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Ice Lab

Mon, Jan 15, 2024·KeyBank Center, Buffalo

San Jose Sharks 0, Buffalo Sabres 3

Expected result

Based on shot quality alone, Buffalo Sabres win this game 65% of the time.

BUF winsSJS wins

By period

Goals and shots on goal in each period.

TeamP1P2P3Total
SJS0801208028
BUF07212116335

Goals, with shots on goal in grey.

Scoring

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

  1. P2 11:34BUFCasey MittelstadtGWGAssists: Kyle Okposo, Ryan Johnson · Wrist, 0.03 xG0–1
  2. P2 14:37BUFAlex TuchPPAssists: Jack Quinn, Casey Mittelstadt · Snap, 0.14 xG0–2
  3. P3 16:34BUFJordan GreenwayENAssists: Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Dahlin · Wrist, 0.66 xG0–3
Penalties (6)
  1. P2 13:36SJSFabian Zetterlund: High sticking2 min · PPG
  2. P2 15:34BUFRyan Johnson: Holding2 min
  3. P3 5:40SJSKyle Burroughs: Interference2 min
  4. P3 5:40BUFZemgus Girgensons: Interference2 min
  5. P3 7:53BUFOwen Power: Hooking2 min
  6. P3 11:08SJSNikita Okhotiuk: 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.

SJS00 SOG · 0.0 xG

20:00

P1

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

The numbers

Team totals, side by side.

SJSBUF
28Shots on goal35
2.8Expected goals3.7
63Shot attempts63
29Faceoffs won27
2Power plays2
6Penalty minutes6
33Hits18
14Blocked shots17
1Giveaways2
7Takeaways4

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.

San Jose Sharks

Forward lines

  1. bestGranlund – Duclair – Zetterlund11:34

    xG 0.57–0.05 (92%)attempts 16–4goals 0–0

  2. Hertl – Barabanov – Eklund2:53

    xG 0.52–0.06 (89%)attempts 7–1goals 0–0

  3. Bailey – Kunin – Barabanov7:22

    xG 0.11–0.12 (48%)attempts 10–4goals 0–0

  4. Hertl – Zadina – Eklund8:02

    xG 0.24–0.39 (38%)attempts 8–13goals 0–0

Defence pairs

  1. bestFerraro – Thrun2:54

    xG 0.40–0.26 (61%)attempts 6–6goals 0–0

  2. Vlasic – Ferraro14:20

    xG 0.68–0.59 (53%)attempts 21–11goals 0–1

  3. Burroughs – Okhotiuk12:04

    xG 0.20–0.26 (44%)attempts 12–11goals 0–0

Buffalo Sabres

Forward lines

  1. bestGreenway – Mittelstadt – Robinson3:50

    xG 0.18–0.12 (60%)attempts 2–3goals 0–0

  2. Girgensons – Cozens – Quinn2:05

    xG 0.00–0.00attempts 0–1goals 0–0

  3. Okposo – Greenway – Mittelstadt4:37

    xG 0.17–0.23 (43%)attempts 3–6goals 1–0

  4. Okposo – Girgensons – Krebs6:12

    xG 0.09–0.17 (34%)attempts 4–8goals 0–0

Defence pairs

  1. bestClifton – Johnson13:10

    xG 1.18–0.48 (71%)attempts 17–14goals 0–0

  2. Jokiharju – Dahlin14:41

    xG 0.86–0.19 (82%)attempts 19–11goals 0–0

  3. Johnson – Power13:08

    xG 0.20–1.28 (13%)attempts 10–19goals 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 3.7 xGSJS 2.8 xG
01234P1P2P3EndxG

Tempo: attempts, hits and takeaways per minute

BUFSJS

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 SJS. Dots are goals.

Excitement 3/100 · #1276 of 1312 this seasonSwing 0.54 · 3 goals in reachComeback index 53% (winner's lowest chance)
SJS 100%5050%50BUF 100%P1P2P3EndBiggest swing +22 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 65% of the time.

BUF winsSJS wins

Simulated goal difference (BUF − SJS), 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).