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Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals

FinalTV MSG-B, MNMT·Capital One Arena

Recap

written from the game data

The Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-2. The Capitals scored first and never trailed. The Capitals led 4-2 after two periods. The biggest swing in win probability was Aliaksei Protas's goal at 6:06 of the second period, which took the Capitals' chances from 68% to 84%. Expected goals favored the Sabres, 3.8 to 2.9; shots on goal were BUF 39, WSH 28. With league-average goaltending at both ends, the Sabres win a replay of these chances 64% of the time. Colten Ellis stopped 20 of 23 (.870), 0.9 goals below expected; Logan Thompson stopped 37 of 39 (.949), 1.8 goals saved above expected. Three stars: 1. Logan Thompson (37 saves, .949), 2. Connor McMichael (1 G, 1 A), 3. Aliaksei Protas (1 G, 1 A).

Three stars

  1. ★
    WSH
    L. Thompson37 saves, .949
  2. ★★
    WSH
    C. McMichael1 G, 1 A
  3. ★★★
    WSH
    A. Protas1 G, 1 A

Line score

goals · shots on goal beneath
Goals and shots on goal by period
Team1st2nd3rdT
BUFBUF213015011239
WSHWSH31117210628

Scoring

8 goals

1st period

  1. WSH
    snapxG 0.20win prob +12 ptsVideo
    0-1
    3:15
  2. WSH
    tip-inxG 0.09win prob +14 ptsVideo
    0-2
    3:35
  3. WSH
    snapxG 0.25win prob +10 ptsVideo
    0-3
    5:52
  4. BUF
    J. Norris (18), A. Tuch (32)
    snapxG 0.13win prob +10 ptsVideo
    1-3
    6:30
  5. BUF
    snapxG 0.41win prob +14 ptsVideo
    2-3
    12:15

2nd period

  1. WSH
    Unassisted
    snapxG 0.13win prob +15 ptsVideo
    2-4
    6:06

3rd period

  1. WSH
    snapxG 0.04win prob +5 ptsVideo
    2-5
    6:26
  2. WSH
    T. Wilson(29)SHG
    backhandxG 0.21win prob +1 ptsVideo
    2-6
    8:55

Penalties

BUF 14 PIM·WSH 20 PIM

2nd

  • 4:21BUFZach Benson · Interferencedrawn by Tom Wilson2 min
  • 5:08WSHRyan Leonard · Trippingdrawn by Zach Metsa2 min
  • 10:58WSHDylan Strome · Trippingdrawn by Zach Benson2 min
  • 12:22WSHConnor McMichael · Trippingdrawn by Josh Doan2 min
  • 19:42BUFMattias Samuelsson · Hookingdrawn by Pierre-Luc Dubois2 min

3rd

  • 3:13WSHTrevor van Riemsdyk · Holdingdrawn by Zach Benson2 min
  • 8:32WSHCole Hutson · Hookingdrawn by Jack Quinn2 min
  • 17:15WSHMartin Fehérváry · Misconduct10 min
  • 17:15BUFZach Benson · Misconduct10 min

Win probability

ours · the whole game
Tap or hover the chart for the moment-by-moment number
WSH goalBUF goalFinal: WSH 100%

Biggest swing: Aliaksei Protas, 2nd 6:06 — WSH 68% → 84%

Shot map

unblocked attempts · size = our xG
C. McMichael · Goal · xG 0.25T. Wilson · Goal · xG 0.21J. Chychrun · Goal · xG 0.20D. Strome · On goal · xG 0.19T. Wilson · Missed · xG 0.16A. Ovechkin · On goal · xG 0.16C. McMichael · On goal · xG 0.14A. Protas · Goal · xG 0.13C. McMichael · On goal · xG 0.13A. Ovechkin · Missed · xG 0.11D. Strome · Goal · xG 0.09D. Strome · On goal · xG 0.08A. Ovechkin · Missed · xG 0.07C. McMichael · Missed · xG 0.07D. Strome · Missed · xG 0.07A. Protas · On goal · xG 0.07J. Sourdif · Missed · xG 0.07J. Chychrun · Missed · xG 0.06C. McMichael · On goal · xG 0.06A. Ovechkin · On goal · xG 0.06A. Ovechkin · Missed · xG 0.05E. Frank · Missed · xG 0.04B. Duhaime · Missed · xG 0.04A. Ovechkin · On goal · xG 0.04R. Leonard · Goal · xG 0.04C. McMichael · On goal · xG 0.04A. Protas · On goal · xG 0.04J. Sourdif · Missed · xG 0.03P. Dubois · On goal · xG 0.03R. Sandin · Missed · xG 0.03J. Chychrun · On goal · xG 0.02A. Protas · On goal · xG 0.02R. Leonard · On goal · xG 0.02R. Sandin · Missed · xG 0.02P. Dubois · Missed · xG 0.02A. Ovechkin · Missed · xG 0.02C. Hutson · On goal · xG 0.01R. Sandin · Missed · xG 0.01A. Ovechkin · On goal · xG 0.01R. Sandin · On goal · xG 0.01J. Chychrun · Missed · xG 0.01C. Hutson · On goal · xG 0.01M. Roy · On goal · xG 0.01D. Strome · On goal · xG 0.00A. Beauvillier · On goal · xG 0.00
WSH6 G · 2.9 xG · 45 att
Tap a shot for who, when and how likely
GoalOn goalMissedBigger = higher xG

Expected goals

BUFvsWSH
3.82 G
All situations
6 G2.9
2.72 G
Even strength
5 G2.5
1.10 G
Power play
0 G0.3
0.00 G
Shorthanded
1 G0.2

Expected goals: the chance each unblocked attempt scores, from our shot model, summed. 93 unblocked attempts.

Deserve to win

on the chances created
BUF64%36%WSH

Flurry-adjusted xG 3.74 – 2.88

How often each side wins a replay of these chances with league-average goaltending at both ends. Rebounds in a flurry are counted once, so a scramble is not three chances.

Team stats

BUFvsWSH
39
Shots on goal
28
52%
Faceoffs
48%
0/5
Power play
0/2
14
Penalty minutes
20
17
Hits
14
8
Blocked shots
11
17
Giveaways
18
3
Takeaways
9

Box score

every player line
Buffalo Sabres skaters
SkaterGAP+/-SOGixGHitBlkPIMFO%TOI
26R. DahlinD112+130.23100—22:28
4B. ByramD000-300.00100—20:59
25O. PowerD000-220.05000—20:22
23M. SamuelssonD000+220.02022—19:54
72T. ThompsonC000-350.811105719:20
22J. QuinnR000-360.53000—18:27
17J. ZuckerL000-110.1810010018:20
71R. McLeodC000-300.000006316:53
89A. TuchR011+150.28020—16:20
9J. NorrisC011040.601105915:48
6Z. BensonL000-230.260112—15:20
73Z. MetsaD000-300.02010—15:15
12J. GreenwayL011010.01100—13:32
64L. StanleyD000-230.03000—13:18
91J. DoanR000-310.10100—12:57
29B. MalenstynL101+110.50400—12:27
48T. KozakC000+100.003003312:15
19P. KrebsC000020.203003812:05
Buffalo Sabres goalies
GoalieSASVGASV%xGAGSAxTOI
92C. Ellis23203.8702.09-0.9154:08
34A. Lyon(L)523.4000.84-2.1605:52

Season series

WSH leads 2-1

Data: NHL. Model: Gridpex (expected goals and win probability built on NHL play-by-play).