Colorado Avalanche vs. Buffalo SabresDec 3, 2024

FinalTuesday, Dec 3, 2024· KeyBank Center

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Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
COL	0	1	4	5		COL	9	15	17	41
BUF	4	0	0	4		BUF	12	11	7	30

: COL 75BUF 60
: COL 3.88BUF 4.04
PP goals: COL 0BUF 0
Hits: COL 24BUF 19
Blocks: COL 13BUF 11
PIM: COL 4BUF 2
: COL 51%BUF 49%

Fantasy takeaways

Generated from the play-by-play, shifts and season context. No opinions, just what changed.

Colorado Avalanche edge Buffalo Sabres 5–4

Colorado Avalanche beat Buffalo Sabres 5–4 at BUF. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) led the scoring with 2G 1A. New look for BUF: Cozens–Peterka–Benson skated 11:45 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (30.8% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

Points
Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist (3 points) on 9 shots in 23:33.MacKinnon
Points
Tage Thompson had two goals (2 points) on 5 shots in 20:52.Thompson
Points
Logan O'Connor had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 15:37.O'Connor
Points
Calvin de Haan had 2 assists (2 points) on 7 shots in 14:55.de Haan
New line
New look for BUF: Cozens–Peterka–Benson skated 11:45 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (30.8% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Cozens Peterka Benson
Goalie
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) faced 41 shots and stopped 36 (.878), +14 against a season average of 27.1; the loss.Luukkonen
New line
New look for BUF: Zucker–Tuch–Thompson skated 11:22 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (41.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Zucker Tuch Thompson
Usage
Jason Zucker (BUF) played 20:54, +4:58 up on his 15:56 season average over 72 games.Zucker

Shot map

Both teams on one rink, filtered by strength and period.

Shot map

Every attempt, sized by expected goals. Goals are rings, shots on goal dots, misses hollow, blocks crosses.

Strength

Period

Team

← COL attacks left (bottom on phones)BUF attacks right (top on phones) →

BUF
COL
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 135 of 135 attempts · BUF 60 · COL 75

Game flow

Cumulative expected goals and shot attempts, with power plays shaded and goals marked.

Cumulative shot attempts

BUF
COL
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

BUF pressure
COL pressure
Goal
Control (|PI| > 0.25)

: descriptive only, the team with more pressure scored the next goal about half the time. In control: COL 30% of the game, BUF 33%.

Shift chart

Every shift, grouped by line and pair; bars are coloured by strength state. Click a player to highlight.

Shifts

BUF

COL

goals / penalties

Even strength
Power play
Penalty kill
Goal
Penalty

Sequence card

5-on-5 possession-chain numbers from the sequence engine (Draw Equity and control cover all situations).

Sequence card
Stat	COL	BUF
	85	62
	4.30	4.08
	3.94	3.51
	12	17
	2	2
	22	26
	−0.006	+0.006
	30%	33%

Definitions: sequence xG, transition attempts, Draw Equity, control and the Pressure Index.

Lines used

Detected from who actually shared the ice, with time together. Percentages are the unit's share of shot attempts.

Colorado Avalanche

L1Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Rantanen
17:2658% CF
L2O'Connor – Kiviranta – Ivan
8:5372% CF
L3Nichushkin – Mittelstadt – Kovalenko
6:4765% CF
L4Wagner – Kelly – Prishchepov
2:1660% CF
D1Toews – Makar
19:4346% CF
D2Girard – Malinski
13:4163% CF
D3de Haan – Ludvig
12:1052% CF

PP1Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Nichushkin – Rantanen – Makar
1:3450% CF
PP2Toews – Girard – Mittelstadt – Kovalenko – Ivan
0:18
PK1FKelly – O'Connor
1:14
PK2FNichushkin – Kiviranta
0:58
PK1DToews – Makar
3:15
PK2DGirard – Malinski
0:58

Current COL line combinations →

Buffalo Sabres

L1Cozens – Peterka – Benson
11:4531% CF
L2Zucker – Tuch – Thompson
11:2242% CF
L3Aube-Kubel – Malenstyn – Krebs
9:4746% CF
L4McLeod – Quinn – Kulich
5:3453% CF
D1Dahlin – Byram
13:1252% CF
D2Jokiharju – Power
10:3142% CF
D3Clifton – Bryson
9:0740% CF

PP1Zucker – Thompson – Dahlin – Cozens – Peterka
3:1450% CF
PP2Tuch – Quinn – Power – Kulich – Benson
1:56
PK1FTuch – McLeod
1:29
PK2FMalenstyn – Thompson
0:21
PK1DClifton – Power
1:26
PK2DBryson – Byram
0:21

Current BUF line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

Box score

Skaters grouped by the line they played on; CF% is the 5v5 share of shot attempts while on the ice.

