Results
Hockey results Wednesday 23 September 2026: AI predictions review
Hockey results Wednesday 23 September 2026: the AI consensus went 8 of 15, as Niznekamsk's seven-goal rout and a Leafs double header broke the models.
Wednesday 23 September 2026 produced 15 hockey matches across the KHL, Liiga and NHL, and the ten-model consensus panel finished the day 8 of 15. Five of the seven misses came from unanimous calls, meaning every model on the panel backed the same side and still came away empty.
The biggest surprise arrived in the KHL, where Niznekamsk beat Lada 7-3. Eight of ten models had backed Lada, with a most common score of 2-3 and average confidence of 59%. The seven-goal home performance was the widest margin of the day and the clearest single failure on the card.
Where the AI got it right
The panel's strongest opening call came in Khabarovsk, where Khabarovsk vs CSKA Moscow prediction drew 100% agreement on a CSKA Moscow win. The visitors delivered a 2-0 shutout, though the most common scoreline of 3-4 and average confidence of 63% show the models expected a tighter, higher-scoring night.
A second unanimous KHL call landed in Vladivostok, where Vladivostok vs Lokomotiv Yaroslavl prediction backed Lokomotiv Yaroslavl at 100% with average confidence of 67%. Lokomotiv won 2-1, again short of the predicted 3-4 scoreline but correct on the result.
Ufa provided the KHL's only split decision that went right. Salavat Ufa vs Magnitogorsk prediction had 70% of models on Magnitogorsk, and the visitors won 4-3. Average confidence was the day's lowest correct call at 55%, reflecting how evenly the panel read the fixture.
In Liiga, IFK Helsinki vs Karpat prediction saw all ten models back IFK Helsinki, and the home side won 3-1. The most common score was 3-2, making this one of the closer scoreline reads to survive contact with the result. Vaasan Sport vs Kiekko-Espoo prediction also returned correctly, with 100% on Kiekko-Espoo and a 1-0 away win against a most common score of 2-3.
The NHL produced three correct unanimous calls. Winnipeg Jets vs Edmonton Oilers prediction backed Edmonton at 100% and 67% average confidence, and the Oilers won 2-1. San Jose Sharks vs Vegas Golden Knights prediction was the panel's most confident read of the day at 68% average, with Vegas winning 2-1. Calgary was the only non-unanimous correct NHL call: Calgary Flames vs Vancouver Canucks prediction had 90% on Calgary, and the Flames won 3-1.
Where it got it wrong
Niznekamsk 7-3 Lada was the day's headline miss. Eight of ten models backed Lada at 59% average confidence and a most common score of 2-3. Instead the home side ran away with it.
Liiga delivered two unanimous failures. KooKoo 4-5 KalPa went against a 100% KooKoo call at 60% average confidence and a most common score of 3-2. SaiPa 1-2 Assat went against a 100% SaiPa call at 57% average confidence, the lowest average confidence among the day's unanimous picks and an early sign the panel was not reading that fixture cleanly.
The NHL misses were heavier. Nashville Predators 3-2 Tampa Bay Lightning broke a 100% call on Tampa Bay at 64% average confidence, with the most common score 2-3. Los Angeles Kings 3-6 Utah Mammoth was the panel's weakest conviction of the day: only 50% of models backed Los Angeles at 58% average confidence, and Utah won by three.
The two Toronto-Ottawa fixtures account for the remaining misses and are the strangest result of the round. Ottawa Senators 2-4 Toronto Maple Leafs went against a 100% Ottawa call at 60% average confidence and a most common score of 4-2. Hours later, Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 Ottawa Senators went against another 100% Ottawa call at 61% average confidence, with a most common score of 4-5. The models backed Ottawa twice on the same day and Ottawa lost twice, the second time by five goals.
Models of the day
Four models shared top spot on 9 of 15: Mistral Medium 3.5, MiMo V2.5 Pro, Grok 4.6 and Kimi K3. A middle group of five finished on 8 of 15: GPT-5.6 Luna, Claude Sonnet 5, DeepSeek V4 Pro, Qwen 3.8 Max and GLM 5.3. Gemini 3.8 Flash was the clear laggard on 7 of 15, the only model on the panel to fall below the consensus mark.
Full results
- KHL: Khabarovsk 0-2 CSKA Moscow — consensus CSKA Moscow win (100%) RIGHT
- KHL: Vladivostok 1-2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl — consensus Lokomotiv Yaroslavl win (100%) RIGHT
- KHL: Salavat Ufa 3-4 Magnitogorsk — consensus Magnitogorsk win (70%) RIGHT
- KHL: Niznekamsk 7-3 Lada — consensus Lada win (80%) WRONG
- Liiga: IFK Helsinki 3-1 Karpat — consensus IFK Helsinki win (100%) RIGHT
- Liiga: KooKoo 4-5 KalPa — consensus KooKoo win (100%) WRONG
- Liiga: SaiPa 1-2 Assat — consensus SaiPa win (100%) WRONG
- Liiga: Vaasan Sport 0-1 Kiekko-Espoo — consensus Kiekko-Espoo win (100%) RIGHT
- NHL: Winnipeg Jets 1-2 Edmonton Oilers — consensus Edmonton Oilers win (100%) RIGHT
- NHL: Nashville Predators 3-2 Tampa Bay Lightning — consensus Tampa Bay Lightning win (100%) WRONG
- NHL: Calgary Flames 3-1 Vancouver Canucks — consensus Calgary Flames win (90%) RIGHT
- NHL: Los Angeles Kings 3-6 Utah Mammoth — consensus Los Angeles Kings win (50%) WRONG
- NHL: San Jose Sharks 1-2 Vegas Golden Knights — consensus Vegas Golden Knights win (100%) RIGHT
- NHL: Ottawa Senators 2-4 Toronto Maple Leafs — consensus Ottawa Senators win (100%) WRONG
- NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 Ottawa Senators — consensus Ottawa Senators win (100%) WRONG
Thursday's card is already through the same ten-model pipeline. The full slate, with consensus picks, projected scorelines and confidence levels, is available on the today's hockey predictions page.
Next up: today's hockey predictions from the same panel, and the results archive with every graded call. Forecasts are informational only.
