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Ice Lab

Thu, Dec 12, 2019·KeyBank Center, Buffalo

Nashville Predators 3, Buffalo Sabres 4

Expected result

Based on shot quality alone, Nashville Predators win this game 51% of the time.

BUF winsNSH wins

By period

Goals and shots on goal in each period.

TeamP1P2P3Total
NSH212112015339
BUF1152918432

Goals, with shots on goal in grey.

Scoring

Every goal, with the change it made to the home team's win probability.

  1. P1 0:57NSHMatt DucheneAssists: Kyle Turris · Wrist, 0.18 xG1–0
  2. P1 14:33BUFJimmy VeseyAssists: Rasmus Ristolainen · Tip-in, 0.11 xG1–1
  3. P1 15:32NSHColton SissonsAssists: Ryan Ellis · Tip-in, 0.09 xG2–1
  4. P2 4:55BUFJack EichelAssists: Sam Reinhart, Colin Miller · Snap, 0.06 xG2–2
  5. P2 14:21BUFJack EichelAssists: Henri Jokiharju, Rasmus Dahlin · Tip-in, 0.08 xG2–3
  6. P2 16:07NSHRyan JohansenAssists: Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok · Wrist, 0.13 xG3–3
  7. P3 8:29BUFVictor OlofssonGWGAssists: Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart · Wrist, 0.23 xG3–4
Penalties (3)
  1. P1 17:50BUFBrandon Montour: Tripping2 min
  2. P1 19:08BUFMarco Scandella: Delaying game puck over glass2 min
  3. P2 7:15NSHMatt Duchene: Hooking2 min

Replay

Watch the game unfold on the ice: every shot, hit, turnover and faceoff appears as it happened, then fades. Drag the timeline to jump; goals are marked on it.

NSH00 SOG · 0.0 xG

20:00

P1

0.0 xG · 0 SOG0BUF
45% to win55% to win
← NSH attackBUF attack →
  1. P1 20:00Johansen won the faceoff against Eichel
  • Goal
  • Shot
  • Miss
  • Block
  • Hit
  • Takeaway
  • Giveaway
  • Faceoff
  • Penalty

The numbers

Team totals, side by side.

NSHBUF
39Shots on goal32
2.7Expected goals2.7
62Shot attempts50
31Faceoffs won28
2Power plays1
2Penalty minutes4
12Hits16
8Blocked shots13
8Giveaways8
3Takeaways3

Line combinations that worked

Model-based

Each team's forward lines and defence pairs at 5-on-5 (two minutes or more together), best first by expected goals for minus against.

Nashville Predators

Forward lines

  1. bestJarnkrok – Johansen – Forsberg13:12

    xG 0.82–0.69 (54%)attempts 13–15goals 1–0

  2. Bonino – Watson – Sissons2:20

    xG 0.12–0.00 (100%)attempts 2–1goals 1–0

  3. Turris – Duchene – Granlund13:43

    xG 0.46–0.39 (54%)attempts 13–12goals 1–1

  4. Bonino – Smith – Grimaldi10:53

    xG 0.40–0.67 (37%)attempts 11–7goals 0–1

Defence pairs

  1. bestJosi – Ellis16:23

    xG 1.06–0.73 (59%)attempts 21–17goals 1–0

  2. Ellis – Ekholm3:25

    xG 0.11–0.03 (77%)attempts 1–1goals 0–0

  3. Hamhuis – Weber11:09

    xG 0.63–0.60 (51%)attempts 13–9goals 1–0

Buffalo Sabres

Forward lines

  1. bestJohansson – Skinner – Rodrigues2:17

    xG 0.37–0.01 (96%)attempts 5–1goals 0–0

  2. Okposo – Larsson – Girgensons11:27

    xG 0.74–0.43 (63%)attempts 12–11goals 0–0

  3. Johansson – Skinner – Vesey9:05

    xG 0.22–0.05 (81%)attempts 4–4goals 1–0

  4. Johansson – Vesey – Asplund2:34

    xG 0.11–0.18 (38%)attempts 4–1goals 0–1

Defence pairs

  1. bestMiller – Montour4:12

    xG 0.52–0.23 (69%)attempts 6–3goals 0–1

  2. Montour – Dahlin5:04

    xG 0.35–0.06 (85%)attempts 4–3goals 1–0

  3. Miller – McCabe2:51

    xG 0.22–0.00 (100%)attempts 4–0goals 0–0

How the game flowed

Model-based

Chance quality for each side, minute by minute, with pressure underneath.

Expected goals flow

Running total of expected goals for each team. Steep climbs are spells of pressure; dots are goals. Shaded bands mark power plays (team colour), 4-on-4 or 3-on-3 (grey) and empty nets.

BUF 2.7 xGNSH 2.7 xG
-0.500.511.522.53P1P2P3EndxG

Tempo: attempts, hits and takeaways per minute

BUFNSH

Win probability

Model-based

How each goal and each minute changed the likely winner.

Win probability

BUF's chance of winning through the game. Above the middle line BUF is favoured, below it NSH. Dots are goals.

Excitement 72/100 · #303 of 1082 this seasonSwing 1.89 · 7 goals in reachComeback index 30% (winner's lowest chance)
NSH 100%5050%50BUF 100%P1P2P3EndBiggest swing +29 pts

Did the better team win?

Every shot replayed 10,000 times, scoring with its expected-goal probability.

Based on shot quality alone, Nashville Predators win this game 51% of the time.

BUF winsNSH wins

Simulated goal difference (BUF − NSH), 10,000 replays

-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+6
+7

The outlined bar is the actual result (excluding the shootout).