Colorado Avalanche

COL skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Mikko Rantanen R	L1	0	1	1	+1	2	0.22	0	1	0	25:58	—	—	50	42
Artturi Lehkonen L	L1	1	0	1	+1	3	0.91	0	1	0	24:33	—	—	53	41
Nathan MacKinnon C	L1	2	1	3	+1	9	0.66	2	2	0	23:33	—	—	57	53
Logan O'Connor R	L2	1	1	2	+1	3	0.42	2	0	0	15:37	—	—	75	77
Joel Kiviranta L	L2	1	0	1	+2	2	0.21	4	0	0	13:36	—	—	75	92
Ivan Ivan C	L2	0	0	0	0	0	0.02	1	0	0	12:17	—	—	64	60
Valeri Nichushkin R	L3	0	0	0	-1	1	0.10	0	1	0	17:37	—	—	55	61
Casey Mittelstadt C	L3	0	0	0	-2	1	0.13	1	0	0	12:00	—	—	42	30
Nikolai Kovalenko R	L3	0	0	0	0	1	0.16	1	0	2	9:35	—	—	68	78
Parker Kelly C	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.03	3	0	0	10:12	—	—	62	68
Chris Wagner R	L4	0	0	0	0	1	0.09	2	1	0	6:16	—	—	55	72
Nikita Prishchepov C	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	0	3:37	—	—	67	81
Devon Toews D	D1	0	1	1	0	2	0.07	0	2	0	28:27	—	—	52	35
Cale Makar D	D1	0	0	0	+1	1	0.32	2	0	0	27:20	—	—	50	35
Samuel Girard D	D2	0	1	1	+2	3	0.23	1	2	0	17:33	—	—	65	90
Sam Malinski D	D2	0	0	0	+1	1	0.07	1	2	0	16:43	—	—	71	92
Calvin de Haan D	D3	0	2	2	0	7	0.15	2	0	2	14:55	—	—	58	58
John Ludvig D	D3	0	0	0	-2	4	0.08	2	1	0	14:11	—	—	58	46

COL goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Scott Wedgewood	W	22	22	0	.1000	2.74	48:11
Alexandar Georgiev(start)	—	8	4	4	.500	1.30	11:49

Buffalo Sabres

BUF skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Dylan Cozens C	L1	0	1	1	-1	1	0.17	0	1	0	18:52	—	—	30	24
JJ Peterka R	L1	1	0	1	-1	2	0.20	0	0	0	18:20	—	—	29	24
Zach Benson L	L1	0	1	1	-1	2	0.22	0	0	2	14:53	—	—	29	28
Jason Zucker L	L2	0	1	1	+1	2	0.13	0	0	0	20:54	—	—	47	52
Tage Thompson C	L2	2	0	2	+1	5	0.92	1	0	0	20:52	—	—	40	51
Alex Tuch R	L2	0	1	1	+1	1	0.36	0	2	0	20:20	—	—	36	47
Peyton Krebs C	L3	0	0	0	0	1	0.14	3	0	0	12:25	—	—	50	50
Nicolas Aube-Kubel R	L3	0	1	1	0	2	0.21	2	0	0	11:44	—	—	50	56
Beck Malenstyn L	L3	1	0	1	0	2	0.13	4	0	0	11:02	—	—	48	56
Ryan McLeod C	L4	0	0	0	-1	2	0.17	0	1	0	13:02	—	—	49	59
Jiri Kulich C	L4	0	0	0	-1	2	0.59	1	1	0	12:22	—	—	46	72
Jack Quinn R	L4	0	0	0	-1	3	0.64	0	0	0	10:23	—	—	64	76
Bowen Byram D	D1	0	1	1	-1	2	0.08	0	1	0	26:30	—	—	42	30
Rasmus Dahlin D	D1	0	0	0	+1	1	0.04	0	0	0	17:16	—	—	52	51
Owen Power D	D2	0	0	0	-3	0	0.00	0	2	0	21:54	—	—	35	23
Henri Jokiharju D	D2	0	0	0	-1	2	0.03	3	1	0	17:27	—	—	44	67
Connor Clifton D	D3	0	1	1	+1	0	0.00	4	1	0	16:06	—	—	38	48
Jacob Bryson D	D3	0	0	0	+1	0	0.00	1	1	0	14:54	—	—	46	68

