Auston Matthews has scored the most regular-season goals in the NHL since 2020 with 317. Leon Draisaitl ranks second with 309, while David Pastrnak is third with 288.
This leaderboard covers the 2019-20 through 2025-26 NHL seasons. Matthews and Draisaitl have separated themselves from the field, but Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin, Nathan MacKinnon and several other leading scorers also surpassed 250 goals during the seven-season span.
For a historical comparison, see the SOG Sports leaderboard for the most goals scored in a single NHL season.
Table of Contents
- How This NHL Goals Leaderboard Works
- 1. Auston Matthews: 317 Goals
- 2. Leon Draisaitl: 309 Goals
- 3. David Pastrnak: 288 Goals
- 4. Connor McDavid: 281 Goals
- 5. Alex Ovechkin: 271 Goals
- 6. Nathan MacKinnon: 265 Goals
- 7. Kyle Connor: 256 Goals
- 8. William Nylander: 237 Goals
- T-9. Sam Reinhart: 236 Goals
- T-9. Mikko Rantanen: 236 Goals
- Biggest Takeaways
- Top 50 Goals Leaderboard
- Conclusion
How This NHL Goals Leaderboard Works
The totals include regular-season goals scored from the beginning of the 2019-20 season through the end of the 2025-26 season. The 2019-20 season is included because it extended into calendar year 2020. Stanley Cup Playoff goals are excluded.
Players are ranked strictly by goals during that period. Ties use competition ranking, which gives tied players the same rank and skips the corresponding number that follows. The complete table contains 50 players, but its final displayed position is T-48 because Brock Boeser, Jordan Kyrou and Nick Suzuki are tied with 167 goals.
1. Auston Matthews: 317 Goals
Auston Matthews leads the NHL with 317 regular-season goals from 2019-20 through 2025-26. He reached that total in 477 games, eight goals ahead of Draisaitl despite playing 27 fewer games.
Matthews led the league with 41 goals in the shortened 2020-21 season, scored 60 in 2021-22 and reached a career-high 69 in 2023-24. The 69-goal campaign was the NHL’s highest single-season total since Mario Lemieux also scored 69 in 1995-96.
Across the full period, Matthews converted 15.5% of his shots, scored 84 power-play goals and recorded 48 game-winning goals. His combination of peak seasons and consistent finishing gives him the lead through 2025-26.
2. Leon Draisaitl: 309 Goals
Leon Draisaitl ranks second with 309 goals. He scored 55 in 2021-22, 52 in 2022-23 and another 52 in 2024-25.
His 2024-25 total led the NHL and earned him his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. He finished seven goals ahead of William Nylander that season.
Draisaitl scored 309 times on 1,554 shots for a 19.9% shooting percentage, the best rate among the top 10 players on this leaderboard. His 140 power-play goals and 61 game-winning goals also lead the top 10 during this period.
3. David Pastrnak: 288 Goals
David Pastrnak ranks third with 288 goals in 513 games. He opened the period with 48 goals in 2019-20, tying Ovechkin for the NHL lead.
Pastrnak then scored a career-high 61 goals in 2022-23 and finished second behind McDavid. He followed that performance with 47 goals in 2023-24 and 43 in 2024-25.
His seven-season totals also include 90 power-play goals, 48 game-winning goals and 649 points. That combination shows why Pastrnak is much more than a one-dimensional finisher.
4. Connor McDavid: 281 Goals
Connor McDavid ranks fourth with 281 goals, but his assist and point totals separate him from every other player on the list.
McDavid recorded 567 assists and 848 points in 507 games during the period. His best goal-scoring season came in 2022-23, when he led the NHL with 64 goals and finished with 153 points.
Across the full window, McDavid scored 80 power-play goals and 49 game-winners while shooting 15.2%. He also features prominently in the SOG Sports history of the best NHL centers every year.
5. Alex Ovechkin: 271 Goals
Alex Ovechkin scored 271 goals during this period even though the entire window covers the later stages of his career.
He began the span with 48 goals in 2019-20, tying Pastrnak for the league lead. Ovechkin later scored 50 in 2021-22 and 44 in 2024-25.
The 2024-25 season also produced his defining career milestone. Ovechkin scored goal No. 895 on April 6, 2025, passing Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL’s all-time regular-season goals leader. His 271 goals in this window include 84 on the power play.
6. Nathan MacKinnon: 265 Goals
Nathan MacKinnon scored 265 goals while adding 475 assists for 740 points during the seven-season period.
His goal production accelerated late in the window. MacKinnon scored 51 in 2023-24 before establishing a new career high with 53 in 2025-26. That 53-goal performance led the league and earned him his first Rocket Richard Trophy.
MacKinnon’s speed, shot volume and playmaking make his overall offensive profile distinct from a pure finisher. He also appears in the SOG Sports ranking of the best NHL centers of all time.
7. Kyle Connor: 256 Goals
Kyle Connor scored 256 goals in 517 games, giving him seventh place on the leaderboard.
Connor has been one of the NHL’s most reliable scoring wingers throughout this period. He scored 47 goals in 2021-22 and repeatedly remained near the league leaders without the same profile as many of the stars above him.
His seven-season totals include 290 assists, 54 power-play goals and 52 game-winning goals. Only Draisaitl recorded more game-winners among the top 10 scorers.
8. William Nylander: 237 Goals
William Nylander holds eighth place with 237 goals, one more than Reinhart and Rantanen.
