Ottawa Senators · #33 · Defence

Nikolas Matinpalo

Age 28 · Shoots right · 6′3″ · 213 lb · Born Espoo, FIN

Undrafted

Next game · Thu 8 Octvs Philadelphia · 7:00 PM ET0 P in the last 1 vs PHIGame preview →
Games32026-27 Small sample
Goals0T-7th on OTT
Assists0T-12th on OTT
Points0T-13th on OTT
P / GP0.00T-390th in the NHL
Shots40.0% shooting
TOI / GP18:336th on OTT

2025-262025-26: 50 games, 0-5-5, 0.10 points per game Season detail →

Nikolas Matinpalo has 0 points in 3 games of 2026-27, after 5 points in 50 games last season.

This season

2026-27 regular season · 3 games Small sample
2026-27 · The season

0 points in 3 games for the 11th-placed Ottawa

Where he ranks among NHL defencemen with 2+ games, then his scoring rate through the season in ten-game blocks.

Percentile among NHL defencemen

Blocked shots567th
Shots / GP1.3366th
Ice time18:3346th
Hits244th
PP points042nd
Goals / 600.0039th
Shooting %0.0%38th
Assists / 600.0026th
Points / GP0.0023rd
Takeaways021st
Penalty differential−26th

Bars show the percentile against 198 defencemen with 2+ games in 2026-27; the thin line marks the league median.

Points per game · rolling blocks

0.00.01–3

Dashed line: season average (0.0). Dark blocks sit at or above it.

Points0T-13th on OTT
Points per game0.00T-390th in NHL
Goals0T-232nd in NHL
Assists0T-12th on OTT
Shooting %0.0%Below avg (11.6%)
Ice time18:336th on OTT
Stats hub

Ice time and special teams

A top-four defenceman who kills penalties

Even-strength, power-play and shorthanded minutes, and how much of Ottawa's power play went through him.

Ice time by strength

Even strength15:04
Power play0:01
Shorthanded3:27
Total18:33

25.0 shifts a game, averaging 45 seconds each.

Special teams

PP goals0T-2nd on OTT
PP assists0T-3rd on OTT
PP points0T-4th on OTT · T-142nd NHL
SH goals0
PP points / 600.00T-4th on OTT

Power-play involvement

Goals on the PP1Ottawa total
Involved in0goals or assists
Share0.0%of every OTT PPG
PP TOI share0.3%of OTT PP time

Team power-play goals from the season team report; involvement is his power-play points.


Shot locations

Most attempts from the wing

Every attempt, attacking right, from the games with a stored shot map.

GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

By zone

Crease0 att · 0 G
Slot0 att · 0 G
Wing4 att · 0 G
Point2 att · 0 G
Neutral zone0 att · 0 G

6 attempts across the 3 games with a stored shot map. Small sample

Expected goals (ixG)0.1505th
Goals0
Goals vs expected−0.1
Unblocked attempts5
xG per attempt.017
ixG per 600.09

2026-27 · 3 games. Rank among all skaters by ixG. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every unblocked attempt he took, weighed by its chance of scoring from that spot, shot type and strength. Above zero is finishing better than the chances.

xG leaders

2026-27 · Skating and shot power

Top speed 20.53 mph, hardest shot 72.67 mph

How fast he skated, how far, how hard he shot and where on the ice his shifts were spent, against the average NHL defenceman.

Tracking percentile among NHL defencemen

Distance / 60, mi8.6259th
Top speed, mph20.5354th
22+ mph bursts048th
Distance skated, mi8.044th
90+ mph shots042nd
20+ mph bursts139th
Hardest shot, mph72.6711th
Average shot, mph60.610th
Offensive-zone time36.6%10th
Defensive-zone time46.1%7th

Bars show the percentile against 198 defencemen with 2+ games in 2026-27; the thin line marks the median. Higher is better on every row: less defensive-zone time ranks higher.