BUF goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen(start)	L	41	36	5	.878	3.88	58:44

Goal anatomy

Animated replays from NHL EDGE tracking, with the entry, passes and shot speed for each goal.

Tage Thompson (BUF) 1st 3:22 · assists Connor Clifton, Alex Tuch · Rebound · 9.0 mph shot.

Tage Thompson · 1st 3:22 · BUF

Play: rebound
Passes: 2
Shot: 9.0 mph
Distance: 4 ft
Type: rebound

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Tage Thompson · 1st 6:39 · BUF

Play: rush
Entry: pass
Odd man: No
Passes: 0
Shot: 29.7 mph
Distance: 10 ft
Entry to goal: 2.8 s

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

JJ Peterka · 1st 6:50 · BUF

Play: dump-and-chase
Entry: dump
Odd man: No
Passes: 0
Shot: 46.5 mph
Distance: 12 ft
Entry to goal: 7.1 s
Type: one-timer

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Beck Malenstyn · 1st 11:49 · BUF

Play: rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 0
Shot: 14.4 mph
Distance: 7 ft
Entry to goal: 2.8 s

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Nathan MacKinnon · 2nd 2:24 · COL

Play: turnover-forecheck
Passes: 0
Shot: 57.4 mph
Distance: 25 ft

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Joel Kiviranta · 3rd 1:19 · COL

Play: rebound
Entry: carry
Odd man: 3-on-2
Passes: 0
Shot: 29.2 mph
Distance: 7 ft
Entry to goal: 3.2 s
Type: rebound

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Logan O'Connor · 3rd 4:30 · COL

Play: rebound
Passes: 0
Shot: 58.9 mph
Distance: 18 ft
Type: rebound

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Nathan MacKinnon · 3rd 7:39 · COL

Play: deflection
Passes: 2
Shot: 39.7 mph
Distance: 15 ft
Type: deflection

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Artturi Lehkonen · 3rd 15:38 · COL

Play: rebound
Passes: 3
Shot: 8.0 mph
Distance: 7 ft
Type: rebound

Watch on NHL.com → · Tracking-derived via NHL EDGE

Methodology

Shot locations come from the NHL play-by-play, normalised so each shooter attacks the same way, then flipped so the home team attacks right. On-ice stats and lines come from the shift charts: a unit is the exact set of skaters sharing the ice, and CF% is the share of all shot attempts while they were out. Head-to-head cells are 5v5 time against each opponent. Expected goals and the Pressure Index appear as their models are released.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Buffalo SabresDec 3, 2024

Fantasy takeaways

Colorado Avalanche edge Buffalo Sabres 5–4

Shot map

Shot map

Game flow

Cumulative shot attempts

Shift chart

Shifts

Sequence card

Lines used

Colorado Avalanche

Buffalo Sabres

Scoring summary

1st period

2nd period

3rd period

Box score

Colorado Avalanche

Buffalo Sabres

Goal anatomy

Tage Thompson · 1st 3:22 · BUF

Tage Thompson · 1st 6:39 · BUF

JJ Peterka · 1st 6:50 · BUF

Beck Malenstyn · 1st 11:49 · BUF

Nathan MacKinnon · 2nd 2:24 · COL

Joel Kiviranta · 3rd 1:19 · COL

Logan O'Connor · 3rd 4:30 · COL

Nathan MacKinnon · 3rd 7:39 · COL

Artturi Lehkonen · 3rd 15:38 · COL