NHL Power Rankings: Top 10 Goal Scorers in the League

Fights. Big hits. Missing teeth. Speed. Grit. Resilience. 

These are the words most people would use to describe the game of hockey. And they would be correct, to an extent, as the sport does indeed involve a heavy dose of all of the above. 

At the end of the day, though, the team that wins the game is the team with the higher number in the "goals" category. As important as big saves, monster hits and crisp passes are, goals are what separates the winner from the loser every night. 

Here are the 10 best players in the NHL at putting the puck in the net. 

(Note that these rankings are not based on the total amount of goals scored in the player's career, even though those numbers are mentioned. Instead, they focus heavily on the last three to five years. This is not an all-time greatest goal scorers list; it is a list of the top snipers in the game right now.)

Honorable Mentions

Needless to say, there are more than 10 elite goal scorers in the league. Almost every team has at least one go-to-guy that they rely on to light the lamp.

This list is very selective and consists of 10 players that, in my opinion, are superior to the rest when it comes to scoring goals. Here are five players, in no particular order, that just missed the mark. 

Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

 Twin brother of playmaking center Henrik Sedin, Daniel is Vancouver's top goal scoring threat and has unparalleled chemistry with his brother and gritty winger Alex Burrows.

He netted a career-high 41 goals last season and added 63 assists for 104 points, his best season to date. Daniel has three 30-goal seasons and one 40-goal season on his impressive track record at the NHL level and has a total of 249 goals in 787 games. 

Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning

 At age 36, St. Louis is still one of the most dynamic offensive players in the league. He registered 31 goals and 68 assists last season for an impressive 99 points, the second-best point total in his long career.

Marty's career-high for goals scored in a season came in 2003-04, when he amassed 38 goals. He has 298 goals in 854 games played. 

Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs

Drafted fifth overall by the Bruins in 2006, Kessel is now Toronto's top sniper at only 23 years of age.

He has three consecutive 30-goal seasons under his belt and registered 32 goals and a career-high 32 assists for 64 points last season. Kessel's career-high for goals scored in a single season is 36 and he has scored a total of 128 goals in 374 games in his young career thus far. 

Dany Heatley, Minnesota Wild

A few years ago, Heatley was one of the NHL's top players and was considered by many to be the best sniper in the league. Now, things have changed for Heatley as he has been traded three times in his career and has seen his goal production steadily decrease each of the last five seasons.

Still, he did register back-to-back 50-goal campaigns with the Ottawa Senators and has never scored less than 26 goals in a full NHL season. He potted 26 goals and added 38 assists for 64 points last year with San Jose and has a total of 325 goals in 669 games. 

Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings

A seventh-round steal by Detroit in 1999, Zetterberg is a consistent performer at both ends of the rink for the Red Wings.

He has four 30-goal seasons on his resume and is coming off a strong 2010-11 campaign during which he scored 24 goals and put up 56 assists for 80 points in 80 games. His career-high for goals scored in a season is 43 and he has 230 career goals in 586 games played. 

10. Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks

A year ago, Corey Perry wouldn't even be an honorable mention on this list. His stock has sky-rocketed, however, as a result of his league-leading 50 goals last season.

Perry's point totals have increased every year since he broke into the league in 2005, starting at 25 points in his rookie year and rising up to 98 points last year. When top player Ryan Getzlaf was sidelined by an injury last season, Perry carried the Ducks on his back and led them to a playoff berth.

50-goal seasons are becoming increasingly rare at the NHL level, making Perry's last campaign very impressive, and if he can continue to bury pucks at that rate he will undoubtedly be widely regarded as a top-five sniper in the league.

Perry has a total of 168 goals in 450 career games. 

9. Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks

Drafted second overall behind line-mate Joe Thornton in the 1997 entry draft, Patrick Marleau has spent his entire career with San Jose and has been the face of the franchise for almost a decade.

His career-high for goals scored is 44, which he tallied in the 2009-10 season, and he's coming off an impressive 37-goal campaign.

Marleau has a total of five 30-goal seasons and one 40-goal season on his resume and has registered 357 goals in 1,035 games. 

