Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston BruinsApr 29, 2021

FinalThursday, Apr 29, 2021· TD Garden

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Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
BUF	1	0	1	2		BUF	11	11	9	31
BOS	2	0	3	5		BOS	13	15	12	40

: BUF 48BOS 63
: BUF 2.52BOS 3.20
PP goals: BUF 0BOS 1
Hits: BUF 30BOS 24
Blocks: BUF 7BOS 9
PIM: BUF 6BOS 6
: BUF 41%BOS 59%

Fantasy takeaways

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

Boston Bruins beat Buffalo Sabres 5–2

Boston Bruins beat Buffalo Sabres 5–2 at home. Brad Marchand (BOS) led the scoring with 1G 1A. New look for BUF: Asplund–Mittelstadt–Ruotsalainen skated 13:29 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (37.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

Points
Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 20:51.Marchand
Points
David Krejci had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 15:32.Krejci
Points
Craig Smith had 2 assists (2 points) on 1 shot in 16:25.Smith
New line
New look for BUF: Asplund–Mittelstadt–Ruotsalainen skated 13:29 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (37.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Asplund Mittelstadt Ruotsalainen
New line
New look for BUF: Bjork–Caggiula–Cozens skated 11:56 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (38.1% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Bjork Caggiula Cozens
Goalie
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) faced 39 shots and stopped 35 (.897), +2 against a season average of 37.3; the loss.Luukkonen
New line
New look for BUF: Sheahan–Rieder–Thompson skated 6:14 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (25% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Sheahan Rieder Thompson
Luck
BOS scored 5 goals on 3.20 expected goals (63 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)BOS attacks right (top on phones) →

BOS
BUF
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 111 of 111 attempts · BOS 63 · BUF 48

Game flow

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

Cumulative shot attempts

BOS
BUF
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

BOS 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 24% of the game, BOS 34%.

Shift chart

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

Shifts

BOS

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	BOS
	48	58
	2.42	1.97
	2.37	1.90
	8	10
	11	6
	23	12
	−0.088	+0.089
	24%	34%

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

L1Asplund – Mittelstadt – Ruotsalainen
13:2938% CF
L2Bjork – Caggiula – Cozens
11:5638% CF
L3Skinner – Reinhart – Olofsson
11:1179% CF
L4Sheahan – Rieder – Thompson
6:1425% CF
D1Jokiharju – Dahlin
17:4652% CF
D2Ristolainen – Samuelsson
16:4032% CF
D3Borgen – Bryson
10:5856% CF

PP1Reinhart – Olofsson – Mittelstadt – Dahlin – Cozens
2:16100% CF
PP2Skinner – Ristolainen – Thompson – Bryson – Ruotsalainen
1:05100% CF
PK1FSheahan – Bjork
1:14
PK2FRieder – Asplund
0:53
PK1DRistolainen – Samuelsson
1:50
PK2DBorgen – Bryson
1:33

Current BUF line combinations →

Boston Bruins

L1Bergeron – Marchand – Pastrnak
12:2546% CF
L2Krejci – Smith – Hall
12:1476% CF
L3Coyle – Kuraly – Frederic
6:1144% CF
L4Wagner – Lazar – Ritchie
5:5367% CF
D1Miller – Grzelcyk
11:2883% CF
D2Reilly – Clifton
9:3056% CF
D3Lauzon – McAvoy
9:1727% CF

PP1Bergeron – Marchand – Reilly – Ritchie – Pastrnak
2:18100% CF
PP2Krejci – Smith – Coyle – Hall – McAvoy
1:20100% CF
PK1FCoyle – Kuraly
2:16
PK2FBergeron – Marchand
0:33
PK1DReilly – McAvoy
2:01
PK2DMiller – Lauzon
1:20

Current BOS line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

1st period

1:16
BOSDavid Pastrnak (Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand)slap0.00 xG
BUF: Asplund, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, Dahlin, RuotsalainenBOS: Bergeron, Marchand, Grzelcyk, Pastrnak, McAvoy
BUF 0 – 1 BOS
14:09
BUFCasey Mittelstadt (Arttu Ruotsalainen, Rasmus Asplund)wrist0.01 xG
BUF: Borgen, Asplund, Mittelstadt, Bryson, RuotsalainenBOS: Bergeron, Marchand, Miller, Grzelcyk, Pastrnak
BUF 1 – 1 BOS
19:59
BOSDavid KrejciPP (Charlie McAvoy, Craig Smith)slap0.09 xG
BUF: Sheahan, Caggiula, Bryson, SamuelssonBOS: Krejci, Marchand, Smith, Coyle, McAvoy
BUF 1 – 2 BOS

