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NHL Game-Winning Goals Leaders
2026-27All situationsThrough 11 team games
Nick Schmaltz (UTA) and 
Alex Tuch (WSH) lead NHL skaters with 3 GWG in 2026-27, ahead of 
Mark Stone (VGK) (2).
Leaders: Game-Winning Goals, 2026-27
- 1stNick SchmaltzUTA · 10 GP3Share
- 2ndAlex TuchWSH · 9 GP3Share
- 3rdMark StoneVGK · 11 GP2Share
4thShayne GostisbehereCAR · 11 GP2Share
5thAuston MatthewsTOR · 11 GP2Share
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 2026-27, 116 skaters qualify for this board; the median is 1 and Nick Schmaltz leads at 3.
Game-Winning Goals leaderboard
| # | Player | Team | GWG | GP | Per game | G | Pctl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick SchmaltzFUTA | UTA | 3 | 10 | 0.30 | 7 | 100 | 97% |
| 2 | Alex TuchFWSH | WSH | 3 | 9 | 0.33 | 5 | 100 | 94% |
| 3 | Mark StoneFVGK | VGK | 2 | 11 | 0.18 | 8 | 90 | 96%▲1.2 |
| 4 | Shayne GostisbehereDCAR | CAR | 2 | 11 | 0.18 | 2 | 90 | 96%▲0.6 |
| 5 | Auston MatthewsFTOR | TOR | 2 | 11 | 0.18 | 8 | 90 | 99% |
| 6 |  Andrei SvechnikovFCAR | CAR | 2 | 11 | 0.18 | 6 | 90 | 98% |
| 7 |  Easton CowanFTOR | TOR | 2 | 11 | 0.18 | 4 | 90 | 65%▲5.2 |
| 8 |  Kirill KaprizovFMIN | MIN | 2 | 10 | 0.20 | 11 | 90 | 98% |
| 9 |  Martin NecasFCOL | COL | 2 | 10 | 0.20 | 5 | 90 | 100% |
| 10 |  Carter VerhaegheFFLA | FLA | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 6 | 90 | 76%▲7.6 |
| 11 |  Kyle ConnorFWPG | WPG | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 8 | 90 | 99% |
| 12 |  Jason RobertsonFDAL | DAL | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 3 | 90 | 99% |
| 13 |  Evan BouchardDEDM | EDM | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 7 | 90 | 100% |
| 14 |  Jack HughesFNJD | NJD | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 2 | 90 | 99% |
| 15 |  Simon HolmstromFNYI | NYI | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 4 | 90 | 14%▼0.8 |
| 16 |  Vasily PodkolzinFEDM | EDM | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 7 | 90 | 90%▲3.3 |
| 17 |  Cole PerfettiFWPG | WPG | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 6 | 90 | 84%▲4.5 |
| 18 |  Owen PowerDBUF | BUF | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 2 | 90 | 75%▲5 |
| 19 |  Mason McTavishFSTL | STL | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 5 | 90 | 80%▲28 |
| 20 |  Stephen HallidayFOTT | OTT | 2 | 9 | 0.22 | 2 | 90 | 7.3%▲1.7 |
| 21 |  Jesper BoqvistFNJD | NJD | 2 | 7 | 0.29 | 3 | 90 | 3.3% |
| 22 |  William KarlssonFVGK | VGK | 1 | 11 | 0.09 | 2 | 41 | 20%▲1 |
| 23 |  J.T. MillerFNYR | NYR | 1 | 11 | 0.09 | 2 | 41 | 89%▼0.6 |
| 24 |  Oliver BjorkstrandFNYR | NYR | 1 | 11 | 0.09 | 4 | 41 | 15%▼1.8 |
| 25 |  Nikolaj EhlersFCAR | CAR | 1 | 11 | 0.09 | 3 | 41 | 87%▼2 |
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the NHL in Game-Winning Goals in 2026-27?
Nick Schmaltz leads with 3. The median of the 116 qualified skaters is 1.
Which defenseman leads in Game-Winning Goals in 2026-27?
Shayne Gostisbehere leads NHL defensemen with 2; the top forward is Nick Schmaltz at 3.
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).