1 | 55 | 0.02 | 4 | 4.1%▲0.8 |
| 17 |  Pierre-Olivier JosephDPIT | PIT | 1 | 52 | 0.02 | 2 | 0.1% |
| 18 |  John LudvigDPIT | PIT | 1 | 33 | 0.03 | 3 | — |
| 19 |  Radim ZohornaFPIT | PIT | 1 | 33 | 0.03 | 4 | — |
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the NHL in Game-Winning Goals in 2023-24?
Erik Karlsson leads with 4. The median of the 19 qualified skaters is 2.
Which defenseman leads in Game-Winning Goals in 2023-24?
Erik Karlsson leads NHL defensemen with 4; the top forward is Jeff Carter at 4.
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).