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Get Started Free →NHL data via ESPN public endpoints — scores, standings, rosters, schedules, game summaries, play-by-play, injuries, transactions, futures, team/player stats, leaders, and news. Zero config, no API keys. Use when: user asks about NHL scores, standings, team rosters, schedules, game stats, box scores, play-by-play, injuries, transactions, betting futures, team/player statistics, or NHL news. Don't use when: user asks about other hockey leagues (AHL, KHL, college hockey). For other sports use: nfl
.claude/skills/machina-sports-nhl-data/SKILL.md| Test case | Without → With | Effect | Δ tokens | Δ turns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| case-06 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 229% | 0% |
| case-07 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 334% | 0% |
| case-10 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 21% | 0% |
| case-11 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 49% | 0% |
| case-14 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 122% | 0% |
Before writing queries, consult references/api-reference.md for endpoints, ID conventions, and data shapes.
Before first use, check if the CLI is available:
bashwhich sports-skills || pip install sports-skills
If pip install fails with a Python version error, the package requires Python 3.10+. Find a compatible Python:
bashpython3 --version # check version # If < 3.10, try: python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills # On macOS with Homebrew: /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.12 -m pip install sports-skills
No API keys required.
Prefer the CLI — it avoids Python import path issues:
bashsports-skills nhl get_scoreboard sports-skills nhl get_standings --season=2025 sports-skills nhl get_teams
CRITICAL: Before calling any data endpoint, verify:
currentDate — never hardcoded.get_teams to resolve the team ID before using team-specific commands.Derive the current year from the system prompt's date (e.g., currentDate: 2026-02-18 → current year is 2026).
2025.| Command | Description | |---|---| | get_scoreboard | Live/recent NHL scores | | get_standings | Standings by conference and division | | get_teams | All NHL teams | | get_team_roster | Full roster for a team | | get_team_schedule | Schedule for a specific team | | get_game_summary | Detailed box score and scoring plays | | get_leaders | NHL statistical leaders | | get_news | NHL news articles | | get_play_by_play | Full play-by-play for a game | | get_schedule | Schedule for a specific date or season | | get_injuries | Injury reports across all teams | | get_transactions | Recent transactions | | get_futures | Futures/odds markets | | get_team_stats | Team statistical profile | | get_player_stats | Player statistical profile | | find_nhl_player | Search the NHL's player registry by name | | get_nhlstats_schedule | Games via the NHL API — team seasons to the Original Six era, NHL game ids | | get_nhlstats_player_stats | Career season-by-season across leagues via NHL API | | get_nhlstats_play_by_play | Play-by-play with on-ice x/y coordinates, zone, shot type | | get_nhlstats_boxscore | Full box score (skaters + goalies) via NHL API | | get_nhlstats_standings | Standings, current or any historical date (back to 1917) | | get_nhlstats_leaders | Skater and goalie leaders by category |
See references/api-reference.md for full parameter lists and return shapes.
The get_nhlstats_* commands read api-web.nhle.com — the NHL's current API. (The retired statsapi.web.nhl.com, which most community docs still describe, no longer resolves.) It carries the analytics layer ESPN does not: on-ice shot coordinates, cross-league career rows, goalie leaders, and history to the Original Six era. The two sources use unrelated id systems:
(2023030417); ESPN uses 9-digit event ids (401559593). No shared column — join on the game date plus teams.
LA/NJ/SJ/TB/UTAHvs NHL LAK/NJD/SJS/TBL/UTA. Every get_nhlstats_* team filter accepts either spelling, and rows carry both (team_abbreviation, team_abbreviation_espn).
8478402) and ESPN athlete ids areunrelated. Resolve names with find_nhl_player; ASCII spellings match accented names ("stutzle" finds "Tim Stützle").
get_nhlstats_player_stats returns everyleague a player appeared in, each row labelled with league — filter to NHL before summing career numbers.
season=2024 means 2024-25). The NHLform ("20242025") is also accepted.
Example 1: Today's scores User says: "What are today's NHL scores?" Actions:
get_scoreboard()Result: All live and recent NHL games with scores and status
Example 2: Conference standings User says: "Show me the Eastern Conference standings" Actions:
currentDateget_standings(season=<derived_year>)Result: Eastern Conference standings with W-L-OTL, points, regulation wins
Example 3: Team roster User says: "Who's on the Maple Leafs roster?" Actions:
get_team_roster(team_id="21")Result: Full Maple Leafs roster with name, position, jersey number, shoots/catches
Example 4: Game box score User says: "Show me the full box score for last night's Bruins game" Actions:
get_scoreboard(date="<yesterday>") to find the event_idget_game_summary(event_id=<id>) for full box scoreResult: Complete box score with per-player stats and scoring plays
Example 5: Stanley Cup odds User says: "What are the Stanley Cup odds?" Actions:
get_futures(limit=10)Result: Top Stanley Cup contenders with odds values
Example 6: Player statistics User says: "Show me Connor McDavid's stats" Actions:
currentDateget_player_stats(player_id="3895074", season_year=<derived_year>)Result: Season stats by category with value, rank, and per-game averages
get_odds~~ / ~~get_betting_odds~~ — not available. For prediction market odds, use the polymarket or kalshi skill.search_teams~~ — does not exist. Use get_teams instead.get_box_score~~ — does not exist. Use get_game_summary instead.get_player_ratings~~ — does not exist. Use get_player_stats instead.If a command is not listed in the Commands table above, it does not exist.
