Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay LightningDec 31, 2023

FinalSunday, Dec 31, 2023· Amalie Arena

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Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
MTL	0	2	1	3		MTL	9	13	7	29
TBL	0	2	2	4		TBL	4	7	9	20

: MTL 63TBL 50
: MTL 2.69TBL 2.65
PP goals: MTL 0TBL 0
Hits: MTL 30TBL 31
Blocks: MTL 17TBL 17
PIM: MTL 13TBL 19
: MTL 67%TBL 33%

Fantasy takeaways

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

Tampa Bay Lightning edge Montreal Canadiens 4–3

Tampa Bay Lightning beat Montreal Canadiens 4–3 at home. Nikita Kucherov (TBL) led the scoring with 1G 1A. Erik Cernak (TBL) played 6:39, −12:43 down on his 19:22 season average over 68 games.

Points
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 25:05.Kucherov
Points
Victor Hedman had 2 assists (2 points) on 3 shots in 29:52.Hedman
Usage
Erik Cernak (TBL) played 6:39, −12:43 down on his 19:22 season average over 68 games.Cernak
Usage
Nick Perbix (TBL) played 25:15, +8:17 up on his 16:58 season average over 76 games.Perbix
New line
New look for MTL: Gallagher–Anderson–Evans skated 6:22 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (47.1% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Gallagher Anderson Evans
New line
New look for TBL: Paul–Point–Hagel skated 5:40 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (66.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Paul Point Hagel
Usage
Johnathan Kovacevic (MTL) played 11:23, −5:13 down on his 16:36 season average over 61 games.Kovacevic
Usage
Justin Barron (MTL) played 11:04, −7:43 down on his 18:47 season average over 47 games.Barron

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

← MTL attacks left (bottom on phones)TBL attacks right (top on phones) →

TBL
MTL
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 113 of 113 attempts · TBL 50 · MTL 63

Game flow

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

Cumulative shot attempts

TBL
MTL
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

TBL pressure
MTL pressure
Goal
Control (|PI| > 0.25)

: descriptive only, the team with more pressure scored the next goal about half the time. In control: MTL 33% of the game, TBL 23%.

Shift chart

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

Shifts

TBL

MTL

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	MTL	TBL
	68	58
	3.04	3.17
	2.81	3.05
	17	11
	6	10
	18	13
	+0.085	−0.085
	33%	23%

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.

Montreal Canadiens

L1Suzuki – Caufield – Slafkovský
16:0362% CF
L2Gallagher – Anderson – Evans
6:2247% CF
L3Armia – Monahan – Ylonen
2:0480% CF
D1Savard – Matheson
14:1856% CF
D2Harris – Struble
7:3350% CF
D3Guhle – Barron
4:5033% CF

PP1Matheson – Monahan – Suzuki – Caufield – Slafkovský
1:19100% CF
PP2Gallagher – Matheson – Anderson – Evans – Struble
0:13
PK1FMonahan – Stephens
2:47
PK2FArmia – Evans
2:35
PK1DKovacevic – Struble
1:49
PK2DSavard – Matheson
1:04

Current MTL line combinations →

Tampa Bay Lightning

L1Stamkos – Kucherov – Cirelli
7:1239% CF
L2Paul – Point – Hagel
5:4067% CF
L3Motte – Eyssimont – Barré-Boulet
4:5956% CF
L4Watson – Glendening – Jeannot
1:58100% CF
D1Hedman – Perbix
15:0939% CF
D2de Haan – Raddysh
10:5556% CF
D3Fleury – Cernak
5:4225% CF

PP1Stamkos – Hedman – Kucherov – Paul – Point
3:39100% CF
PP2Kucherov – Raddysh – Cirelli – Hagel – Jeannot
1:28
PK1FCirelli – Hagel
1:18
PK2FGlendening – Motte
0:24
PK1Dde Haan – Raddysh
1:01
PK2DHedman – Perbix
0:41

Current TBL line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

2nd period

3:58
MTLCole Caufieldwrist0.21 xG
MTL: Suzuki, Harris, Caufield, Guhle, SlafkovskýTBL: Stamkos, Paul, Fleury, Cernak, Cirelli
MTL 1 – 0 TBL
11:59
MTLJohnathan Kovacevic (Samuel Montembeault)wrist0.00 xG
MTL: Gallagher, Anderson, Evans, Kovacevic, StrubleTBL: de Haan, Kucherov, Point, Raddysh, Hagel
MTL 2 – 0 TBL
14:01
TBLBrayden Point (Nick Paul, Brandon Hagel)wrist0.18 xG
MTL: Savard, Matheson, Suzuki, Caufield, SlafkovskýTBL: de Haan, Paul, Point, Raddysh, Hagel
MTL 2 – 1 TBL
17:36
TBLAustin Watson (Victor Hedman, Nick Perbix)wrist0.01 xG
MTL: Anderson, Stephens, Pezzetta, Struble, BarronTBL: Hedman, Watson, Motte, Raddysh, Jeannot
MTL 2 – 2 TBL

3rd period

7:49
TBLCalvin de Haan (Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos)wrist0.11 xG
MTL: Savard, Suzuki, Caufield, Guhle, SlafkovskýTBL: Stamkos, de Haan, Kucherov, Cirelli, Perbix
MTL 2 – 3 TBL
14:54
TBLNikita Kucherov (Victor Hedman, Anthony Cirelli)wrist0.21 xG
MTL: Savard, Gallagher, Anderson, Evans, GuhleTBL: Stamkos, Hedman, Kucherov, Cirelli, Perbix
MTL 2 – 4 TBL
17:55
MTLNick Suzuki (Juraj Slafkovský, Mike Matheson)snap0.06 xG
MTL: Matheson, Monahan, Suzuki, Caufield, Barron, SlafkovskýTBL: Stamkos, de Haan, Kucherov, Raddysh, Cirelli
MTL 3 – 4 TBL

