Nashville Predators vs. Buffalo SabresJan 31, 2025

FinalFriday, Jan 31, 2025· KeyBank Center

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Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
NSH	2	1	0	3		NSH	10	13	8	31
BUF	2	1	1	4		BUF	9	7	11	27

: NSH 62BUF 46
: NSH 2.22BUF 2.93
PP goals: NSH 0BUF 0
Hits: NSH 25BUF 23
Blocks: NSH 8BUF 16
PIM: NSH 4BUF 8
: NSH 64%BUF 36%

Fantasy takeaways

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

Buffalo Sabres edge Nashville Predators 4–3

Buffalo Sabres beat Nashville Predators 4–3 at home. Jiri Kulich (BUF) led the scoring with 2G 0A. New look for NSH: Nyquist–O'Reilly–Evangelista skated 9:21 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (77.8% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

Points
Jiri Kulich had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 15:44.Kulich
Points
Brady Skjei had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 21:53.Skjei
Points
Rasmus Dahlin had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 25:39.Dahlin
New line
New look for NSH: Nyquist–O'Reilly–Evangelista skated 9:21 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (77.8% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Nyquist O'Reilly Evangelista
Usage
Henri Jokiharju (BUF) played 10:43, −7:14 down on his 17:57 season average over 59 games.Jokiharju
Usage
Fedor Svechkov (NSH) played 9:48, −3:09 down on his 12:57 season average over 51 games.Svechkov
Usage
Bowen Byram (BUF) played 26:19, +3:40 up on his 22:39 season average over 81 games.Byram
Usage
Adam Wilsby (NSH) played 15:06, −3:08 down on his 18:14 season average over 22 games.Wilsby

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

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

BUF
NSH
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 108 of 108 attempts · BUF 46 · NSH 62

Game flow

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

Cumulative shot attempts

BUF
NSH
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

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

: descriptive only, the team with more pressure scored the next goal about half the time. In control: NSH 32% of the game, BUF 29%.

Shift chart

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

Shifts

BUF

NSH

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	NSH	BUF
	53	47
	1.63	2.31
	1.47	2.21
	18	7
	5	1
	24	20
	+0.070	−0.069
	32%	29%

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.

Nashville Predators

L1Nyquist – O'Reilly – Evangelista
9:2178% CF
L2Sissons – McCarron – Smith
8:1864% CF
L3Novak – L'Heureux – Svechkov
7:4329% CF
L4Stamkos – Marchessault – Forsberg
7:3323% CF
D1Skjei – Blankenburg
14:4633% CF
D2Josi – Barron
14:3571% CF
D3Schenn – Wilsby
10:3858% CF

PP1Stamkos – Josi – O'Reilly – Marchessault – Forsberg
4:2288% CF
PP2Nyquist – Skjei – Novak – Evangelista – L'Heureux
2:09100% CF
PK1FSissons – Smith
1:04
PK2FNyquist – McCarron
0:31
PK1DSkjei – Blankenburg
1:18
PK2DSchenn – Wilsby
0:31

Current NSH line combinations →

Buffalo Sabres

L1Thompson – Peterka – Kulich
11:5252% CF
L2Zucker – Tuch – Cozens
9:1444% CF
L3McLeod – Krebs – Quinn
8:1846% CF
L4Malenstyn – Kozak – Benson
6:2767% CF
D1Dahlin – Byram
14:5533% CF
D2Samuelsson – Power
10:4557% CF
D3Jokiharju – Bryson
8:1250% CF

PP1Zucker – Thompson – Dahlin – Quinn – Peterka
1:47100% CF
PP2Tuch – Cozens – Power – Kulich – Benson
1:04100% CF
PK1FMalenstyn – Benson
2:49
PK2FTuch – McLeod
2:35
PK1DSamuelsson – Byram
3:03
PK2DDahlin – Power
0:45

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.

Nashville Predators

NSH skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Ryan O'Reilly C	L1	0	1	1	0	4	0.45	0	0	0	21:41	—	—	73	53
Gustav Nyquist R	L1	0	0	0	0	3	0.16	1	0	0	19:18	—	—	71	51
Luke Evangelista R	L1	1	0	1	0	3	0.17	0	0	0	16:21	—	—	68	40
Colton Sissons C	L2	0	1	1	0	3	0.25	1	0	0	14:26	—	—	61	53
Cole Smith R	L2	0	0	0	+1	1	0.00	1	0	0	12:52	—	—	63	57
Michael McCarron C	L2	0	1	1	+1	2	0.05	0	2	0	11:55	—	—	72	63
Zachary L'Heureux L	L3	0	0	0	0	3	0.30	4	1	0	12:56	—	—	43	36
Tommy Novak C	L3	1	0	1	0	1	0.09	0	1	0	11:53	—	—	25	20
Fedor Svechkov C	L3	0	1	1	0	0	0.00	2	1	0	9:48	—	—	29	24
Steven Stamkos C	L4	0	0	0	-2	1	0.12	4	0	0	18:36	—	—	33	34
Filip Forsberg L	L4	0	0	0	-2	5	0.27	3	0	0	18:20	—	—	40	45
Jonathan Marchessault R	L4	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	2	0	0	17:55	—	—	35	18
Brady Skjei D	D1	1	1	2	+1	1	0.03	1	1	2	21:53	—	—	30	28
Nick Blankenburg D	D1	0	0	0	+1	0	0.00	2	0	0	19:27	—	—	36	33
Roman Josi D	D2	0	0	0	-1	2	0.28	1	1	0	25:02	—	—	69	58
Justin Barron D	D2	0	1	1	-1	0	0.00	0	0	2	17:13	—	—	69	52
Adam Wilsby D	D3	0	0	0	-1	2	0.04	1	1	0	15:06	—	—	50	37
Luke Schenn D	D3	0	0	0	-1	0	0.01	2	0	0	13:19	—	—	58	52

