Vegas Golden Knights vs. Buffalo SabresMar 3, 2026

FinalTuesday, Mar 3, 2026· KeyBank Center

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Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
VGK	0	2	0	2		VGK	7	16	6	29
BUF	1	2	0	3		BUF	11	12	5	28

: VGK 59BUF 58
: VGK 4.29BUF 3.42
PP goals: VGK 0BUF 0
Hits: VGK 28BUF 15
Blocks: VGK 10BUF 10
PIM: VGK 2BUF 2
: VGK 44%BUF 56%

Fantasy takeaways

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

Buffalo Sabres edge Vegas Golden Knights 3–2

Buffalo Sabres beat Vegas Golden Knights 3–2 at home. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) led the scoring with 0G 2A. Reilly Smith (VGK) played 19:04, +5:28 up on his 13:36 season average over 68 games.

Points
Rasmus Dahlin had 2 assists (2 points) on 1 shot in 25:50.Dahlin
Usage
Reilly Smith (VGK) played 19:04, +5:28 up on his 13:36 season average over 68 games.Smith
Luck
VGK scored 2 goals on 4.29 expected goals (59 attempts), well short of its chances.
New line
New look for VGK: Sissons–Reinhardt–Lavoie skated 5:10 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Sissons Reinhardt Lavoie
Usage
Peyton Krebs (BUF) played 20:04, +6:23 up on his 13:41 season average over 81 games.Krebs
Usage
Zach Benson (BUF) played 9:46, −6:13 down on his 15:59 season average over 64 games.Benson
Usage
Brandon Saad (VGK) played 8:14, −5:16 down on his 13:30 season average over 48 games.Saad
Usage
Pavel Dorofeyev (VGK) played 20:48, +3:14 up on his 17:34 season average over 81 games.Dorofeyev

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

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

BUF
VGK
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 117 of 117 attempts · BUF 58 · VGK 59

Game flow

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

Cumulative shot attempts

BUF
VGK
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

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

: descriptive only, the team with more pressure scored the next goal about half the time. In control: VGK 36% of the game, BUF 18%.

Shift chart

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

Shifts

BUF

VGK

goals / penalties

Even strength
Power play
Penalty kill
Goal
Penalty

Head-to-head matchups

BUF skaters (rows) against VGK skaters (columns) at 5v5. Square size is time together; colour is xGF% from the BUF side.

Matchup matrix

BUF xGF% 4060square size = TOI together · blank = under 1:00

Sequence card

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

Sequence card
Stat	VGK	BUF
	64	65
	4.03	3.39
	3.74	3.18
	18	12
	6	4
	23	26
	−0.044	+0.044
	36%	18%

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.

Vegas Golden Knights

L1Barbashev – Eichel – Bowman
14:0246% CF
L2Smith – Marner – Dorofeyev
13:5656% CF
L3Saad – Hertl – Kolesar
5:1250% CF
L4Sissons – Reinhardt – Lavoie
5:1050% CF
D1McNabb – Theodore
13:4458% CF
D2Hanifin – Korczak
10:0067% CF
D3Andersson – Lauzon
8:2046% CF

PP1Hertl – Eichel – Marner – Dorofeyev – Bowman
0:5675% CF
PP2Smith – Sissons – Theodore – Barbashev – Andersson
0:44
PK1FSmith – Marner
1:03
PK2FSissons – Eichel
0:54
PK1DMcNabb – Theodore
1:16
PK2DHanifin – Lauzon
0:41

Current VGK line combinations →

Buffalo Sabres

L1Tuch – Thompson – Krebs
15:1443% CF
L2Norris – Doan – Ostlund
12:1368% CF
L3Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
11:2862% CF
L4Malenstyn – Kozak – Benson
6:4940% CF
D1Byram – Power
10:4322% CF
D2Dahlin – Metsa
7:1540% CF
D3Samuelsson – Kesselring
6:0164% CF

PP1Zucker – Thompson – Norris – Dahlin – Doan
1:13100% CF
PP2Tuch – McLeod – Byram – Quinn – Power
0:47100% CF
PK1FMalenstyn – McLeod
1:13
PK2FKozak – Benson
0:34
PK1DSamuelsson – Byram
0:55
PK2DDahlin – Power
0:34

Current BUF line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

1st period

4:02
BUFJason Zucker (Ryan McLeod, Rasmus Dahlin)snap0.28 xG
VGK: Theodore, Barbashev, Eichel, Lauzon, BowmanBUF: Zucker, McLeod, Samuelsson, Dahlin, Quinn
VGK 0 – 1 BUF

2nd period

0:46
BUFOwen Power (Noah Ostlund)wrist0.04 xG
VGK: Saad, Hertl, Hanifin, Andersson, KolesarBUF: Norris, Byram, Doan, Power, Ostlund
VGK 0 – 2 BUF
5:44
BUFTage Thompson (Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin)wrist0.11 xG
VGK: Saad, Hertl, Andersson, Kolesar, LauzonBUF: Tuch, Thompson, Dahlin, Krebs, Metsa
VGK 0 – 3 BUF
6:50
VGKIvan Barbashev (Shea Theodore, Jack Eichel)wrap-around0.61 xG
VGK: McNabb, Theodore, Barbashev, Eichel, BowmanBUF: Byram, Quinn, Power, Kozak, Benson
VGK 1 – 3 BUF
8:27
VGKPavel Dorofeyev (Reilly Smith)wrist0.16 xG
VGK: Smith, Andersson, Lauzon, Marner, DorofeyevBUF: Norris, Byram, Doan, Power, Ostlund
VGK 2 – 3 BUF

