Washington Capitals vs. Buffalo SabresApr 9, 2021

FinalFriday, Apr 9, 2021· KeyBank Center

away

Washington CapitalsWSH

4

@

home

Buffalo SabresBUF

3

Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
WSH	2	1	1	4		WSH	7	15	11	33
BUF	1	1	1	3		BUF	9	12	12	33

: WSH 57BUF 57
: WSH 2.33BUF 2.00
PP goals: WSH 0BUF 0
Hits: WSH 21BUF 16
Blocks: WSH 14BUF 12
PIM: WSH 6BUF 0
: WSH 40%BUF 60%

Fantasy takeaways

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

Washington Capitals edge Buffalo Sabres 4–3

Washington Capitals beat Buffalo Sabres 4–3 at BUF. Justin Schultz (WSH) led the scoring with 1G 2A. Matt Irwin (BUF) played 4:28, −12:18 down on his 16:46 season average over 23 games.

Points
Justin Schultz had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 19:45.Schultz
Points
Brenden Dillon had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 19:44.Dillon
Points
Lars Eller had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 13:03.Eller
Points
Rasmus Ristolainen had 2 assists (2 points) in 23:42.Ristolainen
Usage
Matt Irwin (BUF) played 4:28, −12:18 down on his 16:46 season average over 23 games.Irwin
New line
New look for WSH: Backstrom–Sheary–Sprong skated 12:08 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (59.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Backstrom Sheary Sprong
Usage
Alex Ovechkin (WSH) played 14:08, −5:29 down on his 19:37 season average over 44 games.Ovechkin
New line
New look for BUF: Okposo–Sheahan–Ruotsalainen skated 10:16 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (41.2% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Okposo Sheahan Ruotsalainen

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

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

BUF
WSH
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 114 of 114 attempts · BUF 57 · WSH 57

Game flow

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

Cumulative shot attempts

BUF
WSH
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

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

: descriptive only, the team with more pressure scored the next goal about half the time. In control: WSH 28% of the game, BUF 27%.

Shift chart

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

Shifts

BUF

WSH

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	WSH	BUF
	62	58
	2.04	2.06
	1.98	2.01
	7	7
	4	6
	6	7
	−0.105	+0.105
	28%	27%

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.

Washington Capitals

L1Hagelin – Dowd – Hathaway
13:3327% CF
L2Backstrom – Sheary – Sprong
12:0859% CF
L3Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Wilson
11:0581% CF
L4Oshie – Eller – Vrana
9:1044% CF
D1Schultz – Dillon
17:4352% CF
D2Carlson – Orlov
17:3651% CF
D3Chara – Jensen
12:4454% CF

PP1Ovechkin – Oshie – Backstrom – Carlson – Kuznetsov
0:51
PK1FHagelin – Dowd
1:47
PK2FEller – Hathaway
0:37
PK1DChara – Jensen
2:32
PK2DOrlov – Dillon
0:40

Current WSH line combinations →

Buffalo Sabres

L1Skinner – Reinhart – Olofsson
12:0550% CF
L2Asplund – Thompson – Mittelstadt
11:1853% CF
L3Okposo – Sheahan – Ruotsalainen
10:1641% CF
D1Jokiharju – Dahlin
17:3564% CF
D2Ristolainen – Bryson
16:3233% CF
D3Miller – Montour
13:4556% CF

PP1Ristolainen – Reinhart – Olofsson – Mittelstadt – Dahlin
2:340% CF
PP2Okposo – Skinner – Miller – Montour – Thompson
2:1675% CF
PK1FEakin – Rieder
0:40
PK1DRistolainen – Bryson
0:51

Current BUF line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

1st period

2:39
WSHBrenden Dillon (Justin Schultz, T.J. Oshie)slap0.03 xG
WSH: Oshie, Eller, Schultz, Dillon, VranaBUF: Eakin, Irwin, Rieder, Miller, Montour
WSH 1 – 0 BUF
11:39
WSHAlex Ovechkin (Brenden Dillon, John Carlson)wrist0.01 xG
WSH: Ovechkin, Schultz, Dillon, Kuznetsov, WilsonBUF: Thompson, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, Dahlin, Ruotsalainen
WSH 2 – 0 BUF
18:26
BUFHenri Jokiharju (Rasmus Dahlin)wrist0.02 xG
WSH: Hagelin, Carlson, Orlov, Dowd, HathawayBUF: Okposo, Eakin, Rieder, Jokiharju, Dahlin
WSH 2 – 1 BUF

2nd period

0:28
WSHJustin Schultz (Lars Eller)slap0.05 xG
WSH: Eller, Schultz, Orlov, ShearyBUF: Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, Dahlin
WSH 3 – 1 BUF
10:08
BUFCasey Mittelstadt (Rasmus Asplund, Rasmus Ristolainen)wrist0.16 xG
WSH: Backstrom, Schultz, Jensen, Sheary, SprongBUF: Miller, Montour, Asplund, Thompson, Mittelstadt
WSH 3 – 2 BUF

