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Ice Lab

Sat, Dec 30, 2023·KeyBank Center, Buffalo

Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Buffalo Sabres 3 (OT)

Expected result

Based on shot quality alone, Buffalo Sabres win this game 81% of the time.

BUF winsCBJ wins

By period

Goals and shots on goal in each period.

TeamP1P2P3OTTotal
CBJ17160700220
BUF01311511212342

Goals, with shots on goal in grey.

Scoring

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

  1. P1 19:47CBJDamon SeversonAssists: Dmitri Voronkov, Egor Chinakhov · Snap, 0.21 xG1–0
  2. P2 0:40BUFJack QuinnAssists: Dylan Cozens, Owen Power · Wrist, 0.25 xG1–1
  3. P2 13:45CBJAdam FantilliAssists: Justin Danforth, Cole Sillinger · Wrist, 0.11 xG2–1
  4. P3 11:52BUFCasey MittelstadtAssists: Zach Benson, Mattias Samuelsson · Wrist, 0.03 xG2–2
  5. OT 1:20BUFJeff SkinnerGWGAssists: Owen Power, Tage Thompson · Slap, 0.27 xG2–3
Penalties (2)
  1. P2 11:38CBJAdam Fantilli: Hooking2 min
  2. P2 14:33BUFPeyton Krebs: Boarding2 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.

CBJ00 SOG · 0.0 xG

20:00

P1

0.0 xG · 0 SOG0BUF
46% to win54% to win
← CBJ attackBUF attack →
  1. P1 20:00Cozens won the faceoff against Voronkov
  • Goal
  • Shot
  • Miss
  • Block
  • Hit
  • Takeaway
  • Giveaway
  • Faceoff
  • Penalty

The numbers

Team totals, side by side.

CBJBUF
20Shots on goal42
1.7Expected goals3.6
36Shot attempts79
23Faceoffs won31
1Power plays1
2Penalty minutes2
18Hits15
21Blocked shots6
2Giveaways6
5Takeaways11

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.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Forward lines

  1. Gaunce – Roslovic – Texier9:31

    xG 0.27–0.34 (44%)attempts 7–14goals 0–1

  2. Gaudreau – Danforth – Fantilli11:52

    xG 0.18–0.49 (27%)attempts 5–13goals 0–0

  3. Marchenko – Voronkov – Chinakhov11:32

    xG 0.66–1.04 (39%)attempts 13–16goals 1–1

  4. Bemstrom – Johnson – Sillinger11:00

    xG 0.05–0.85 (6%)attempts 4–19goals 0–0

Defence pairs

  1. Severson – Provorov16:29

    xG 0.60–0.85 (41%)attempts 14–17goals 1–2

  2. Gudbranson – Christiansen18:29

    xG 0.23–1.03 (18%)attempts 5–30goals 0–0

  3. Bean – Jiricek15:06

    xG 0.18–1.13 (14%)attempts 6–28goals 0–0

Buffalo Sabres

Forward lines

  1. bestCozens – Quinn – Peterka14:40

    xG 1.21–0.24 (84%)attempts 20–7goals 1–0

  2. Skinner – Tuch – Thompson13:20

    xG 0.91–0.18 (84%)attempts 27–6goals 0–0

  3. Greenway – Mittelstadt – Benson12:21

    xG 0.48–0.08 (86%)attempts 13–7goals 1–0

  4. Okposo – Robinson – Krebs7:12

    xG 0.06–0.18 (26%)attempts 5–5goals 0–0

Defence pairs

  1. bestJokiharju – Power16:16

    xG 0.91–0.37 (71%)attempts 24–11goals 1–0

  2. Samuelsson – Dahlin17:33

    xG 0.97–0.49 (67%)attempts 25–10goals 1–1

  3. Clifton – Johnson10:43

    xG 0.29–0.19 (61%)attempts 8–7goals 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 3.6 xGCBJ 1.7 xG
01234P1P2P3OTEndxG

Tempo: attempts, hits and takeaways per minute

BUFCBJ

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 CBJ. Dots are goals.

Excitement 50/100 · #716 of 1312 this seasonSwing 1.63 · 5 goals in reachComeback index 19% (winner's lowest chance)
CBJ 100%5050%50BUF 100%P1P2P3OTEndBiggest swing +34 pts

Did the better team win?

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

Based on shot quality alone, Buffalo Sabres win this game 81% of the time.

BUF winsCBJ wins

Simulated goal difference (BUF − CBJ), 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).