Hockey
NHL average goals per game, OT rate and home wins
See the average goals in an NHL game, how often games go past regulation and how often the home team wins. Pick a season in the tool below.
Goals per game
6.175.94 in the first 60 minutes
Past 60 minutes
22.8%overtime 15.3% · shootout 7.5%
Home team won
54.2%overtime and shootout included
One-goal games
40.7%final margin of 1: every OT/SO game plus 18.0% decided by 1 in 60 minutes
How games ended
23 games in 100 went past 60 minutes. A plain Poisson model at league scoring expects only 16.7% ties, and 30.4% one-goal results in 60 minutes where the NHL had 18.0%: trailing teams pull the goalie, and leaders score into the empty net.
Goal margin after 60 minutes
NHL gamesplain Poissonwith our empty-net adjustment
2624 regular-season games over two seasons. Score after 60 minutes: the final score minus the overtime or shootout winner’s goal.
How it is calculated
Data: every regular-season game from the NHL’s public API (club schedules and final standings), checked game by game against the standings totals (games, goals, regulation wins, overtime losses, shootout wins, home wins).
The adjustment is fitted so that, at league scoring, the model matches the share of ties after 60 minutes and the share of one-goal results in 60 minutes. Two-goal results still come out too often and three-goal results too rarely: empty-net goals also happen when a team is down by two.
Puck line lab →All markets of one game →Goal distribution →
Source: NHL public API, api-web.nhle.com (standings 2024–25, standings 2025–26, club schedules), regular season, fetched Oct 27, 2026.
This season vs last season
| Stat | 2025-26 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|
| Goals per game, final score | 6.25 | 6.08 |
| Goals per game, regulation only | 6.01 | 5.87 |
| Games decided in regulation | 986 | 1,041 |
| Overtime / shootout games | 207 / 119 | 194 / 77 |
| Share of games past regulation | 24.8% | 20.7% |
| Home team wins, final | 52.2% | 56.3% |
| After regulation: home / tie / away | 40.0% / 24.8% / 35.1% | 45.1% / 20.7% / 34.2% |
| Final margin of one goal | 43.2% | 38.3% |
| Regulation win by two or more goals | 56.8% | 61.7% |
| Over 4.5, 5.5, 6.5 goals, final score, shootout goal included | 80.6% / 57.3% / 46.9% | 75.6% / 53.7% / 42.3% |
Regular season only, NHL API data counted by our code. Games: 1,312 this season, 1,312 last. Totals bets may count goals differently – see totals.
Three numbers that matter for bets
Goals per game
6.25Average final-score goals this season, overtime and the shootout goal included. Regulation only: 6.01. A totals bet may count goals differently – check its rules.
Tied after regulation
24.8%Games still tied after 60 minutes, sent to overtime or a shootout. A 60-minute bet on either team loses here.
One-goal finals
43.2%Games where the final margin is one goal. In these games the −1.5 side loses and the +1.5 side wins.
Questions
What is the average number of goals per NHL game?
In the 2025-26 regular season an NHL game had 6.25 goals on average, overtime and shootout included. In regulation only it was 6.01. Last season the full-game figure was 6.08.
How often do NHL games go to overtime?
This season 24.8% of games were tied after regulation: 207 ended in overtime and 119 in a shootout. Last season the share was 20.7%.
How often does the puck line cover in the NHL?
The −1.5 side covers only when a team wins by two or more goals. This season that happened in 56.8% of games. These figures count both teams, not betting favourites.
How often do favourites win NHL games?
The tool does not track betting favourites. It counts the home team: home sides won 52.2% of games this season and 56.3% last season. The home team is not always the favourite.
Where does this NHL data come from?
From the NHL API, regular season games only. Our code counts the results; the tool above shows the source and switches seasons. For the basics, see how to bet on hockey.