Top speed, mph20.53Defenceman average 20.52
Hardest shot, mph72.67Defenceman average 81.3
Distance skated8.0 mi3.01 mi in his longest game
Offensive-zone starts9.3%53.5% defensive · 37.2% neutral

Where his shifts were spent

37.5%All situations45.4%
41.2%Even strength41.8%
28.1%Power play0.0%
22.1%Shorthanded60.9%
OffensiveNeutralDefensive

Share of his time on ice in each zone.

Fastest moments

  1. 20.53@BOS5 Oct · 3rd 15:28
  2. 19.44@TOR3 Oct · 1st 02:23
  3. 19.31@TOR3 Oct · 2nd 02:46
  4. 19.00@BOS5 Oct · 2nd 11:34
  5. 18.87@BOS5 Oct · 1st 19:09
  6. 18.47@BOS5 Oct · 1st 05:11
  7. 18.42@BOS5 Oct · 1st 19:17
  8. 18.31@TOR3 Oct · 1st 16:34

His fastest bursts in mph.

22+ mph0 · avg 0.1
20-22 mph1 · avg 1.9
18-20 mph19 · avg 12

Bursts per speed band, against the defenceman average.

Hardest shots

  1. 72.67@TOR3 Oct · 3rd 02:19
  2. 53.01@BOS5 Oct · 3rd 15:28

Shot speed in mph, every attempt type.

100+ mph0 · avg 0.0
90-99 mph0 · avg 0.2
80-89 mph0 · avg 1.2
70-79 mph1 · avg 2.8

Shot attempts per speed band.

Distance, last 10 games

  1. 2.45@DET6 Oct · 16:35 TOI
  2. 3.01@BOS5 Oct · 20:15 TOI
  3. 2.54@TOR3 Oct · 18:48 TOI

Miles per game with his time on ice. Season average 2.66 a game. Small sample: these numbers move a lot in the first weeks of a season.


Physical play, discipline and faceoffs

Physical play, discipline and faceoffs

Possession events, penalties drawn against penalties taken, and faceoffs.

Possession and physical

Takeaways0T-9th on OTT
Giveaways4
TK / GV ratio0.00
Hits2T-10th on OTT
Blocked shots53rd on OTT

Discipline

Penalty minutes4
Minors2
Majors0
Penalties drawn0
Net penalties−2drawn minus taken

Game log

Against Philadelphia, a point in zero of one

Full game log →
DateOpponentResultGAPSOG+/-TOI
23 Oct 2025vsPHIW 2-10002010:55

Contract

Final season of his deal: an unrestricted free agent next summer

In 2025-26 he scored 5.7 points per $1M of cap hit, 95th of 191 defencemen with 40 or more games and a current contract.

Cap hit$875K0.8% of the $104M ceiling
Term2 yearsYear 2 of 2
Expires2026-27UFA at 28
Cap value$1.8MCap hit × 2 years

Cap hit is the average annual charge against the salary cap, not a yearly salary; cap value is cap hit times the years of the deal, not a reported total. As of 2 Oct 2026.


With Ottawa

Three seasons · 2023-24 to 2025-26
Linemates and opponents

225th in franchise points since 1990-91

Built from goal and assist records: who assists on his goals, whose goals he assists, and his scoring against each opponent.

since 1990-91 · regular season

Points9225th for Ottawa
Goals1272nd
Assists8196th
Games played98151st
Team history

Career

Regular season and playoffs
Career · regular season

Three seasons, all with the Senators

Career · regular season

SeasonTeamGPGAPP/GPSH%Points
2023-24OTT40000.000.0%
2024-25OTT411340.102.3%
2025-26OTT500550.100.0%
Career951890.091.2%

Season rows reconcile with the official career totals.

Teammates in the stats

2026-27 · OTT points

Games10
Goals0
Points00.00 P/GP
Game-winning goals0
Career page

Updated after every final · through 6 Oct