NHL Regulation Correct Score: Most Common Scores After 60 Minutes
Overtime and shootouts stripped out: which exact scores the NHL produces at the 60-minute horn, how often games are level, and how recent seasons have shifted the picture.
Regulation-time correct score is the hockey market where overtime does not exist. It settles on goals from the three periods only, so a tie is a live outcome rather than a dead end. I wanted a clean answer to which exact scores turn up most often at the 60-minute horn, so I went through 17,921 NHL regular-season games from 2010-11 to 2025-26, with 2014-15 not included.
The answer is 2-2, in 7.5% of games, a fair price of 13.33. Draws as a group account for 22.9% of games after regulation, which is why tied scores dominate the top of every chart below. If you want these base rates turned into game-by-game reads, my tonight's hockey picks page is where I apply them.
Period 1Ties at 2-2 and 3-3 lead the regulation scoreboard
The table lists the 14 most frequent scores after 60 minutes, home side first, with fair odds set at 1 divided by share and no margin. 2-2 leads at 7.5%, with 3-3 close behind at 6.7% and a fair price of 14.93. Then comes a big drop: 1-1 and a home 4-1 share third place at 4.1% each, both priced fair at 24.39.
Spread matters as much as the order. There were 103 different 60-minute scores in the sample, and the 14 shown here covered 56.0% of games. Even the most likely single outcome fails far more often than it lands, so the price is the whole argument.
| 60-min score | Games | Share | Fair decimal | Fair American |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-2 | 1,352 | 7.5% | 13.33 | +1233 |
| 3-3 | 1,207 | 6.7% | 14.93 | +1393 |
| 1-1 | 737 | 4.1% | 24.39 | +2339 |
| 4-1 | 734 | 4.1% | 24.39 | +2339 |
| 5-2 | 696 | 3.9% | 25.64 | +2464 |
| 3-2 | 671 | 3.7% | 27.03 | +2603 |
| 4-2 | 665 | 3.7% | 27.03 | +2603 |
| 1-4 | 656 | 3.7% | 27.03 | +2603 |
| 2-3 | 600 | 3.3% | 30.30 | +2930 |
| 3-1 | 592 | 3.3% | 30.30 | +2930 |
| 2-4 | 576 | 3.2% | 31.25 | +3025 |
| 4-4 | 536 | 3.0% | 33.33 | +3233 |
| 2-5 | 510 | 2.8% | 35.71 | +3471 |
| 1-3 | 508 | 2.8% | 35.71 | +3471 |
Fair odds = 1 / share, no margin. Scores are before overtime and shootouts.
The winning scores tell their own story. Home 5-2 sits at 3.9% and the away 1-4 at 3.7%, level with 3-2 and 4-2. Multi-goal margins appear this high because of empty-net goals late in the third, which turn tight games into 4-1 or 5-2 results. I always factor that in when I see a one-goal lead with a few minutes left.
Period 2The full grid shows how thinly results spread
The heatmap puts home goals on the rows and away goals on the columns, so every regulation outcome has a cell. The diagonal stands out at once: 2-2 at 7.5% and 3-3 at 6.7% are the two darkest cells on the grid. Away from it, the shares fade quickly towards the low-scoring corner.
That corner is where goaltending duels live, and the grid shows how rare they are. A home 1-0 made up 0.8% of games, an away 0-1 just 0.6%, and 0-0 only 0.5%. At the other end, home totals of 5 or more with the away side held to 0 or 1 made up 4.4% of games, so blowouts beat shutout-style wins comfortably.
