NHL prediction league with friends 2026/27: no draft, no betting

The NHL regular season opens on 29 September 2026 and runs until 11 April 2027, with 84 games for every team. That is a lot of hockey to follow on your own. An NHL prediction league with friends turns it into something you follow together: nobody drafts players, everyone predicts the score of the same games, and the table settles who in the group actually knows the sport.

Why it beats a draft for a group of friends

Draft pools reward whoever has time to manage a roster, and by Christmas half the group has quietly stopped checking. A score league asks one question per game — who wins, and by how much — and anyone can answer it while the kettle boils.

• It lasts all season. All 1,344 regular-season games are already in the app, loaded automatically. Whoever sets it up doesn't type in a single fixture.
• Every game night matters. Two good nights of exact scores and the person at the bottom is back in the conversation.
• The table is yours. Only people with the invite link get in. Your group, your standings, your arguments.

How to start

1. Create a pool and pick ice hockey, then NHL 2026/27, in the competition tree.
2. Pick teams, if you want. Tick one club or several and the pool shows only their games, home and away — 84 per team over the season. Tick nothing and you predict the whole league.
3. Share the invite link in your group chat. Everyone can predict each game until puck drop; after that, the prediction is locked.

Missed opening night? A pool can be created at any point in the season; games already played can't be predicted, and everyone starts at zero.

If some of you also follow a European league, one pool can combine several leagues of the same sport, so the NHL and, say, the SHL end up on one table.

How hockey scoring works

You predict the score. As the founder, you decide what an exact score, a correct winner and a correctly predicted draw are worth, and the app applies those rules to every finished game.

Yes, draws exist here. Regulation time is what gets predicted: if a game is level after the third period, the app strips the deciding overtime or shootout goal and compares your prediction with the score at the end of regulation. A 4–3 overtime win counts as a 3–3 draw, and the points go to whoever predicted a draw. Tell everyone before the first puck drops — it's the rule people argue about.

Hockey pools are score-only: there is no goalscorer or assist prediction.

And no money changes hands between players: it's points, a table and bragging rights. A pool is free for any number of players. You only pay for extra features. The details are on the pricing page.

Running one at work instead? See the office hockey pool without a draft. For the basics of a private league among friends, read prediction league with friends.

FAQ

When does the NHL 2026/27 regular season start?

The first regular-season games are on 29 September 2026 and the last regular-season date is 11 April 2027. All 1,344 games are in the app, 84 for each of the 32 teams.

Can we start an NHL prediction league after the season has begun?

Yes. You can create a pool at any point in the season. Games that have already been played can't be predicted, and everyone starts at zero.

How are overtime and shootout games scored?

Regulation time is what gets predicted. If the score is level after the third period, the app strips the deciding overtime or shootout goal and compares your prediction with the score at the end of regulation, so the points go to whoever predicted a draw.

Sign in and create your NHL pool, then drop the invite link in the group chat.