🏒 CONNECTIONS

Find four groups of 5 NHL players that share a connection

NHL Connections | DoUKnowBall

A daily puzzle where you group NHL players by what connects them: same franchise or same career milestone.

Twenty NHL players, four hidden groups and just enough overlap to wreck your confidence.

Each group of five shares a connection, maybe a franchise, maybe a career milestone. Find all four on 4 lives, then come back tomorrow and do it again.

How to play NHL Connections, a free hockey grouping puzzle game

Study the board of twenty names

Study the board of 20 names.

Submit five players who share a link

Select exactly 5 players you believe share a connection and submit.

Lock in a group or lose a life

A correct five locks in with its color and theme. A wrong five costs one of your 4 lives.

Colors rank the four groups by difficulty

Colors rank difficulty: yellow easiest, then green, blue and purple.

Clear every group before the lives run out

Clear all four groups before the lives run out.

NHL Connections rules: groups, lives and the daily puzzle

Twenty players, four groups of five

The board is always 20 players forming exactly four groups of 5.

Four lives and no partial hints

You have 4 lives, every wrong submission costs one, and there are no partial hints.

A reveal at zero lives and the daily reset

Losing the last life reveals the remaining groups so you can see what got you.

The daily puzzle is identical for everyone and rolls over at midnight Eastern; unlimited mode deals random boards from the pool.

NHL Connections walkthrough: five Penguins and a hidden trap

Five Penguins look automatic

Say you spot five Penguins right away: Crosby, Malkin, Lemieux, Jagr and Fleury. Feels automatic, except the purple group on this imagined board is 1,000 point scorers, and Jagr fits both worlds.

Letting elimination settle the trap

The safe play is solving the scorers first and letting elimination sort Jagr out. That is the whole game in one decision.

NHL Connections tips for spotting the overlap trap

Submit the group you can name in full

Submit the group where you can name all five, not the one with three locks and two hopes.

Assume the overlap is intentional

Assume the overlap is intentional. The player who fits two themes is the trap.

Think about purple early. Spotting the sneaky link protects your easy groups.

Let elimination settle a shared name

When two groups fight over one name, solve the other group first and let elimination decide.

NHL Connections FAQ: group size, lives and the reset

Groups of five, not four?

Yes. Five players per group and 20 on the board, a little bigger and meaner than the puzzle that inspired it.

Do I get a warning when I am one player off?

No. Any wrong five costs a life, no matter how close it was.

What happens at zero lives?

The unsolved groups reveal themselves, your daily result locks for the day, and a fresh board arrives tomorrow.

Is NHL Connections free to play?

Yes. NHL Connections is free to play on DoUKnowBall, right in your browser. No download and no signup needed.

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