NHL API

"Live NHL Data Without the Hassle" by John Rippy | johnrippy.link

---

Free Access to Official NHL Stats

The NHL API is free but undocumented and complex. Endpoints change, authentication is confusing, and data structures are nested 10 levels deep.

What if you could get clean, simple NHL data with one API call?

The NHL API actor wraps the official NHL Stats API and returns clean, structured data:

• All 32 NHL teams with details
• Full team rosters with player info
• Live and historical standings
• Complete game schedules
• Individual player statistics
• Box scores with game events
• League leaders by category

No API key required. No authentication needed. Just simple JSON responses.

---

Why Use This Instead of Direct API Access

1. Clean Data Structure

Raw NHL API returns deeply nested JSON. We flatten and normalize everything.

Raw NHL API:

{
  "teams": [{
    "id": 1,
    "name": "New Jersey Devils",
    "teamStats": [{
      "splits": [{
        "stat": {
          "gamesPlayed": 82,
          "wins": 52,
          "losses": 22
        }
      }]
    }]
  }]
}

Our API:

{
  "team": "New Jersey Devils",
  "teamId": 1,
  "gamesPlayed": 82,
  "wins": 52,
  "losses": 22
}

2. No Authentication Needed

We handle all the complexity. You just make requests.

3. Stable Endpoints

NHL changes their API frequently. We maintain compatibility.

4. Webhook Support

Get data delivered to your endpoint automatically.

---

Available Tasks

Task	Description	Required Params
teams	All 32 NHL teams with basic info	None
team_roster	Full team roster with players	teamId
team_schedule	Team's season schedule	teamId
standings	Current division standings	None
player_stats	Individual player statistics	playerId
game_boxscore	Full game box score	gameId
schedule	League schedule by date	date
leaders	League leaders by category	leaderCategory

---

Quick Start Examples

Example 1: Get Current Standings

{
  "task": "standings"
}

Example 2: Get Team Roster

{
  "task": "team_roster",
  "teamId": 24
}

Example 3: Get Player Stats

{
  "task": "player_stats",
  "playerId": 8478402,
  "season": "20242025"
}

Example 4: Today's Schedule

{
  "task": "schedule",
  "date": "2025-12-23"
}

---

Team IDs Reference

Division	Teams (Abbreviation → ID)
Atlantic	BOS→6, BUF→7, DET→17, FLA→13, MTL→8, OTT→9, TBL→14, TOR→10
Metropolitan	CAR→12, CBJ→29, NJD→1, NYI→2, NYR→3, PHI→4, PIT→5, WSH→15
Central	ARI→53, CHI→16, COL→21, DAL→25, MIN→30, NSH→18, STL→19, WPG→52
Pacific	ANA→24, CGY→20, EDM→22, LAK→26, SEA→55, SJS→28, VAN→23, VGK→54

---

Output Examples

Standings Response

{
  "task": "standings",
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "season": "2024-25",
    "standings": [
      {
        "division": "Atlantic",
        "teams": [
          {
            "rank": 1,
            "team": "Florida Panthers",
            "teamId": 13,
            "gamesPlayed": 40,
            "wins": 25,
            "losses": 12,
            "otLosses": 3,
            "points": 53,
            "goalsFor": 120,
            "goalsAgainst": 95,
            "goalDifferential": 25,
            "streakType": "W",
            "streakCount": 3
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Player Stats Response

{
  "task": "player_stats",
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "player": {
      "id": 8478402,
      "name": "Connor McDavid",
      "team": "Edmonton Oilers",
      "position": "C",
      "jerseyNumber": 97,
      "age": 27,
      "stats": {
        "gamesPlayed": 40,
        "goals": 28,
        "assists": 52,
        "points": 80,
        "plusMinus": 18,
        "pim": 12,
        "powerPlayGoals": 8,
        "gameWinningGoals": 5,
        "shots": 142,
        "shootingPct": 19.7,
        "timeOnIcePerGame": "22:15"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Pay-Per-Event Pricing

You only pay for what you use. No API key costs. No rate limit fees.

Event	Description	Price
api_request	Each task executed	$0.01

Cost Examples

Usage	Monthly Cost
100 requests	$1
1,000 requests	$10
10,000 requests	$100

Free tier available for testing.

---

Use Cases

Fantasy Hockey

• Player tracking: Monitor stats for your roster
• Injury updates: Check player status
• Lineup optimization: Get recent performance data
• Trade analysis: Compare player statistics

Sports Analytics

• Team performance: Analyze wins, losses, goal differentials
• Player comparisons: Compare stats across players
• Trend analysis: Track performance over time
• Predictive models: Feed data into ML models

Apps & Websites

• Live scores: Display current standings
• Schedule displays: Show upcoming games
• Stats pages: Build player stat cards
• Team pages: Roster and team info

Media & Content

• Article research: Get accurate stats for articles
• Broadcast support: Quick stats lookup
• Social content: Stats for posts and graphics

---

API Integration

Using the Apify API (JavaScript)

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('localhowl/nhl-api').call({
  task: 'player_stats',
  playerId: 8478402
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items[0].data.player);

Using cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/localhowl~nhl-api/runs?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "task": "standings"
  }'

---

Webhook Integration

Webhook Payload Format

{
  "event": "task_completed",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-23T12:00:00.000Z",
  "actor": "nhl-api",
  "task": "standings",
  "success": true,
  "data": { ... }
}

Automation Ideas

• Daily standings: Update your database every morning
• Game alerts: Trigger when your team plays
• Stat tracking: Log player stats to Google Sheets
• Discord bot: Post updates to your server

---

Limitations

• Historical data: Limited to current and recent seasons
• Real-time: Not truly live (refresh every few minutes)
• Rate limits: Built-in delays to respect NHL servers
• Season gaps: Some data unavailable during offseason

---

Support

• Email: john@johnrippy.link
• GitHub: Report issues on the repository

---

Built by John Rippy | johnrippy.link

---

Keywords

nhl api, hockey api, nhl stats, hockey statistics, nhl standings, nhl scores, hockey data, nhl player stats, fantasy hockey api, sports data api, nhl schedule, hockey scraper, nhl data feed, sports analytics