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Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres

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Recap

written from the game data

The Buffalo Sabres beat the Washington Capitals 6-2. The Capitals scored first; the Sabres answered. The Sabres led 3-2 after two periods. The biggest swing in win probability was JJ Peterka's goal at 10:54 of the second period, which took the Sabres' chances from 72% to 87%. Expected goals favored the Sabres, 3.5 to 2.6; shots on goal were WSH 26, BUF 35. With league-average goaltending at both ends, the Sabres win a replay of these chances 65% of the time. Charlie Lindgren stopped 25 of 31 (.806), 2.8 goals below expected; Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 24 of 26 (.923), 0.6 goals saved above expected. Three stars: 1. JJ Peterka (2 G, 1 A), 2. Alex Tuch (1 G, 2 A), 3. Rasmus Dahlin (1 G, 2 A).

Three stars

  1. ★
    BUF
    J. Peterka2 G, 1 A
  2. ★★
    BUF
    A. Tuch1 G, 2 A
  3. ★★★
    BUF
    R. Dahlin1 G, 2 A

Line score

goals · shots on goal beneath
Goals and shots on goal by period
Team1st2nd3rdT
WSHWSH1418014226
BUFBUF213112310635

Scoring

8 goals

1st period

  1. WSH
    slapxG 0.04win prob +12 ptsVideo
    1-0
    2:46
  2. BUF
    R. Dahlin (37), O. Power (24)
    tip-inxG 0.08win prob +15 ptsVideo
    1-1
    15:42
  3. BUF
    J. Peterka(27)PPG
    A. Tuch (33), Z. Benson (15)
    wristxG 0.12win prob +11 pts
    1-2
    16:50

2nd period

  1. BUF
    A. Tuch (34)
    wristxG 0.19win prob +16 ptsVideo
    1-3
    10:54
  2. WSH
    D. Strome(26)PPG
    wristxG 0.12win prob +12 ptsVideo
    2-3
    19:14

3rd period

  1. BUF
    R. Dahlin(18)PPG
    slapxG 0.04win prob +13 ptsVideo
    2-4
    3:03
  2. BUF
    wristxG 0.18win prob +5 ptsVideo
    2-5
    4:48
  3. BUF
    wristxG 0.13win prob +1 ptsVideo
    2-6
    5:33

Penalties

WSH 4 PIM·BUF 6 PIM

1st

  • 16:00WSHRasmus Sandin · Hookingdrawn by Victor Olofsson2 min

2nd

  • 18:51BUFPeyton Krebs · Holdingdrawn by Nicolas Aube-Kubel2 min

3rd

  • 0:38BUFJJ Peterka · Trippingdrawn by John Carlson2 min
  • 1:46WSHMax Pacioretty · Holdingdrawn by Rasmus Dahlin2 min
  • 17:58BUFOwen Power · Trippingdrawn by Ivan Miroshnichenko2 min

Win probability

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

Biggest swing: JJ Peterka, 2nd 10:54 — BUF 72% → 87%

Shot map

unblocked attempts · size = our xG
T. Thompson · On goal · xG 0.32J. Peterka · Goal · xG 0.19A. Tuch · Missed · xG 0.18T. Thompson · Goal · xG 0.18J. Peterka · On goal · xG 0.18A. Tuch · On goal · xG 0.17J. Quinn · On goal · xG 0.16J. Skinner · Missed · xG 0.16Z. Benson · On goal · xG 0.15A. Tuch · Goal · xG 0.13J. Peterka · Goal · xG 0.12O. Power · On goal · xG 0.12J. Quinn · Missed · xG 0.11V. Olofsson · On goal · xG 0.10Z. Girgensons · Goal · xG 0.08Z. Benson · On goal · xG 0.08T. Thompson · On goal · xG 0.08P. Krebs · On goal · xG 0.08J. Peterka · Missed · xG 0.07R. Dahlin · On goal · xG 0.07J. Skinner · Missed · xG 0.07J. Skinner · On goal · xG 0.07D. Cozens · On goal · xG 0.06O. Power · Missed · xG 0.05J. Quinn · Missed · xG 0.05J. Skinner · On goal · xG 0.04T. Thompson · Missed · xG 0.04R. Dahlin · Goal · xG 0.04R. Dahlin · On goal · xG 0.03V. Olofsson · On goal · xG 0.03A. Tuch · Missed · xG 0.03C. Clifton · Missed · xG 0.03J. Quinn · On goal · xG 0.03J. Skinner · On goal · xG 0.02D. Cozens · On goal · xG 0.02A. Tuch · On goal · xG 0.02R. Dahlin · On goal · xG 0.02E. Robinson · On goal · xG 0.02J. Quinn · Missed · xG 0.02H. Jokiharju · On goal · xG 0.01A. Tuch · On goal · xG 0.01D. Cozens · On goal · xG 0.01Z. Girgensons · On goal · xG 0.01C. Clifton · Missed · xG 0.01H. Jokiharju · On goal · xG 0.01O. Power · On goal · xG 0.01T. Thompson · On goal · xG 0.01
BUF6 G · 3.5 xG · 47 att
Tap a shot for who, when and how likely
GoalOn goalMissedBigger = higher xG

Expected goals

WSHvsBUF
2.62 G
All situations
6 G3.5
1.81 G
Even strength
4 G3.1
0.91 G
Power play
2 G0.3
0.00 G
Shorthanded
0 G0.1

Expected goals: the chance each unblocked attempt scores, from our shot model, summed. 86 unblocked attempts.

Deserve to win

on the chances created
WSH35%65%BUF

Flurry-adjusted xG 2.57 – 3.48

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

WSHvsBUF
26
Shots on goal
35
56%
Faceoffs
44%
1/3
Power play
2/2
4
Penalty minutes
6
24
Hits
23
18
Blocked shots
17
2
Giveaways
5
6
Takeaways
6

Box score

every player line
Washington Capitals skaters
SkaterGAP+/-SOGixGHitBlkPIMFO%TOI
74J. CarlsonD011-110.05120—23:54
42M. FehérváryD101010.05220—20:36
38R. SandinD000-210.01302—19:27
3N. JensenD000-100.00110—19:08
8A. OvechkinL011-230.32400—18:58
24C. McMichaelL000-210.030005018:11
57T. van RiemsdykD000-110.02020—16:56
23M. SgarbossaC011+120.24210016:43
27A. AlexeyevD000-110.04220—16:33
17D. StromeC101-150.600108715:57
29H. LapierreC011+140.291204415:46
63I. MiroshnichenkoL000000.06210—15:01
15S. MilanoL000-110.07000—14:35
67M. PaciorettyL000-120.18322—14:35
21A. ProtasL000010.45100—13:56
47B. MalenstynL000-110.01020—13:03
26N. DowdC000-100.001004412:42
96N. Aube-KubelR000-210.21100—12:00
Washington Capitals goalies
GoalieSASVGASV%xGAGSAxTOI
79C. Lindgren(L)31256.8063.21-2.7945:33
35D. Kuemper4401.0000.28+0.2814:19

Season series

BUF leads 2-1

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