3rd period

1:43
BUFSam Reinhart (Victor Olofsson, Jeff Skinner)snap0.22 xG
BUF: Skinner, Reinhart, Olofsson, Borgen, BrysonBOS: Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, Lauzon, McAvoy
BUF 2 – 2 BOS
7:58
BOSCharlie Coylewrist0.11 xG
BUF: Rieder, Ristolainen, Reinhart, Thompson, SamuelssonBOS: Coyle, Kuraly, Ritchie, Lauzon, McAvoy
BUF 2 – 3 BOS
16:43
BOSTaylor Hall (David Krejci, Craig Smith)wrist0.04 xG
BUF: Asplund, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, Dahlin, RuotsalainenBOS: Krejci, Smith, Hall, Reilly, Clifton
BUF 2 – 4 BOS
18:26
BOSBrad MarchandENwrist0.27 xG
BUF: Reinhart, Olofsson, Mittelstadt, Jokiharju, Dahlin, CozensBOS: Bergeron, Marchand, Miller, Lauzon
BUF 2 – 5 BOS

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
Casey Mittelstadt C	L1	1	0	1	-2	3	0.26	1	0	0	19:38	—	—	37	31
Arttu Ruotsalainen C	L1	0	1	1	-1	1	0.05	4	0	0	16:15	—	—	39	38
Rasmus Asplund C	L1	0	1	1	-1	1	0.03	0	0	0	15:40	—	—	42	40
Anders Bjork L	L2	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	17:02	—	—	35	62
Dylan Cozens C	L2	0	0	0	-1	4	0.40	0	0	0	16:43	—	—	41	61
Drake Caggiula L	L2	0	0	0	0	2	0.24	5	0	0	15:48	—	—	39	58
Sam Reinhart C	L3	1	0	1	-1	7	0.66	0	0	2	17:46	—	—	70	67
Victor Olofsson L	L3	0	1	1	0	2	0.25	2	0	0	17:34	—	—	75	73
Jeff Skinner L	L3	0	1	1	+1	0	0.00	1	0	0	14:29	—	—	73	72
Riley Sheahan C	L4	0	0	0	0	2	0.15	0	0	0	9:38	—	—	27	58
Tobias Rieder L	L4	0	0	0	-1	2	0.09	0	1	0	8:36	—	—	29	39
Tage Thompson C	L4	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	2	0	0	7:42	—	—	29	38
Rasmus Dahlin D	D1	0	0	0	-3	2	0.33	4	1	4	23:33	—	—	52	67
Henri Jokiharju D	D1	0	0	0	-3	3	0.06	2	1	0	19:57	—	—	52	63
Mattias Samuelsson D	D2	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	1	1	0	22:16	—	—	35	42
Rasmus Ristolainen D	D2	0	0	0	-1	2	0.01	3	2	0	20:46	—	—	36	34
Jacob Bryson D	D3	0	0	0	+2	0	0.00	3	0	0	18:14	—	—	57	77
Will Borgen D	D3	0	0	0	+2	0	0.00	0	1	0	13:08	—	—	53	76

BUF goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen(start)	L	39	35	4	.897	2.94	59:21

Boston Bruins

BOS skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Brad Marchand L	L1	1	1	2	0	4	0.74	3	1	0	20:51	—	—	44	40
Patrice Bergeron C	L1	0	1	1	0	1	0.62	1	2	0	18:48	—	—	44	39
David Pastrnak R	L1	1	0	1	-1	6	0.12	0	0	0	17:32	—	—	45	40
Craig Smith C	L2	0	2	2	+1	1	0.22	4	0	0	16:25	—	—	72	65
Taylor Hall L	L2	1	0	1	+1	5	0.34	0	0	0	16:00	—	—	77	68
David Krejci C	L2	1	1	2	+1	2	0.15	0	0	2	15:32	—	—	62	55
Charlie Coyle C	L3	1	0	1	+1	4	0.29	1	0	0	16:10	—	—	48	33
Sean Kuraly C	L3	0	0	0	+1	0	0.08	2	1	0	15:46	—	—	57	43
Trent Frederic C	L3	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	1	1	0	9:54	—	—	42	21
Nick Ritchie L	L4	0	0	0	+1	2	0.15	2	0	0	12:36	—	—	47	31
Curtis Lazar C	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	3	0	2	9:25	—	—	53	40
Chris Wagner R	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.04	1	0	0	8:52	—	—	58	42
Kevan Miller D	D1	0	0	0	0	3	0.10	1	1	0	20:23	—	—	73	73
Matt Grzelcyk D	D1	0	0	0	0	6	0.17	0	0	0	18:15	—	—	72	51
Mike Reilly D	D2	0	0	0	+1	3	0.07	1	1	0	21:55	—	—	48	41
Connor Clifton D	D2	0	0	0	+1	0	0.02	1	1	2	16:27	—	—	56	49
Charlie McAvoy D	D3	0	1	1	+1	2	0.07	2	1	0	20:54	—	—	36	33
Jeremy Lauzon D	D3	0	0	0	+1	1	0.01	1	0	0	18:15	—	—	38	46

BOS goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Tuukka Rask(start)	W	31	29	2	.935	2.52	60:00

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.