View the data: score after 60 minutes: the full grid
| Away 0 | Away 1 | Away 2 | Away 3 | Away 4 | Away 5+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home 0 | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 1.1% | 0.7% |
| Home 1 | 0.8% | 4.1% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 3.7% | 2.1% |
| Home 2 | 1.1% | 2.8% | 7.5% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 4.1% |
| Home 3 | 1.9% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 6.7% | 2.1% | 3.6% |
| Home 4 | 1.4% | 4.1% | 3.7% | 2.2% | 3.0% | 1.8% |
| Home 5+ | 1.1% | 3.3% | 5.8% | 4.5% | 2.1% | 2.0% |
My read: a hot goaltender can steal a game, but the record says he rarely does it at 1-0. When I fancy a low-scoring night, I look at 2-2 or a 3-1 rather than the extreme corner cells.
Period 3Most regulation draws land on 2-2 or 3-3
This chart splits the 22.9% of level games by exact score. 2-2 at 7.5% and 3-3 at 6.7% are almost even, with 1-1 at 4.1% and 4-4 at 3.0% some way behind. The tails are thin: 0-0 at 0.5% and 5-5 at 0.8%.
For a bettor this is the most useful view on the page. If you expect a tight game but not a defensive grind, the two middle draws carry most of the weight, and the gap between them is small enough that matchup details should decide which one to favour.
View the data: which 60-minute draw?
| Share of all games tied at each score after regulation | |
|---|---|
| 0-0 | 0.5% |
| 1-1 | 4.1% |
| 2-2 | 7.5% |
| 3-3 | 6.7% |
| 4-4 | 3.0% |
| 5-5 | 0.8% |
I treat special teams as the deciding factor here. Two strong power plays push me towards 3-3; two disciplined, low-penalty sides towards 2-2.
Period 4Low-scoring draws are fading in the recent era
The dumbbell compares two blocks: 9,411 games from 2010-11 to 2018-19 and 6,560 games from 2021-22 to 2025-26. 1-1 shows the sharpest move, from 5.0% down to 3.1%. 2-2 slipped from 8.0% to 7.0%, while 3-3 rose from 6.3% to 7.2%, overtaking it in the recent block.
Scoring has climbed, and the full-period averages lag behind it. The average regulation total over the whole sample was 5.66 goals, against 5.89 in the official final score, and the recent block runs hotter than that overall picture. That is my main caveat: the all-season shares understate higher scores in today's game, so I weight the recent column more heavily.
Earlier block 9,411 games, recent block 6,560 games.
View the data: low-scoring 60-minute draws are fading
| 2010-11 to 2018-19 | 2021-22 to 2025-26 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2-2 | 8.0% | 7.0% |
| 3-3 | 6.3% | 7.2% |
| 1-1 | 5.0% | 3.1% |
| 4-1 | 4.0% | 4.3% |
| 5-2 | 3.7% | 3.9% |
| 3-2 | 4.1% | 3.2% |
| 4-2 | 4.0% | 3.2% |
| 1-4 | 3.7% | 3.6% |
Full-time verdict
These shares only apply when the market settles before overtime and shootouts. A 2-2 at a fair 13.33 means nothing if the bet grades on the final result.
3-3 rose to 7.2% in the recent block while 2-2 fell to 7.0%. In a high-scoring matchup, the higher draw now carries slightly more weight.
0-0 arrived in 0.5% of games and a home 1-0 in 0.8%. Unless the price is far longer than fair, a strong goaltending matchup is better played through 2-2 or 1-1.
Questions bettors ask
What is the most common NHL score after regulation?
2-2 is the most common score after 60 minutes, appearing in 7.5% of regular-season games. That gives a fair decimal price of 13.33 before any bookmaker margin.
How often are NHL games tied after 60 minutes?
22.9% of regular-season games were level at the end of regulation. Most of those ties were 2-2 or 3-3, at 7.5% and 6.7% of all games.
How rare is a 0-0 score after regulation in the NHL?
Very rare: 0-0 after 60 minutes happened in only 0.5% of games, the least common draw on the chart. 1-1 was far more frequent at 4.1%.
I'm Min-jun Park, and I cover ice hockey score predictions at correct-score.vip โ focusing on special teams, goaltending and the metrics that actually drive results.
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