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PuckAPI vs the NHL's public web API
The NHL's web API is free but undocumented, with no published terms or rate limits and no odds. PuckAPI is documented, adds odds, xG and GSAX, and speaks MCP.
The NHL's own web API (api-web.nhle.com) is free and needs no key, but it has no official documentation, no published terms of use and no published rate limits, and it carries no betting odds. PuckAPI is a documented hockey API with odds from 60+ sportsbooks since 2025-26, computed metrics like expected goals and GSAX, and an MCP server for AI assistants.
Most of what the NHL serves is the raw material. PuckAPI is that material cleaned, joined to odds, and put behind a stable set of tools, which is the part that takes weeks to build yourself.
Side by side
| PuckAPI | the NHL's public web API | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 500 free credits, then from $19/mo | Free, no key |
| Documentation | Every tool documented with a live example | None official; community reverse-engineered references |
| Terms and rate limits | Published: 10 requests/min free, 60 paid | No published terms or limits |
| Stability | A fixed tool list, catalogued at /v1/tools | Endpoints have moved before (statsapi was retired for api-web) |
| Betting odds | Moneyline, puck line and totals, opening and closing, back to 2020-21 | None |
| Computed metrics | Expected goals, GSAX, Corsi and Fenwick returned directly | Raw events; you compute them |
| Play-by-play | Every event since 2010-11, coordinates normalised | Available per game, raw |
| AI assistants | MCP server: one URL in Claude, Cursor or any MCP client | None |
Use the NHL's public web API instead if
- You only need today's scores and standings and would rather pay nothing than have a documented contract.
- You need box scores from before 2010-11; the NHL's own feed goes further back than our play-by-play.
Questions
Is there an official NHL API?
The NHL runs a public web API that its own site uses, but it publishes no documentation or terms for it. Everything known about it comes from developers reverse-engineering it.
Does the NHL API have betting odds?
No. PuckAPI adds moneyline, puck line and totals from US sportsbooks back to 2020-21, and more than 60 books from 2025-26 on.
Can I get expected goals from the NHL API?
Not directly; it returns raw shot events. PuckAPI returns expected goals and GSAX already computed, calibrated within each season.
Sources
Checked September 2026.
See the data
Try it with 500 free credits
No card. REST or MCP.