NSH goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Justus Annunen(start)	L	27	23	4	.852	2.24	57:59

Buffalo Sabres

BUF skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
JJ Peterka R	L1	0	1	1	+2	2	0.10	0	0	0	18:33	—	—	48	56
Tage Thompson C	L1	0	1	1	+2	0	0.10	0	0	0	17:07	—	—	50	56
Jiri Kulich C	L1	2	0	2	+2	2	0.70	0	1	4	15:44	—	—	44	51
Alex Tuch R	L2	0	1	1	0	1	0.05	0	0	0	18:14	—	—	44	45
Dylan Cozens C	L2	0	0	0	+1	2	0.17	6	0	0	15:05	—	—	50	50
Jason Zucker L	L2	1	0	1	0	3	0.37	1	0	2	13:48	—	—	41	36
Ryan McLeod C	L3	1	0	1	-2	1	0.34	0	0	0	14:43	—	—	48	71
Peyton Krebs C	L3	0	0	0	-1	2	0.22	2	1	0	13:44	—	—	43	68
Jack Quinn R	L3	0	1	1	-1	2	0.12	1	1	0	12:27	—	—	50	71
Zach Benson L	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	1	1	0	12:39	—	—	50	62
Beck Malenstyn L	L4	0	0	0	0	1	0.01	3	0	0	12:20	—	—	80	98
Tyson Kozak C	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	1	1	0	10:02	—	—	43	24
Bowen Byram D	D1	0	0	0	+1	2	0.23	1	4	0	26:19	—	—	35	50
Rasmus Dahlin D	D1	0	2	2	0	2	0.10	3	3	2	25:39	—	—	34	50
Mattias Samuelsson D	D2	0	0	0	+2	2	0.05	2	2	0	21:38	—	—	58	75
Owen Power D	D2	0	1	1	-1	2	0.18	0	2	0	20:42	—	—	53	61
Jacob Bryson D	D3	0	0	0	0	2	0.18	2	0	0	12:33	—	—	56	55
Henri Jokiharju D	D3	0	0	0	0	1	0.01	0	0	0	10:43	—	—	46	48

BUF goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen(start)	W	31	28	3	.903	2.22	60:00

Goal anatomy

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

Ryan McLeod (BUF) 1st 2:25 · assists Rasmus Dahlin, Jack Quinn · Cycle · 4.5 mph shot.

Ryan McLeod · 1st 2:25 · BUF

Play: cycle
Passes: 3
Shot: 4.5 mph
Distance: 5 ft

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

Jiri Kulich · 1st 8:41 · BUF

Play: rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 2
Shot: 35.5 mph
Distance: 32 ft
Entry to goal: 2.3 s

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

Luke Evangelista · 1st 10:56 · NSH

Play: deflection
Passes: 1
Shot: 33.8 mph
Distance: 10 ft
Type: deflection

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

Brady Skjei · 1st 17:06 · NSH

Play: dump-and-chase
Entry: dump
Odd man: 3-on-2
Passes: 0
Shot: 18.8 mph
Distance: 1 ft
Entry to goal: 9.1 s

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

Tommy Novak · 2nd 2:51 · NSH

Play: deflection
Entry: pass
Odd man: 3-on-1
Passes: 0
Shot: 58.9 mph
Distance: 40 ft
Entry to goal: 6.0 s

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

Jason Zucker · 2nd 12:26 · BUF

Play: deflection
Entry: carry
Odd man: 3-on-2
Passes: 2 (royal road)
Shot: 36.0 mph
Distance: 14 ft
Entry to goal: 2.5 s
Type: deflection

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

Jiri Kulich · 3rd 17:56 · BUF

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: pass
Odd man: 3-on-2
Passes: 2 (royal road)
Shot: 52.3 mph
Distance: 22 ft
Entry to goal: 2.5 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.

Nashville Predators vs. Buffalo SabresJan 31, 2025

Fantasy takeaways

Buffalo Sabres edge Nashville Predators 4–3

Shot map

Shot map

Game flow

Cumulative shot attempts

Shift chart

Shifts

Sequence card

Lines used

Nashville Predators

Buffalo Sabres

Scoring summary

1st period

2nd period

3rd period

Box score

Nashville Predators

Buffalo Sabres

Goal anatomy

Ryan McLeod · 1st 2:25 · BUF

Jiri Kulich · 1st 8:41 · BUF

Luke Evangelista · 1st 10:56 · NSH

Brady Skjei · 1st 17:06 · NSH

Tommy Novak · 2nd 2:51 · NSH

Jason Zucker · 2nd 12:26 · BUF

Jiri Kulich · 3rd 17:56 · BUF