Sixteen games into the season, the NHL has scored 109 goals, 6.81 a game. Last season the league averaged 6.25, and the first 16 games of 2025-26 produced 5.94. On the surface, scoring is up.
Two games did most of it
Edmonton and Vancouver played twice and scored 27 goals between them, 6-5 in overtime and 9-7. Take those two out and the other 14 games averaged 5.86 goals, below last season’s rate. Week one was mostly a normal week with one very loud rivalry in it.
Four shutouts
The low end was busier than usual. Four of the 16 games ended with a team held scoreless, 25%. Last season it happened in 112 of 1,312 games, 8.5%.
- Jeremy Swayman, Boston: 24 saves in a 3-0 win over the Rangers.
- Arturs Silovs, Pittsburgh: 19 saves in a 7-0 win in Philadelphia.
- Karel Vejmelka, Utah: 15 saves in a 6-0 win over Chicago.
- Jacob Markstrom, Florida: 15 saves in a 1-0 overtime win in Carolina.
Overtime and home ice look normal
Four of the 16 games went past regulation, 25.0%, against 24.8% last season. Home teams won nine, 56.3%, a little above last season’s 52.2%. Games with eight goals or more made up a quarter of the week, the same share as last season.
Sixteen games are a small sample, and one fixture can move the league average by more than half a goal. The number worth watching is the shutout count: four in a week is three times last season’s rate.
League-wide numbers update after every final on the team stats page, and every result is on scores.