8. Jeff Carter, Columbus Blue Jackets

Recently traded from Philadelphia to Columbus, Jeff Carter will be the new No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets and will likely have a huge year playing alongside power winger Rick Nash. 

He scored 36 goals in 80 games for the Flyers last year and has three 30-goal seasons and one 40-goal season in his young career thus far. 

Carter's career-high for goals scored in a season came in 2008-09, when he lit the lamp 46 times.

He has netted 181 goals in 461 games played. 

7. Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets

The first player picked in the 2001 entry draft, Rick Nash has been the face of the Blue Jackets ever since he entered the league in 2002. 

He scored a career-high 41 goals in the 2003-04 season and registered a respectable 32 goals last year. 

Nash has six 30-goal seasons and two 40-goal seasons on his impressive resume and a career total of 259 goals in 592 games. With new teammate Jeff Carter on his line, Nash has a strong chance to return to 40-goal form next season. 

6. Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers

Hampered by injuries for most of his career, Marian Gaborik has consistently put up strong numbers when healthy and is New York's top offensive weapon.

With star center Brad Richards joining the Rangers, there's a strong chance that Gaborik could set a new career-high in goals if he can stay healthy next season. 

His current career-high for goals scored in one season is 42, and he has six 30-goal seasons and two 40-goal seasons under his belt. 

Last year, Gaborik tallied 22 goals and 26 assists in only 62 games. He has scored 283 goals in 640 games played. 

5. Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey Devils

Drafted first overall by Atlanta in 2001, Ilya Kovalchuk recently signed a lucrative contract with the New Jersey Devils as an unrestricted free agent and has been their go-to goal scorer since joining the squad. 

He is coming off a strong season in which he potted 31 goals in 81 games and has a total of eight 30-goal seasons, five 40-goal seasons and two 50-goal seasons. His career-high for goals in a single season is 52. 

Kovalchuk has netted an impressive 369 goals in 702 games at the NHL level. 

4. Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames

Jarome Iginla is still taking the league by storm at 34 years of age. Last season, Iginla scored 43 goals on a mediocre team that missed the playoffs. 

His career-high for goals scored in a season is 52, and he has registered 10 30-goal seasons, four 40-goal seasons and two 50-goal seasons. He hasn't scored less than 30 goals since the 1999-2000 season. 

Iginla has buried 484 pucks in 1,106 games in his distinguished career and is one of the most consistent snipers the NHL has seen in the last decade. 

3. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Only 21 years old, Steven Stamkos is the new face of the Tampa Bay Lightning and has already put together two 90-point campaigns in his three years in the NHL. 

His career-high for goals scored came two seasons ago when he tied Sidney Crosby for top goal scorer with 51 tallies. He potted 45 goals last season. 

Stamkos is a rising star in the NHL with 119 goals in just 243 games. 

2. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Heralded by almost everyone in the hockey world as the greatest player currently in the NHL and often compared to the great Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby is a generational talent who has scored at well above a point-per-game pace his entire career. 

As a rookie, Crosby scored 39 goals and added 63 assists for 102 points in 81 games. His season was cut in half last year when he was diagnosed with a concussion, but he still managed to put up 32 goals in only 41 games. 

Crosby's career-high for goals in a season came two years ago when he netted 51. He has five 30-goal seasons and one 50-goal season on his resume at only 23 years old and has a total of 215 goals in 412 games played. 

1. Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Arguably the most electrifying player in the NHL and certainly one of the most marketed, Alexander Ovechkin rivals Sidney Crosby as the best hockey player in the world. 

Much like Crosby, Ovechkin has scored at well above a point-per-game each year he has been in the league. The difference between the two is that Ovechkin has scored more goals than anyone in the league in that time frame. 

He notched 52 goals as a rookie, and his career-high for goals in a season is, wait for it... 65. 

Ovechkin is coming off a somewhat disappointing 2010-11 campaign in which he scored a career-low 32 goals in 79 games. Still, in six full NHL seasons he has a total of six 30-goal campaigns, five 40-goal campaigns, four 50-goal campaigns and one 60-goal campaign. At only 25 years old, Ovechkin has amassed 301 goals in 475 games.

He is, without a doubt, the top sniper in the National Hockey League.