Box score

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

Vegas Golden Knights

VGK skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Jack Eichel C	L1	0	1	1	0	2	0.13	0	0	0	21:19	—	—	46	57
Braeden Bowman R	L1	0	0	0	0	1	1.18	1	0	0	18:15	—	—	41	53
Ivan Barbashev L	L1	1	0	1	0	3	0.63	0	0	0	17:41	—	—	43	55
Mitch Marner R	L2	0	0	0	+1	0	0.00	0	1	0	22:11	—	—	47	50
Pavel Dorofeyev R	L2	1	0	1	+1	4	0.41	0	0	0	20:48	—	—	52	51
Reilly Smith R	L2	0	1	1	+1	2	0.26	2	0	0	19:04	—	—	53	46
Tomas Hertl C	L3	0	0	0	-2	2	0.19	2	0	0	11:47	—	—	59	44
Keegan Kolesar R	L3	0	0	0	-2	1	0.64	7	1	0	11:40	—	—	48	55
Brandon Saad L	L3	0	0	0	-2	1	0.07	0	0	0	8:14	—	—	46	37
Colton Sissons C	L4	0	0	0	0	2	0.11	3	1	0	13:01	—	—	52	62
Cole Reinhardt L	L4	0	0	0	0	1	0.21	4	0	0	11:01	—	—	57	80
Raphael Lavoie C	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.05	1	0	0	8:34	—	—	61	66
Shea Theodore D	D1	0	1	1	0	1	0.15	0	1	0	24:29	—	—	53	61
Brayden McNabb D	D1	0	0	0	+1	2	0.10	3	1	0	20:36	—	—	50	77
Noah Hanifin D	D2	0	0	0	-1	3	0.03	0	3	0	19:10	—	—	58	56
Kaedan Korczak D	D2	0	0	0	0	1	0.02	1	0	0	17:26	—	—	50	65
Rasmus Andersson D	D3	0	0	0	-1	1	0.07	0	1	2	18:16	—	—	49	42
Jeremy Lauzon D	D3	0	0	0	-1	2	0.03	4	1	0	15:59	—	—	39	34

VGK goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Akira Schmid(start)	L	28	25	3	.893	2.92	58:29

Buffalo Sabres

BUF skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Tage Thompson C	L1	1	0	1	+1	2	0.16	0	0	0	21:07	—	—	47	32
Peyton Krebs C	L1	0	0	0	+1	0	0.15	4	0	0	20:04	—	—	46	30
Alex Tuch R	L1	0	1	1	+1	1	0.16	1	1	2	19:36	—	—	41	25
Josh Doan R	L2	0	0	0	0	1	0.11	1	1	0	16:32	—	—	64	55
Josh Norris C	L2	0	0	0	0	2	0.17	0	0	0	15:35	—	—	62	51
Noah Ostlund C	L2	0	1	1	0	1	0.12	0	0	0	14:19	—	—	68	64
Ryan McLeod C	L3	0	1	1	+1	2	0.35	0	1	0	15:51	—	—	55	81
Jack Quinn R	L3	0	0	0	0	5	0.70	0	0	0	15:05	—	—	52	58
Jason Zucker L	L3	1	0	1	+1	2	0.34	0	0	0	13:36	—	—	57	84
Zach Benson L	L4	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	1	0	0	9:46	—	—	32	19
Beck Malenstyn L	L4	0	0	0	0	1	0.08	2	1	0	8:57	—	—	40	34
Tyson Kozak C	L4	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	1	1	0	8:34	—	—	33	19
Owen Power D	D1	1	0	1	-1	2	0.07	0	2	0	22:54	—	—	49	32
Bowen Byram D	D1	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	1	0	0	22:42	—	—	28	19
Rasmus Dahlin D	D2	0	2	2	+2	1	0.01	3	1	0	25:50	—	—	58	60
Zach Metsa D	D2	0	0	0	+1	1	0.01	0	1	0	10:58	—	—	33	51
Mattias Samuelsson D	D3	0	0	0	+1	4	0.71	1	1	0	25:15	—	—	68	65
Michael Kesselring D	D3	0	0	0	0	3	0.29	0	0	0	11:19	—	—	71	66

BUF goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Alex Lyon(start)	W	29	27	2	.931	4.29	60:00

Goal anatomy

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

Jason Zucker (BUF) 1st 4:02 · assists Ryan McLeod, Rasmus Dahlin · Forecheck turnover · 21.0 mph shot.

Jason Zucker · 1st 4:02 · BUF

Play: turnover-forecheck
Passes: 0
Shot: 21.0 mph
Distance: 1 ft

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

Owen Power · 2nd 0:46 · BUF

Play: turnover-forecheck
Passes: 0
Shot: 52.1 mph
Distance: 60 ft

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

Tage Thompson · 2nd 5:44 · BUF

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 4-on-3
Passes: 0
Shot: 58.8 mph
Distance: 25 ft
Entry to goal: 1.9 s

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

Ivan Barbashev · 2nd 6:50 · VGK

Play: cycle
Passes: 5 (royal road)
Shot: 7.5 mph
Distance: 6 ft

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

Pavel Dorofeyev · 2nd 8:27 · VGK

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 2-on-0
Passes: 0
Shot: 31.3 mph
Distance: 18 ft
Entry to goal: 2.0 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.