By any metric one can measure, Macklin Celebrini is laying to waste the notion of the sophomore slump. And here’s another metric where he’s killing it through the first quarter of the season.
When it comes to goal-scoring in the NHL, the old saying goes, “They don’t ask how. They ask how many.” With a unique stat called Situational Scoring, they don’t ask how many, they ask how many of them meant something?
What makes it different from every other stat out there in the NHL is that it tracks only the important points, the ones that matter. Garbage points need not apply.
And Celebrini's scoring the most points that matter.
He isn’t the only player who’s making his impact when it comes to Situational Scoring. Guys such as Wyatt Johnston and Jack Roslovic aren’t anywhere near the top 25 in the actual scoring race, but they’re among the most productive players in the league in this stat. That’s what makes it fun.
Here's the ranking with stats updated as of Nov. 21. If you're unfamiliar with Situational Scoring or need a refresher, keep reading.
NHL Situational Scoring: Top 26 Players As Of Nov. 21, 2025Situational Scoring tracks the points that matter the most. Goals and assists are assigned a value depending on the situation and added up in the total (SS points). Scroll to the right for more numbers.As always, there are a couple of things to note, the most important being that goals are weighted more heavily than assists, with goals worth one point and assists worth half a point.
In this system, goals can be worth more than one point and assists worth more than a half a point. For example, the first goal of a game is automatically worth two points, one for being the first goal of the game and one for putting that player’s team ahead in a game. An overtime goal is worth three: one for putting the team ahead, one for being the game-winner and one for the overtime goal. If that is the only goal in a 1-0 game, it’s worth four.
It can all be a little confusing, so here’s a glossary:
FIRST: When a player scores the first goal of the game.
AHEAD: Any goal that puts a team ahead at any point in the game, including overtime.
TIED: Any goal that pulls a team into a tie at any point in the game.
COMEBACK: A goal that is scored when a team is trailing by two goals or more and is part of a series of goals that eventually ties the game, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the game.
WINNER: A game-winning goal, but not by the NHL’s definition. The game-winner in this category is the goal that puts a team ahead in a game to stay. So in other words, you could have a 7-6 game and maybe the first goal of the game was the game-winner.
OT: Overtime goal.
SO: Only shootout game-winning goals are counted in this category.
NHL: Where the player stands in the actual NHL scoring race.
Take a look at the list, watch the video column for more, and let us know your thoughts. If you want to see how last year's Situational Scoring list ended, check it out here.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