Box score

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

Montreal Canadiens

MTL skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Nick Suzuki C	L1	1	0	1	0	1	0.07	5	0	2	23:33	—	—	62	43
Cole Caufield R	L1	1	0	1	0	4	0.57	0	1	0	23:11	—	—	59	42
Juraj Slafkovský L	L1	0	1	1	0	1	0.18	2	0	0	20:42	—	—	61	42
Jake Evans C	L2	0	0	0	0	1	0.32	2	1	0	18:07	—	—	54	57
Josh Anderson R	L2	0	0	0	-1	3	0.53	3	0	7	16:42	—	—	50	48
Brendan Gallagher R	L2	0	0	0	0	2	0.35	2	2	0	15:39	—	—	53	53
Sean Monahan C	L3	0	0	0	+1	2	0.11	0	1	0	20:07	—	—	44	31
Joel Armia R	L3	0	0	0	0	3	0.05	0	0	0	13:02	—	—	85	93
Jesse Ylonen R	L3	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	2	3	0	12:08	—	—	35	33
Mike Matheson D	D1	0	1	1	0	1	0.05	3	2	2	25:27	—	—	52	43
David Savard D	D1	0	0	0	-3	3	0.11	0	3	2	22:10	—	—	60	61
Jayden Struble D	D2	0	0	0	0	0	0.01	2	1	0	16:37	—	—	44	26
Jordan Harris D	D2	0	0	0	+1	1	0.03	0	0	0	14:35	—	—	63	76
Kaiden Guhle D	D3	0	0	0	-1	1	0.06	3	2	0	15:42	—	—	61	66
Justin Barron D	D3	0	0	0	0	3	0.16	2	0	0	11:04	—	—	43	21
Johnathan Kovacevic D	—	1	0	1	+1	1	0.00	1	0	0	11:23	—	—	55	8
Mitchell Stephens C	—	0	0	0	-1	2	0.08	1	0	0	10:33	—	—	43	93
Michael Pezzetta L	—	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	2	1	0	4:54	—	—	60	97

MTL goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Samuel Montembeault(start)	L	20	16	4	.800	2.65	58:24

Tampa Bay Lightning

TBL skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Nikita Kucherov R	L1	1	1	2	0	3	0.25	2	1	0	25:05	—	—	41	31
Steven Stamkos C	L1	0	1	1	0	1	0.22	1	3	0	21:19	—	—	32	40
Anthony Cirelli C	L1	0	1	1	0	0	0.03	2	4	0	20:02	—	—	36	43
Brandon Hagel L	L2	0	1	1	0	1	0.30	0	0	0	21:09	—	—	57	82
Brayden Point C	L2	1	0	1	0	3	0.38	0	0	0	20:51	—	—	50	61
Nick Paul L	L2	0	1	1	0	1	0.23	2	1	0	20:29	—	—	36	46
Tyler Motte C	L3	0	0	0	+1	2	0.42	2	0	0	11:11	—	—	63	67
Alex Barré-Boulet C	L3	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	10:47	—	—	40	11
Michael Eyssimont C	L3	0	0	0	0	2	0.05	0	0	0	8:49	—	—	60	30
Tanner Jeannot L	L4	0	0	0	+1	0	0.16	2	0	2	10:07	—	—	53	74
Luke Glendening C	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	17	7:25	—	—	57	77
Austin Watson L	L4	1	0	1	+1	1	0.01	4	0	0	6:06	—	—	58	15
Victor Hedman D	D1	0	2	2	+2	3	0.36	2	1	0	29:52	—	—	48	62
Nick Perbix D	D1	0	1	1	+2	0	0.00	2	5	0	25:15	—	—	44	60
Darren Raddysh D	D2	0	0	0	0	1	0.05	7	0	0	24:30	—	—	53	55
Calvin de Haan D	D2	1	0	1	0	2	0.19	1	1	0	18:57	—	—	61	49
Haydn Fleury D	D3	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	2	1	0	9:27	—	—	22	22
Erik Cernak D	D3	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	1	0	0	6:39	—	—	27	24

TBL goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Jonas Johansson(start)	W	29	26	3	.897	2.69	60:00

Goal anatomy

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

Johnathan Kovacevic (MTL) 2nd 11:59 · assists Samuel Montembeault · Cycle · 1.3 mph shot.

Johnathan Kovacevic · 2nd 11:59 · MTL

Play: cycle
Passes: 0
Shot: 1.3 mph
Distance: 6 ft

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

Cole Caufield · 2nd 3:58 · MTL

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: loose
Odd man: 2-on-0
Passes: 0
Shot: 49.2 mph
Distance: 13 ft
Entry to goal: 4.9 s

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

Brayden Point · 2nd 14:01 · TBL

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 2-on-1
Passes: 0
Shot: 63.6 mph
Distance: 19 ft
Entry to goal: 1.7 s

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

Austin Watson · 2nd 17:36 · TBL

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 3-on-2
Passes: 2
Shot: 28.6 mph
Distance: 47 ft
Entry to goal: 2.5 s

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

Calvin de Haan · 3rd 7:49 · TBL

Play: rush
Entry: loose
Odd man: No
Passes: 0
Shot: 44.5 mph
Distance: 25 ft
Entry to goal: 3.9 s

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

Nikita Kucherov · 3rd 14:54 · TBL

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 3-on-1
Passes: 0
Shot: 47.6 mph
Distance: 12 ft
Entry to goal: 5.9 s

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

Nick Suzuki · 3rd 17:55 · MTL

Play: rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 2
Shot: 45.7 mph
Distance: 17 ft
Entry to goal: 6.2 s

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.