GRIT & GF
Nikolas Matinpalo

Ottawa Senators, Defence

Nikolas Matinpalo

  • Stingy
  • Play-driver
Points, 2026–27
0
0 G, 0 A in 7 GP
Individual xG
0.2
0 goals from it
Ice time per game
15:26
5 shots on goal
xGF% at 5v5
61.9
share of chances while he's on

Nikolas Matinpalo has 0 goals and 0 assists (0 points) in 7 games for the Ottawa Senators in 2026–27, with 5 shots on goal and 15:26 of ice time a game. His Grit & GF rating for 2026–27 is 10.2 out of 100, provisional until he has 15 to 20 games.

7 games in. The methodology requires 15 to 20 games to be accurate, so this season's rating still leans on the league average for his position and will move.

GRIT & GF

10.2050100
Rated above 27% of defencemen
Goals above average
+0.1
Wins
+0.01
Physicality15thGF17thIntimidation84thChemistry51thClutch99th

Where the rating comes from

Weight × score in standard deviations. They sum to −0.71, which the normal curve turns into the rating.

Your weights

Under these weights he ranks above 26.5% of 223 rated players

The default weights are our call. Set your own; they get rescaled to add up to 100%.

Clutch

+2.58 SD · 99th percentile · weight 0%

His team's expected-goal differential with him on the ice in the third period or overtime of a one-goal game, against his own usual rate. Not counted in the rating since grit-0.5: it didn't repeat from season to season, so it was mostly luck.

  • Close-and-late liftxGD per 60Heavily shrunk: close-and-late minutes are scarce.0.1899th pct
  • Close-and-late ice timeminutesThe sample behind the clutch number.1630th pct

Percentiles are against 223 rated defencemen in 2026-27, on 82 minutes of his 5-on-5 time. Hits, blocks and takeaways count toward the rating and are worth zero goals until a study shows otherwise. Model grit-0.5.

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Game notes

Written the morning after from the night's stats, for games where he did something worth a sentence.

  1. at CAR

    Monday, April 20

    Ice time

    Nikolas Matinpalo played 31:03, about 15 minutes more than his average this season. He has 5 points in 52 games this season. The Senators lost 3-2 to the Hurricanes in overtime.

  2. vs BUF

    Thursday, April 2

    Ice time

    Nikolas Matinpalo played 24:29, about 9 minutes more than his average this season. He has 5 points in 43 games this season. The Senators beat the Sabres 4-1.

  3. vs BOS

    Thursday, November 13

    Ice time

    Nikolas Matinpalo played 20:16, about 6 minutes more than his average this season. He has 2 points in 10 games this season. The Senators beat the Bruins 5-3.

  4. at BOS

    Thursday, November 6

    Volume

    Nikolas Matinpalo had 7 shot attempts, his most in a game since 2023-24. Two got through to the goalie, and none went in. He came in averaging 2.0 attempts a game. The Senators fell 3-2 to the Bruins in overtime.

Player card

Percentile among 194 defencemen with enough games this season. 50 is the median.

Scoring

  • Ice time per game15:26
    18
  • Points per 600.00
    8
  • Goals per 600.00
    30
  • Individual xG per 600.12
    28
  • Shots per 602.8
    39

5-on-5 play

  • xG for per 60, on ice2.30
    37
  • xG against per 60, on ice1.41
    99
  • xGF%61.9%
    94

Physical

  • Hits per 602.2
    43
  • Blocks per 604.4
    53
  • Penalty minutes per 602.2
    30

Skating and shooting

NHL EDGE puck and player tracking, 2026–27. Percentiles are the league's, against all skaters.

Skating

  • Top speed20.7 mph
    36
  • Bursts over 20 mph3
    41
  • Distance skated15 mi
    34

Shooting

  • Hardest shot89.5 mph
    72
  • Shots on goal5
    42
  • Shooting %0.0%
    43

Zone time

  • Offensive zone time38.5%
    18
  • Offensive zone time, even strength41.2%
    37

Who he plays with

His most-used defence partners at 5-on-5 this season, with what happened while they were out together.

PartnerGamesTOIShot attemptsxGGoalsxG share
Tyler Kleven720:3715–120.7–0.41–064%
Hoyt Stanley318:2210–160.3–0.20–062%
Cameron Crotty217:3811–120.4–0.40–051%
Jordan Spence77:4211–101.2–0.30–079%
Thomas Chabot66:474–70.2–0.30–132%
Carter Yakemchuk56:106–50.2–0.10–063%
Jake Sanderson12:042–20.0–0.20–015%
Artem Zub12:023–20.1–0.01–074%

Where he shoots from

His unblocked shots this season, attacking right. 0 goals from 7 attempts.

GoalShot or miss

Last 20 games

Columns are his individual expected goals, the quality of his own chances. Dots are goals he scored.

ixGGoal
0.000.050.100.15
03-3110-17

By season

SeasonGPGAPSOGixGTOI/GPHitsBlkxGF% 5v5
2026–27700050.215:264861.9
2025–2650055371.815:38495552.1
2024–2541134431.512:37253047.8
2023–24400020.07:004256.1

Last 20 games

DateTOIGASOGixGHitsBlkPIM
2026-10-1716:580010.13000
2026-10-122:190000.00000
2026-10-1015:550000.00120
2026-10-0817:120000.02110
2026-10-0616:350020.05142
2026-10-0520:150010.00002
2026-10-0318:480010.01110
2026-04-2516:010010.13132
2026-04-2319:210000.02130
2026-04-2031:030000.00010
2026-04-1817:080000.00100
2026-04-1518:390000.00010
2026-04-1220:350000.00112
2026-04-1110:420000.00010
2026-04-0917:090010.02410
2026-04-0718:550020.07110
2026-04-0515:590000.01010
2026-04-0417:390010.03020
2026-04-0224:290020.02200
2026-03-3116:360000.03100