Buffalo Sabres vs. Colorado AvalancheDec 13, 2023

FinalWednesday, Dec 13, 2023· Ball Arena

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Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
BUF	1	0	0	1		BUF	6	15	9	30
COL	3	0	2	5		COL	15	5	9	29

: BUF 62COL 61
: BUF 2.27COL 3.43
PP goals: BUF 0COL 1
Hits: BUF 22COL 14
Blocks: BUF 15COL 21
PIM: BUF 4COL 4
: BUF 50%COL 50%

Fantasy takeaways

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

Colorado Avalanche rout Buffalo Sabres 5–1

Colorado Avalanche beat Buffalo Sabres 5–1 at home. Mikko Rantanen (COL) led the scoring with 1G 2A. Cale Makar (COL) played 17:21, −7:31 down on his 24:52 season average over 76 games.

Points
Mikko Rantanen had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 4 shots in 20:37.Rantanen
Points
Valeri Nichushkin had two goals (2 points) on 7 shots in 22:30.Nichushkin
Points
Sam Malinski had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 16:25.Malinski
Points
Nathan MacKinnon had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 20:53.MacKinnon
Usage
Cale Makar (COL) played 17:21, −7:31 down on his 24:52 season average over 76 games.Makar
New line
New look for BUF: Tuch–Mittelstadt–Peterka skated 5:11 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (70% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Tuch Mittelstadt Peterka
Usage
Jeff Skinner (BUF) played 7:57, −8:09 down on his 16:06 season average over 73 games.Skinner
Luck
COL scored 5 goals on 3.43 expected goals (61 attempts), finishing well above its chances.

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

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

COL
BUF
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 123 of 123 attempts · COL 61 · BUF 62

Game flow

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

Cumulative shot attempts

COL
BUF
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

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

: descriptive only, the team with more pressure scored the next goal about half the time. In control: BUF 25% of the game, COL 40%.

Shift chart

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

Shifts

COL

BUF

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	BUF	COL
	60	67
	2.37	3.51
	2.22	3.42
	10	19
	6	2
	16	17
	+0.020	−0.020
	25%	40%

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.

Buffalo Sabres

L1Okposo – Robinson – Krebs
8:3133% CF
L2Tuch – Mittelstadt – Peterka
5:1170% CF
L3Thompson – Cozens – Benson
4:5870% CF
L4Skinner – Olofsson – Jost
0:00
D1Jokiharju – Dahlin
16:5148% CF
D2Samuelsson – Power
16:1031% CF
D3Johnson – Clifton
9:0536% CF

PP1Skinner – Tuch – Thompson – Mittelstadt – Dahlin
2:49100% CF
PP2Okposo – Olofsson – Peterka – Power – Benson
0:57100% CF
PK1FJost – Krebs
1:18
PK2FOkposo – Robinson
0:30
PK1DJohnson – Samuelsson
1:27
PK2DClifton – Dahlin
0:30

Current BUF line combinations →

Colorado Avalanche

L1MacKinnon – Nichushkin – Rantanen
16:2771% CF
L2Wood – Colton – O'Connor
10:1837% CF
L3Tatar – Johansen – Drouin
10:1233% CF
L4Cogliano – Olofsson – Meyers
6:1675% CF
D1Johnson – Malinski
11:5559% CF
D2Manson – Byram
11:2958% CF
D3Toews – Makar
10:0484% CF

PP1MacKinnon – Drouin – Nichushkin – Toews – Rantanen
2:03100% CF
PP2Tatar – Johansen – Colton – Byram – Malinski
0:36100% CF
PK1FCogliano – O'Connor
1:59
PK2FNichushkin – Olofsson
1:02
PK1DToews – Makar
1:37
PK2DJohnson – Manson
1:12

Current COL line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

1st period

5:25
COLMikko Rantanen (Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar)wrap-around0.06 xG
BUF: Johnson, Okposo, Clifton, Jost, KrebsCOL: Johnson, MacKinnon, Drouin, Rantanen, Malinski
BUF 0 – 1 COL
10:28
COLValeri Nichushkin (Fredrik Olofsson, Mikko Rantanen)wrist0.23 xG
BUF: Skinner, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, Dahlin, PeterkaCOL: Manson, Nichushkin, Olofsson, Rantanen, Byram
BUF 0 – 2 COL
11:55
COLMiles Wood (Sam Malinski)wrist0.13 xG
BUF: Johnson, Okposo, Clifton, Robinson, KrebsCOL: Johnson, Wood, Colton, O'Connor, Malinski
BUF 0 – 3 COL
18:38
BUFZach Benson (Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka)wrist0.06 xG
BUF: Thompson, Jokiharju, Dahlin, Peterka, BensonCOL: Johnson, Manson, Wood, Colton, O'Connor
BUF 1 – 3 COL

3rd period

2:40
COLSam Malinski (Jack Johnson, Jonathan Drouin)slap0.03 xG
BUF: Olofsson, Jost, Jokiharju, Robinson, DahlinCOL: Johnson, Tatar, Johansen, Drouin, Malinski
BUF 1 – 4 COL
13:11
COLValeri NichushkinPP (Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen)wrist0.17 xG
BUF: Johnson, Robinson, Samuelsson, KrebsCOL: MacKinnon, Drouin, Nichushkin, Rantanen, Makar
BUF 1 – 5 COL

