Montreal Canadiens vs. Buffalo SabresDec 9, 2023

Final / SOSaturday, Dec 9, 2023· KeyBank Center

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Goals	1	2	3	OT	SO	T		Shots	1	2	3	OT	T
MTL	0	2	0	0	1	3		MTL	7	15	8	1	31
BUF	0	0	2	0	0	2		BUF	17	12	16	3	48

: MTL 57BUF 78
: MTL 3.36BUF 4.94
PP goals: MTL 1BUF 0
Hits: MTL 16BUF 25
Blocks: MTL 15BUF 9
PIM: MTL 17BUF 24
: MTL 57%BUF 43%

Fantasy takeaways

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

Montreal Canadiens edge Buffalo Sabres 3–2 (SO)

Montreal Canadiens beat Buffalo Sabres 3–2 in a shootout at BUF. Jeff Skinner (BUF) led the scoring with 1G 0A. Cayden Primeau (MTL) faced 48 shots and stopped 46 (.958), +16 against a season average of 31.8; the win.

Goalie
Cayden Primeau (MTL) faced 48 shots and stopped 46 (.958), +16 against a season average of 31.8; the win.Primeau
PP1
MTL's first power-play unit (Matheson, Monahan, Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovský) scored 1 power-play goal on 7 attempts in 4:12 together.Matheson Monahan Suzuki Caufield Slafkovský
Usage
Tanner Pearson (MTL) played 2:50, −10:18 down on his 13:08 season average over 53 games.Pearson
Luck
BUF scored 2 goals on 4.94 expected goals (78 attempts), well short of its chances.
Usage
Jeff Skinner (BUF) played 23:25, +7:31 up on his 15:54 season average over 73 games.Skinner
Usage
Casey Mittelstadt (BUF) played 27:01, +9:24 up on his 17:37 season average over 79 games.Mittelstadt
Usage
Tage Thompson (BUF) played 24:03, +6:01 up on his 18:02 season average over 70 games.Thompson
Usage
Johnathan Kovacevic (MTL) played 20:50, +4:23 up on his 16:27 season average over 61 games.Kovacevic

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)BUF attacks right (top on phones) →

BUF
MTL
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 135 of 135 attempts · BUF 78 · MTL 57

Game flow

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

Cumulative shot attempts

BUF
MTL
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

BUF 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 32% of the game, BUF 47%.

Shift chart

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

Shifts

BUF

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	BUF
	41	64
	2.29	3.56
	2.10	3.41
	12	14
	2	4
	7	10
	+0.031	−0.030
	32%	47%

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
12:3452% CF
L2Anderson – Monahan – Evans
6:3625% CF
L3Armia – Stephens – Ylonen
4:4350% CF
L4Gallagher – Pearson – Dvorak
1:56100% CF
D1Guhle – Barron
12:1842% CF
D2Matheson – Lindstrom
8:5525% CF
D3Kovacevic – Struble
8:1426% CF

PP1Matheson – Monahan – Suzuki – Caufield – Slafkovský
4:12100% CF
PP2Gallagher – Anderson – Dvorak – Ylonen – Barron
2:22100% CF
PK1FArmia – Evans
3:08
PK2FDvorak – Stephens
1:02
PK1DMatheson – Kovacevic
3:40
PK2DStruble – Barron
1:45

Current MTL line combinations →

Buffalo Sabres

L1Skinner – Thompson – Mittelstadt
13:4867% CF
L2Cozens – Peterka – Benson
8:2572% CF
L3Okposo – Robinson – Krebs
3:0771% CF
L4Olofsson – Jost – Rosen
2:1367% CF
D1Jokiharju – Dahlin
13:2173% CF
D2Samuelsson – Power
12:1964% CF
D3Johnson – Clifton
4:1273% CF

PP1Skinner – Thompson – Mittelstadt – Dahlin – Cozens
4:4880% CF
PP2Okposo – Olofsson – Peterka – Power – Benson
3:1683% CF
PK1FJost – Krebs
1:18
PK2FOkposo – Benson
1:13
PK1DJohnson – Clifton
2:29
PK2DSamuelsson – Dahlin
0:29

Current BUF line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

2nd period

12:59
MTLJayden Struble (Johnathan Kovacevic)tip-in0.03 xG
MTL: Suzuki, Kovacevic, Caufield, StrubleBUF: Johnson, Okposo, Cozens, Power
MTL 1 – 0 BUF
13:13
MTLNick SuzukiPP (Mike Matheson, Sean Monahan)wrist0.09 xG
MTL: Matheson, Monahan, Suzuki, Caufield, SlafkovskýBUF: Johnson, Okposo, Clifton, Krebs
MTL 2 – 0 BUF

3rd period

1:06
BUFJeff Skinner (Tage Thompson)wrist0.26 xG
MTL: Anderson, Monahan, Evans, Lindstrom, StrubleBUF: Skinner, Thompson, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, Dahlin
MTL 2 – 1 BUF
6:36
BUFKyle Okposo (Connor Clifton)wrist0.16 xG
MTL: Suzuki, Caufield, Guhle, Barron, SlafkovskýBUF: Johnson, Okposo, Clifton, Jost, Krebs
MTL 2 – 2 BUF

Decided in the shootout: MTL 3 – 2 BUF.

