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How do I get NHL shot locations for a shot map in Python?

Every shot attempt in a game with rink x and y, shot type, strength, shooter and goalie, and a distance to the net computed in pandas.

Code verified October 10, 2026. One call to get_shot_map, 10 credits.

The call

Use season with team for a team's whole year, or player_id for one shooter. Page with offset for large sets.

import requests
import pandas as pd

API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"

resp = requests.post(
    "https://mcp.puckapi.com/v1/get_shot_map",
    headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY},
    json={
        "game_id": "2025020002",
    },
    timeout=60,
)
resp.raise_for_status()
data = resp.json()["data"]

shots = pd.DataFrame(data["shots"])
# x runs -100..100 along the rink and the nets are near +/-89, so fold both ends together.
shots["distance_ft"] = ((89 - shots["x_coord"].abs()) ** 2 + shots["y_coord"] ** 2) ** 0.5
print(shots.groupby(["team", "type"]).size().unstack(fill_value=0))
print(shots.groupby("type")["distance_ft"].mean().round(1))

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with a key from your dashboard. Python needs requests and pandas (pip install requests pandas). JavaScript runs on Node 18 or newer, or in the browser.

What comes back

The data object of the response, trimmed to the first rows. Every field is real output from the run above.

{
  "shots": [
    {
      "type": "shot-on-goal",
      "x_coord": 84,
      "y_coord": -10,
      "shot_type": "wrist",
      "strength": "5v5",
      "team": "PIT",
      "shooter": 8471675,
      "goalie": 8478048,
      "game_id": "2025020002",
      "period": 1,
      "seconds_elapsed": 21
    },
    {
      "type": "shot-on-goal",
      "x_coord": 87,
      "y_coord": -5,
      "shot_type": "wrist",
      "strength": "5v5",
      "team": "PIT",
      "shooter": 8471675,
      "goalie": 8478048,
      "game_id": "2025020002",
      "period": 1,
      "seconds_elapsed": 22
    },
    "...119 more"
  ],
  "summary": {
    "returned": 121,
    "by_type": {
      "shot-on-goal": 53,
      "missed-shot": 23,
      "blocked-shot": 42,
      "goal": 3
    }
  },
  "count": 121,
  "next_offset": null
}

What to do next

  • get_plays (10 credits). Everything else that happened, with strength state and zone.
  • get_goalie_stats (5 credits). Goals saved above expected for the goalies in the shots.

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