Skip to content
Ice Lab

Thu, Apr 21, 2022·Prudential Center, Newark

Buffalo Sabres 5, New Jersey Devils 2

Expected result

Based on shot quality alone, New Jersey Devils win this game 59% of the time.

NJD winsBUF wins

By period

Goals and shots on goal in each period.

TeamP1P2P3Total
BUF08310210528
NJD010111110231

Goals, with shots on goal in grey.

Scoring

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

  1. P2 11:53BUFKyle OkposoSHAssists: Rasmus Dahlin, Craig Anderson · Wrist, 0.01 xG1–0
  2. P2 12:40BUFAlex TuchSHAssists: Victor Olofsson · Backhand, 0.14 xG2–0
  3. P2 17:58BUFRasmus DahlinGWGAssists: Victor Olofsson · Snap, 0.11 xG3–0
  4. P2 19:52NJDJesper BoqvistAssists: Michael McLeod, Dougie Hamilton · Snap, 0.29 xG3–1
  5. P3 4:59NJDNikita OkhotiukAssists: Janne Kuokkanen, Pavel Zacha · Slap, 0.05 xG3–2
  6. P3 8:33BUFOwen PowerAssists: Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson · Wrist, 0.08 xG4–2
  7. P3 16:03BUFJeff SkinnerAssists: Tage Thompson, Victor Olofsson · Snap, 0.20 xG5–2
Penalties (6)
  1. P1 16:20BUFKyle Okposo: Hooking2 min
  2. P2 9:08BUFRasmus Dahlin: Tripping2 min
  3. P2 9:37NJDDougie Hamilton: Slashing2 min
  4. P2 10:56BUFCasey Mittelstadt: Hooking2 min
  5. P2 13:01NJDDamon Severson: Hooking2 min
  6. P2 15:10BUFHenri Jokiharju: Slashing2 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.

BUF00 SOG · 0.0 xG

20:00

P1

0.0 xG · 0 SOG0NJD
48% to win52% to win
← BUF attackNJD attack →
  1. P1 20:00McLeod won the faceoff against Cozens
  • Goal
  • Shot
  • Miss
  • Block
  • Hit
  • Takeaway
  • Giveaway
  • Faceoff
  • Penalty

The numbers

Team totals, side by side.

BUFNJD
28Shots on goal31
2.6Expected goals3.1
41Shot attempts57
24Faceoffs won24
1Power plays4
8Penalty minutes4
13Hits22
10Blocked shots7
12Giveaways7
8Takeaways7

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.

Buffalo Sabres

Forward lines

  1. bestOkposo – Asplund – Cozens12:27

    xG 0.66–0.39 (63%)attempts 8–5goals 0–1

  2. Tuch – Mittelstadt – Krebs9:22

    xG 0.43–0.22 (66%)attempts 8–9goals 0–0

  3. Skinner – Olofsson – Thompson11:07

    xG 0.58–0.68 (46%)attempts 12–16goals 1–1

  4. Girgensons – Hinostroza – Bjork8:04

    xG 0.00–0.51 (0%)attempts 0–8goals 0–0

Defence pairs

  1. bestFitzgerald – Bryson10:38

    xG 0.49–0.29 (63%)attempts 8–10goals 0–0

  2. Jokiharju – Power13:57

    xG 0.63–0.67 (48%)attempts 9–11goals 1–0

  3. Samuelsson – Dahlin15:56

    xG 0.58–0.85 (40%)attempts 11–16goals 0–1

New Jersey Devils

Forward lines

  1. bestZacha – Kuokkanen – Zetterlund8:42

    xG 0.69–0.12 (85%)attempts 14–3goals 1–1

  2. Bratt – Hischier – Sharangovich13:05

    xG 0.56–0.61 (48%)attempts 11–8goals 0–0

  3. Johnsson – Bastian – McLeod7:55

    xG 0.28–0.34 (45%)attempts 7–5goals 0–1

  4. Tatar – Boqvist – Mercer9:00

    xG 0.40–0.58 (41%)attempts 7–10goals 0–0

Defence pairs

  1. bestSubban – Okhotiuk14:36

    xG 0.62–0.14 (82%)attempts 17–6goals 1–0

  2. Hamilton – Bahl14:25

    xG 0.82–0.66 (55%)attempts 15–10goals 1–1

  3. Severson – Graves15:38

    xG 0.69–0.86 (44%)attempts 9–14goals 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.

NJD 3.1 xGBUF 2.6 xG
0123P1P2P3EndxG

Tempo: attempts, hits and takeaways per minute

NJDBUF

Win probability

Model-based

How each goal and each minute changed the likely winner.

Win probability

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

Excitement 69/100 · #478 of 1312 this seasonSwing 1.15 · 7 goals in reach · 2-goal lead cutComeback index 45% (winner's lowest chance)
BUF 100%5050%50NJD 100%P1P2P3EndBiggest swing +23 pts

Did the better team win?

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

Based on shot quality alone, New Jersey Devils win this game 59% of the time.

NJD winsBUF wins

Simulated goal difference (NJD − BUF), 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).