Nylander scored those goals in 511 games and added 292 assists for 529 points. His production during the period also includes 65 power-play goals and 40 game-winners.
He finished second in the NHL with 45 goals in 2024-25, trailing only Draisaitl in the Rocket Richard race.
T-9. Sam Reinhart: 236 Goals
Sam Reinhart is tied for ninth with 236 goals in 508 games.
His defining season came in 2023-24, when he scored 57 goals and finished second in the NHL behind Matthews. Reinhart also converted 18.2% of his shots across the full window.
His 98 power-play goals are second only to Draisaitl among the top 10. That special-teams production explains a large part of Reinhart’s rise into this scoring group.
T-9. Mikko Rantanen: 236 Goals
Mikko Rantanen shares ninth place with 236 goals in 477 games.
Rantanen’s biggest scoring season in this stretch came in 2022-23, when he scored 55 times and finished third in the NHL behind McDavid and Pastrnak.
He also produced 337 assists and 573 points during the period while converting 16.1% of his shots. His totals include 77 power-play goals and 39 game-winners.
Biggest Takeaways From the NHL Goals Leaders Since 2020
Matthews and Draisaitl Have Created a Two-Player Race
Matthews leads Draisaitl by eight goals, while Draisaitl holds a 21-goal advantage over Pastrnak in third. The result is a tight race at the top followed by the largest gap between adjacent positions in the top 10.
Seven Players Surpassed 250 Goals
Matthews, Draisaitl, Pastrnak, McDavid, Ovechkin, MacKinnon and Connor all scored at least 256 goals. Nylander is eighth with 237, leaving a 19-goal drop between seventh and eighth.
Draisaitl Has Been the Most Efficient Top-10 Shooter
Draisaitl converted 19.9% of his shots during the period. Reinhart ranks second among the top 10 at 18.2%, while Brayden Point narrowly misses the top 10 in goals despite a 19.0% conversion rate.
McDavid Remains the Most Productive Overall Offensive Player
McDavid ranks fourth in goals but leads this group with 848 points. His 567 assists are 92 more than MacKinnon, the next-highest player in that category among the top 10 goal scorers.
Ovechkin’s Longevity Still Stands Out
Ovechkin ranks fifth despite playing the entire period from age 34 through age 40. Reaching 271 goals in that phase of his career, while also breaking the all-time record, makes his place in the top five one of the table’s most unusual results.
Most Goals Scored in the NHL Since 2020: Top 50 Leaderboard
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auston Matthews | 317 |
| 2 | Leon Draisaitl | 309 |
| 3 | David Pastrnak | 288 |
| 4 | Connor McDavid | 281 |
| 5 | Alex Ovechkin | 271 |
| 6 | Nathan MacKinnon | 265 |
| 7 | Kyle Connor | 256 |
| 8 | William Nylander | 237 |
| T-9 | Sam Reinhart | 236 |
| T-9 | Mikko Rantanen | 236 |
| 11 | Brayden Point | 233 |
| 12 | Steven Stamkos | 231 |
| 13 | Kirill Kaprizov | 230 |
| 14 | Jake Guentzel | 228 |
| 15 | Sebastian Aho | 227 |
| 16 | Alex DeBrincat | 225 |
| 17 | Mark Scheifele | 221 |
| 18 | Chris Kreider | 215 |
| 19 | Artemi Panarin | 214 |
| T-20 | Filip Forsberg | 213 |
| T-20 | Nikita Kucherov | 213 |
| T-20 | Mika Zibanejad | 213 |
| T-20 | Jason Robertson | 213 |
| 24 | Zach Hyman | 211 |
| 25 | Brock Nelson | 210 |
| 26 | Sidney Crosby | 208 |
| T-27 | John Tavares | 206 |
| T-27 | Tage Thompson | 206 |
| 29 | Bo Horvat | 202 |
| 30 | Adrian Kempe | 200 |
| 31 | Brady Tkachuk | 191 |
| 32 | Brad Marchand | 189 |
| T-33 | Dylan Larkin | 188 |
| T-33 | Tyler Toffoli | 188 |
| 35 | Timo Meier | 187 |
| 36 | Clayton Keller | 185 |
| T-37 | J.T. Miller | 182 |
| T-37 | Matthew Tkachuk | 182 |
| T-39 | Kevin Fiala | 181 |
| T-39 | Bryan Rust | 181 |
| T-39 | Roope Hintz | 181 |
| 42 | Mitch Marner | 178 |
| 43 | Jonathan Marchessault | 173 |
| T-44 | Carter Verhaeghe | 172 |
| T-44 | Elias Pettersson | 172 |
| 46 | Cole Caufield | 169 |
| 47 | Jack Hughes | 168 |
| T-48 | Brock Boeser | 167 |
| T-48 | Jordan Kyrou | 167 |
| T-48 | Nick Suzuki | 167 |
Who Has Scored the Most Goals in the NHL Since 2020?
Auston Matthews leads the NHL with 317 regular-season goals from 2019-20 through 2025-26. Draisaitl is eight behind, while Pastrnak, McDavid and Ovechkin complete the top five.
Matthews built the lead with three league-leading seasons, including 60 goals in 2021-22 and 69 in 2023-24. The narrow margin over Draisaitl also keeps the top of this seven-season leaderboard much closer than Matthews’ largest individual seasons might suggest.
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