Box score

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

Buffalo Sabres

BUF skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Peyton Krebs C	L1	0	0	0	-2	1	0.05	3	1	0	15:15	—	—	44	18
Eric Robinson L	L1	0	0	0	-2	0	0.00	2	0	0	14:55	—	—	36	10
Kyle Okposo R	L1	0	0	0	-2	0	0.00	1	1	0	14:23	—	—	39	18
Casey Mittelstadt C	L2	0	0	0	-1	1	0.17	1	0	0	19:34	—	—	46	40
Alex Tuch R	L2	0	0	0	0	3	0.28	1	1	0	19:01	—	—	55	42
JJ Peterka R	L2	0	1	1	0	3	0.11	0	0	0	15:58	—	—	50	36
Tage Thompson C	L3	0	0	0	+1	5	0.52	2	0	0	16:20	—	—	63	65
Dylan Cozens C	L3	0	0	0	0	4	0.41	3	0	0	15:54	—	—	59	54
Zach Benson L	L3	1	0	1	+1	3	0.27	0	1	2	15:34	—	—	56	64
Tyson Jost C	L4	0	0	0	-2	0	0.00	2	1	2	13:50	—	—	36	44
Victor Olofsson L	L4	0	0	0	-1	0	0.01	0	0	0	12:29	—	—	33	25
Jeff Skinner L	L4	0	0	0	-1	1	0.02	0	1	0	7:57	—	—	40	42
Rasmus Dahlin D	D1	0	1	1	-1	4	0.14	2	1	0	22:21	—	—	56	45
Henri Jokiharju D	D1	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	1	2	0	19:50	—	—	46	40
Owen Power D	D2	0	0	0	0	1	0.05	1	1	0	24:01	—	—	43	33
Mattias Samuelsson D	D2	0	0	0	0	2	0.16	1	3	0	20:51	—	—	38	47
Connor Clifton D	D3	0	0	0	-2	0	0.00	1	0	0	14:54	—	—	53	23
Erik Johnson D	D3	0	0	0	-2	2	0.06	1	2	0	14:05	—	—	38	13

BUF goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen(start)	L	29	24	5	.828	3.43	60:00

Colorado Avalanche

COL skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Valeri Nichushkin R	L1	2	0	2	+1	7	1.48	1	0	0	22:30	—	—	73	83
Nathan MacKinnon C	L1	0	2	2	+1	2	0.08	2	0	0	20:53	—	—	67	80
Mikko Rantanen R	L1	1	2	3	+2	4	0.48	2	0	2	20:37	—	—	69	76
Logan O'Connor R	L2	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0	3	0	15:06	—	—	28	23
Miles Wood L	L2	1	0	1	0	1	0.13	0	2	2	14:45	—	—	30	22
Ross Colton C	L2	0	0	0	0	1	0.10	0	1	0	12:33	—	—	35	30
Jonathan Drouin L	L3	0	1	1	+2	2	0.09	1	1	0	14:00	—	—	43	44
Ryan Johansen C	L3	0	0	0	+1	1	0.23	0	0	0	14:00	—	—	33	40
Tomas Tatar L	L3	0	0	0	+1	0	0.00	0	0	0	13:15	—	—	35	39
Fredrik Olofsson L	L4	0	1	1	+1	0	0.06	0	0	0	10:48	—	—	67	55
Andrew Cogliano C	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	0	10:06	—	—	46	51
Ben Meyers C	L4	0	0	0	0	2	0.30	1	0	0	9:37	—	—	70	61
Jack Johnson D	D1	0	1	1	+2	2	0.02	2	4	0	18:57	—	—	36	42
Sam Malinski D	D1	1	1	2	+3	2	0.04	0	1	0	16:25	—	—	50	54
Bowen Byram D	D2	0	0	0	+1	0	0.00	1	3	0	22:52	—	—	48	59
Josh Manson D	D2	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	3	4	0	19:23	—	—	43	48
Devon Toews D	D3	0	0	0	0	2	0.07	1	1	0	22:52	—	—	67	77
Cale Makar D	D3	0	1	1	0	2	0.36	0	1	0	17:21	—	—	73	79

COL goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Ivan Prosvetov(start)	W	30	29	1	.967	2.27	60:00

Goal anatomy

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

Mikko Rantanen (COL) 1st 5:25 · assists Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar · Rush · carried in · 15.2 mph shot · 4.1 s from entry to goal.

Mikko Rantanen · 1st 5:25 · COL

Play: rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: No
Passes: 0
Shot: 15.2 mph
Distance: 47 ft
Entry to goal: 4.1 s

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

Zach Benson · 1st 18:38 · BUF

Play: rebound
Passes: 0
Shot: 23.9 mph
Distance: 8 ft
Type: rebound

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

Valeri Nichushkin · 1st 10:28 · COL

Play: cycle
Passes: 2
Shot: 4.8 mph
Distance: 7 ft

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

Miles Wood · 1st 11:55 · COL

Play: odd-man-rush
Entry: carry
Odd man: 2-on-1
Passes: 0
Shot: 75.3 mph
Distance: 30 ft
Entry to goal: 1.9 s

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

Sam Malinski · 3rd 2:40 · COL

Play: cycle
Passes: 2
Shot: 70.9 mph
Distance: 40 ft
Type: one-timer

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

Valeri Nichushkin · 3rd 13:11 · COL PP

Play: turnover-forecheck
Passes: 1 (royal road)
Shot: 28.0 mph
Distance: 6 ft
Type: one-timer

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.