When a command fails, do not surface raw errors to the user. Instead:
get_teams to find the ID firstError: sports-skills command not found Cause: Package not installed Solution: Run pip install sports-skills
Error: Team not found by ID Cause: Wrong or outdated ESPN team ID used Solution: Call get_teams to get the current list of all NHL teams with their IDs (expansion teams like the Seattle Kraken and Utah Mammoth have non-sequential IDs)
Error: No data returned for a future game Cause: ESPN only returns data for completed or in-progress games Solution: Use get_schedule to see upcoming game details; get_scoreboard only covers active/recent games
Error: Offseason — scoreboard returns 0 events Cause: No games scheduled during the offseason (July–September) Solution: Use get_standings or get_news instead; use get_schedule to find when the season resumes
| Case | Status | Duration (ms) | Turns | Tokens | Tool calls | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without | With | Δ | Without | With | Δ | Without | With | Δ | Without | With | Δ | ||
case-12 | pass→pass | 6,832 | 3,446 | -50% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,048 | 2,559 | +144% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-01 | fail→fail | 7,146 | 4,897 | -31% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,446 | 2,278 | +58% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-02 | fail→fail | 7,903 | 6,412 | -19% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,367 | 2,273 | +66% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-03 | fail→fail | 9,150 | 5,469 | -40% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,742 | 2,366 | +36% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-04 | fail→fail | 13,970 | 7,491 | -46% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 2,754 | 2,399 | -13% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-05 | fail→fail | 3,460 | 6,921 | +100% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 304 | 2,419 | +696% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-06 | fail→pass | 5,398 | 3,811 | -29% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 839 | 2,757 | +229% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-07 | fail→pass | 4,411 | 3,143 | -29% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 566 | 2,456 | +334% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-08 | fail→fail | 4,143 | 6,989 | +69% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 521 | 2,371 | +355% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-09 | fail→fail | 10,943 | 7,608 | -30% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,562 | 2,739 | +75% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-10 | fail→pass | 13,151 | 4,313 | -67% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 2,274 | 2,751 | +21% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-11 | fail→pass | 10,327 | 4,008 | -61% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,769 | 2,640 | +49% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-13 | pass→pass | 8,159 | 3,720 | -54% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,370 | 2,718 | +98% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-14 | fail→pass | 7,545 | 2,929 | -61% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,135 | 2,515 | +122% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-15 | pass→pass | 14,241 | 6,639 | -53% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 2,351 | 3,037 | +29% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-16 | pass→pass | 5,869 | 3,223 | -45% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,013 | 2,598 | +156% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-17 | fail→pass | 9,168 | 2,223 | -76% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,660 | 2,394 | +44% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-18 | fail→pass | 9,340 | 1,845 | -80% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,325 | 2,316 | +75% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-19 | fail→fail | 11,488 | 2,938 | -74% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,935 | 2,532 | +31% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-20 | fail→pass | 11,737 | 2,454 | -79% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,859 | 2,444 | +31% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-21 | fail→fail | 3,431 | 7,125 | +108% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 441 | 2,372 | +438% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-22 | fail→fail | 9,012 | 17,906 | +99% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,040 | 4,186 | +303% | 0 | 0 | — |
case-23 | fail→fail | 13,880 | 5,392 | -61% | 1 | 1 | 0% | 2,752 | 2,354 | -14% | 0 | 0 | — |
DecimalAI ran this skill against gemini-3.6-flash twice over the same eval suite — once with the skill loaded and once without — and compared the two runs case by case. 23 cases were attempted, and 14 counted toward the lift figure. The other 9 produced results that are not comparable between the two arms, so they are excluded from the headline rather than averaged into it. The headline lift of +35 percentage points is the difference between those two pass rates over the 14 comparable cases. 2 cases got worse with the skill loaded, and they are included in that figure.
Without the skill loaded, the model failed this case. With it loaded, the same prompt on the same model passed. This is one improved case from the latest verified run; every case, including any that regressed, is in the table above.
| Model | Method | Date | Lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| gemini-3.6-flash | verified | 8/3/2026 | — |
Other measured skills in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.