3rd period

9:48
WSHJakub Vrana (Justin Schultz, Lars Eller)slap0.13 xG
WSH: Oshie, Eller, Schultz, Dillon, VranaBUF: Skinner, Ristolainen, Reinhart, Olofsson, Bryson
WSH 4 – 2 BUF
18:40
BUFTage Thompson (Rasmus Ristolainen)tip-in0.06 xG
WSH: Ovechkin, Carlson, Orlov, Kuznetsov, WilsonBUF: Sheahan, Ristolainen, Asplund, Thompson, Mittelstadt, Bryson
WSH 4 – 3 BUF

Box score

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

Washington Capitals

WSH skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Carl Hagelin L	L1	0	0	0	-1	2	0.05	1	0	0	18:16	—	—	30	25
Nic Dowd C	L1	0	0	0	-1	0	0.41	0	0	0	18:15	—	—	25	10
Garnet Hathaway R	L1	0	0	0	-1	1	0.01	7	2	0	15:22	—	—	30	19
Nicklas Backstrom C	L2	0	0	0	-1	3	0.09	0	1	0	14:16	—	—	66	48
Conor Sheary L	L2	0	0	0	0	3	0.19	0	1	0	13:43	—	—	62	43
Daniel Sprong R	L2	0	0	0	-1	2	0.03	0	0	0	12:31	—	—	59	42
Tom Wilson R	L3	0	0	0	0	1	0.06	4	2	0	15:36	—	—	70	80
Evgeny Kuznetsov C	L3	0	0	0	0	2	0.23	0	1	0	15:14	—	—	75	79
Alex Ovechkin L	L3	1	0	1	0	5	0.28	1	0	0	14:08	—	—	73	71
Lars Eller C	L4	0	2	2	+3	2	0.34	0	1	0	13:03	—	—	44	59
T.J. Oshie R	L4	0	1	1	+2	0	0.00	0	0	0	13:02	—	—	54	58
Jakub Vrana L	L4	1	0	1	+2	1	0.13	0	0	0	11:05	—	—	47	64
Justin Schultz D	D1	1	2	3	+2	3	0.12	2	1	0	19:45	—	—	46	46
Brenden Dillon D	D1	1	1	2	+2	1	0.03	2	1	0	19:44	—	—	54	63
John Carlson D	D2	0	1	1	-1	2	0.13	1	3	2	23:17	—	—	52	43
Dmitry Orlov D	D2	0	0	0	0	4	0.13	1	0	2	21:47	—	—	50	45
Zdeno Chara D	D3	0	0	0	0	1	0.10	2	0	0	17:50	—	—	56	63
Nick Jensen D	D3	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	0	1	2	17:06	—	—	52	51

WSH goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Vitek Vanecek(start)	W	33	30	3	.909	2.00	60:00

Buffalo Sabres

BUF skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Sam Reinhart C	L1	0	0	0	-2	3	0.28	0	2	0	20:44	—	—	50	55
Victor Olofsson L	L1	0	0	0	-1	2	0.12	0	0	0	18:28	—	—	52	48
Jeff Skinner L	L1	0	0	0	-1	2	0.11	1	0	0	18:13	—	—	55	49
Casey Mittelstadt C	L2	1	0	1	0	2	0.22	0	0	0	17:10	—	—	54	65
Tage Thompson C	L2	1	0	1	+1	4	0.28	0	0	0	16:42	—	—	48	53
Rasmus Asplund C	L2	0	1	1	+2	1	0.05	0	0	0	12:50	—	—	55	66
Kyle Okposo R	L3	0	0	0	+1	4	0.27	1	1	0	16:29	—	—	50	44
Riley Sheahan C	L3	0	0	0	+1	1	0.07	0	0	0	15:59	—	—	38	25
Arttu Ruotsalainen C	L3	0	0	0	-1	1	0.23	2	0	0	15:52	—	—	36	38
Rasmus Dahlin D	D1	0	1	1	-1	2	0.07	2	0	0	24:04	—	—	54	61
Henri Jokiharju D	D1	1	0	1	-1	2	0.05	0	1	0	20:05	—	—	65	68
Rasmus Ristolainen D	D2	0	2	2	0	0	0.00	6	3	0	23:42	—	—	30	23
Jacob Bryson D	D2	0	0	0	0	1	0.07	0	1	0	19:02	—	—	33	26
Colin Miller D	D3	0	0	0	0	2	0.08	2	0	0	16:50	—	—	56	64
Brandon Montour D	D3	0	0	0	0	2	0.06	0	3	0	16:17	—	—	56	64
Tobias Rieder L	—	0	0	0	0	2	0.02	2	1	0	12:16	—	—	46	72
Cody Eakin C	—	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	0	10:50	—	—	47	63
Matt Irwin D	—	0	0	0	-1	2	0.05	0	0	0	4:28	—	—	56	51

BUF goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Dustin Tokarski(start)	L	33	29	4	.879	1.93	57:59

More

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.