Mon, Dec 29, 2025·Enterprise Center, St. Louis
Buffalo Sabres 4, St. Louis Blues 2
Expected result
Based on shot quality alone, Buffalo Sabres win this game 83% of the time.
By period
Goals and shots on goal in each period.
| Team | P1 | P2 | P3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF | 18 | 114 | 212 | 434 |
| STL | 29 | 07 | 02 | 218 |
Goals, with shots on goal in grey.
Scoring
Every goal, with the change it made to the home team's win probability.
- P1 2:19BUFNoah OstlundAssists: Josh Norris · Wrist, 0.14 xG1–0
- P1 5:08STLBrayden SchennAssists: Otto Stenberg, Jordan Kyrou · Wrist, 0.09 xG1–1
- P1 8:09STLJimmy SnuggerudAssists: Robby Fabbri, Colton Parayko · Wrist, 0.14 xG1–2
- P2 15:17BUFAlex TuchAssists: Mattias Samuelsson · Snap, 0.04 xG2–2
- P3 1:46BUFZach BensonGWGAssists: Jack Quinn, Ryan McLeod · Bat, 0.11 xG3–2
- P3 18:44BUFPeyton KrebsENAssists: Beck Malenstyn · Wrist, 0.33 xG4–2
Penalties (4)
- P1 10:31BUFZach Metsa: High sticking2 min
- P1 0:00STLCam Fowler: Hooking2 min
- P3 9:38STLJustin Faulk: Interference2 min
- P3 15:55STLPavel Buchnevich: High sticking2 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.
20:00
P1
- P1 20:00Sundqvist won the faceoff against Dunne
- Goal
- Shot
- Miss
- Block
- Hit
- Takeaway
- Giveaway
- Faceoff
- Penalty
The numbers
Team totals, side by side.
Line combinations that worked
Model-basedEach 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
- bestMcLeod – Quinn – Benson10:29
xG 0.99–0.27 (78%)attempts 21–5goals 1–0
- Thompson – Krebs – Doan11:14
xG 0.59–0.34 (64%)attempts 12–7goals 0–0
- Tuch – Norris – Ostlund8:50
xG 0.36–0.15 (71%)attempts 12–6goals 2–1
- Greenway – Malenstyn – Dunne10:30
xG 0.12–0.10 (55%)attempts 8–6goals 0–0
Defence pairs
- bestKesselring – Power11:12
xG 0.73–0.16 (82%)attempts 22–6goals 0–0
- Samuelsson – Byram4:10
xG 0.34–0.00 (100%)attempts 5–1goals 0–0
- Dahlin – Power2:15
xG 0.11–0.00 (100%)attempts 3–2goals 0–0
St. Louis Blues
Forward lines
- bestFabbri – Snuggerud – Dvorsky5:47
xG 0.32–0.18 (64%)attempts 9–7goals 1–0
- Schenn – Snuggerud – Stenberg2:38
xG 0.02–0.03 (43%)attempts 1–1goals 0–0
- Schenn – Kyrou – Stenberg7:20
xG 0.25–0.44 (36%)attempts 5–12goals 1–1
- Buchnevich – Thomas – Neighbours11:39
xG 0.37–0.63 (37%)attempts 8–10goals 0–1
Defence pairs
- Faulk – Tucker10:05
xG 0.17–0.16 (51%)attempts 5–6goals 1–0
- Fowler – Parayko2:10
xG 0.14–0.29 (33%)attempts 3–6goals 0–0
- Faulk – Fowler7:37
xG 0.11–0.35 (24%)attempts 2–9goals 0–0
How the game flowed
Model-basedChance quality for each side, minute by minute, with pressure underneath.
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.
Tempo: attempts, hits and takeaways per minute
Win probability
Model-basedHow each goal and each minute changed the likely winner.
STL's chance of winning through the game. Above the middle line STL is favoured, below it BUF. Dots are goals.
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 83% of the time.
Simulated goal difference (STL − BUF), 10,000 replays
The outlined bar is the actual result (excluding the shootout).