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	3	0.12	1	0	0	22:26	—	—	47	47
Cole Caufield R	L1	0	0	0	0	9	0.91	2	0	0	21:47	—	—	52	51
Juraj Slafkovský L	L1	0	0	0	-1	2	0.75	1	2	5	18:10	—	—	55	56
Jake Evans C	L2	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	0	1	0	21:21	—	—	34	40
Sean Monahan C	L2	0	1	1	-1	1	0.27	0	0	0	18:40	—	—	32	39
Josh Anderson R	L2	0	0	0	-1	4	0.48	4	0	0	16:58	—	—	19	25
Joel Armia R	L3	0	0	0	0	1	0.29	0	0	0	14:33	—	—	60	38
Jesse Ylonen R	L3	0	0	0	0	0	0.09	0	1	0	9:44	—	—	36	22
Mitchell Stephens C	L3	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	0	7:54	—	—	57	23
Christian Dvorak C	L4	0	0	0	0	3	0.17	0	0	2	17:21	—	—	23	26
Brendan Gallagher R	L4	0	0	0	0	2	0.05	1	1	0	12:52	—	—	28	32
Tanner Pearson L	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	1	0	2:50	—	—	33	72
Kaiden Guhle D	D1	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	1	5	4	22:03	—	—	44	45
Justin Barron D	D1	0	0	0	-1	1	0.01	2	2	0	21:30	—	—	46	47
Mike Matheson D	D2	0	1	1	0	2	0.02	0	1	0	29:48	—	—	30	25
Gustav Lindstrom D	D2	0	0	0	-1	1	0.09	0	0	2	15:09	—	—	39	31
Johnathan Kovacevic D	D3	0	1	1	+1	1	0.09	1	1	2	20:50	—	—	38	50
Jayden Struble D	D3	1	0	1	0	1	0.03	3	0	0	14:27	—	—	37	39

MTL goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Cayden Primeau(start)	W	48	46	2	.958	4.94	64:37

Buffalo Sabres

BUF skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Casey Mittelstadt C	L1	0	0	0	+1	5	0.78	1	1	0	27:01	—	—	64	73
Tage Thompson C	L1	0	1	1	+1	2	0.23	3	0	2	24:03	—	—	64	75
Jeff Skinner L	L1	1	0	1	+1	7	1.05	0	0	0	23:25	—	—	64	74
JJ Peterka R	L2	0	0	0	0	5	0.13	0	0	0	19:42	—	—	69	48
Dylan Cozens C	L2	0	0	0	-1	3	0.39	2	0	0	18:50	—	—	61	40
Zach Benson L	L2	0	0	0	0	1	0.22	1	0	0	18:37	—	—	64	43
Kyle Okposo R	L3	1	0	1	0	6	0.65	3	1	0	15:28	—	—	50	57
Peyton Krebs C	L3	0	0	0	+1	1	0.07	1	0	0	11:15	—	—	55	56
Eric Robinson L	L3	0	0	0	0	2	0.15	1	0	15	6:32	—	—	50	43
Victor Olofsson L	L4	0	0	0	0	2	0.28	1	0	0	11:36	—	—	56	43
Tyson Jost C	L4	0	0	0	+1	1	0.13	0	0	0	9:03	—	—	67	73
Isak Rosen R	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	1	0	4:12	—	—	50	46
Rasmus Dahlin D	D1	0	0	0	+1	5	0.14	8	1	0	29:28	—	—	72	69
Henri Jokiharju D	D1	0	0	0	+1	3	0.15	1	0	0	20:46	—	—	61	64
Owen Power D	D2	0	0	0	-1	1	0.08	0	0	0	23:54	—	—	59	48
Mattias Samuelsson D	D2	0	0	0	0	2	0.02	2	0	2	22:46	—	—	56	53
Connor Clifton D	D3	0	1	1	+1	1	0.23	1	5	5	13:21	—	—	50	61
Erik Johnson D	D3	0	0	0	0	1	0.26	0	0	0	11:01	—	—	71	76

BUF goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Devon Levi(start)	O	31	29	2	.935	3.36	65:00

Goal anatomy

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

Jayden Struble (MTL) 2nd 12:59 · assists Johnathan Kovacevic · Deflection · carried in · 6-on-2 at the blue line · 41.3 mph shot · 2.3 s from entry to goal.

Jayden Struble · 2nd 12:59 · MTL

Play: deflection
Entry: carry
Odd man: 6-on-2
Passes: 1
Shot: 41.3 mph
Distance: 15 ft
Entry to goal: 2.3 s
Type: deflection

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

Nick Suzuki · 2nd 13:13 · MTL PP

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 5-on-2
Passes: 1
Shot: 84.7 mph
Distance: 36 ft
Entry to goal: 1.4 s

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

Kyle Okposo · 3rd 6:36 · BUF

Play: rebound
Entry: loose
Odd man: No
Passes: 0
Shot: 52.6 mph
Distance: 20 ft
Entry to goal: 4.4 s
Type: rebound

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

Jeff Skinner · 3rd 1:06 · BUF

Play: rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 1 (royal road)
Shot: 62.1 mph
Distance: 26 ft
Entry to goal: 3.9 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.