Buffalo Sabres vs. Philadelphia FlyersDec 3, 2025

FinalWednesday, Dec 3, 2025· Xfinity Mobile Arena

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Goals	1	2	3	T		Shots	1	2	3	T
BUF	1	1	0	2		BUF	4	14	11	29
PHI	3	2	0	5		PHI	11	12	12	35

: BUF 65PHI 68
: BUF 3.73PHI 5.75
PP goals: BUF 1PHI 2
Hits: BUF 16PHI 18
Blocks: BUF 20PHI 15
PIM: BUF 23PHI 14
: BUF 47%PHI 53%

Fantasy takeaways

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

Philadelphia Flyers beat Buffalo Sabres 5–2

Philadelphia Flyers beat Buffalo Sabres 5–2 at home. Noah Cates (PHI) led the scoring with 1G 1A. PHI's first power-play unit (Sanheim, Konecny, Tippett, Zegras and Michkov) scored 2 power-play goals on 10 attempts in 5:34 together.

Points
Bobby Brink had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 13:52.Brink
Points
Noah Cates had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 5 shots in 17:43.Cates
Points
Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 16:35.Konecny
Points
Matvei Michkov had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 15:37.Michkov
Points
Travis Sanheim had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 23:42.Sanheim
PP1
PHI's first power-play unit (Sanheim, Konecny, Tippett, Zegras and Michkov) scored 2 power-play goals on 10 attempts in 5:34 together.Sanheim Konecny Tippett Zegras Michkov
PP1
BUF's first power-play unit (Zucker, Thompson, Norris, Dahlin and Doan) scored 1 power-play goal on 10 attempts in 7:34 together.Zucker Thompson Norris Dahlin Doan
New line
New look for PHI: Cates–Brink–Grebenkin skated 8:24 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (26.1% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.Cates Brink Grebenkin

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)PHI attacks right (top on phones) →

PHI
BUF
Goal
Shot on goal
Missed
Blocked

Showing 133 of 133 attempts · PHI 68 · BUF 65

Game flow

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

Cumulative shot attempts

PHI
BUF
Goal
Power play (shaded)

Pressure Index

PHI 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 27% of the game, PHI 48%.

Shift chart

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

Shifts

PHI

BUF

goals / penalties

Even strength
Power play
Penalty kill
Goal
Penalty

Head-to-head matchups

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

Matchup matrix

PHI 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	BUF	PHI
	56	53
	2.85	5.14
	2.61	4.84
	14	19
	2	6
	13	19
	−0.007	+0.007
	27%	48%

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

L1Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
7:4247% CF
L2Thompson – Norris – Benson
7:4264% CF
L3Malenstyn – Krebs – Dunne
6:0630% CF
L4Tuch – Doan – Ostlund
6:0260% CF
D1Bryson – Power
5:5950% CF
D2Dahlin – Byram
5:2967% CF
D3Timmins – Samuelsson
4:5356% CF

PP1Zucker – Thompson – Norris – Dahlin – Doan
7:3491% CF
PP2Tuch – McLeod – Quinn – Power – Benson
1:37100% CF
PK1FTuch – McLeod
4:33
PK2FMalenstyn – Benson
2:24
PK1DTimmins – Samuelsson
4:43
PK2DByram – Power
2:49

Current BUF line combinations →

Philadelphia Flyers

L1Cates – Brink – Grebenkin
8:2426% CF
L2Couturier – Tippett – Michkov
8:2370% CF
L3Deslauriers – Hathaway – Abols
8:1250% CF
L4Dvorak – Konecny – Zegras
6:2738% CF
D1Andrae – Drysdale
11:4867% CF
D2Seeler – Zamula
9:1244% CF
D3Sanheim – York
5:5458% CF

PP1Sanheim – Konecny – Tippett – Zegras – Michkov
5:3491% CF
PP2Couturier – Cates – Brink – Andrae – Drysdale
3:08100% CF
PK1FCouturier – Dvorak
2:56
PK2FKonecny – Cates
1:40
PK1DSeeler – Zamula
3:29
PK2DSanheim – York
2:27

Current PHI line combinations →

Scoring summary

Every goal with the skaters on the ice for it.

1st period

4:08
BUFJason ZuckerPP (Josh Doan, Josh Norris)snap0.19 xG
BUF: Zucker, Thompson, Norris, Dahlin, DoanPHI: Abols, Cates, Zamula, Drysdale
BUF 1 – 0 PHI
8:26
PHITravis KonecnyPP (Matvei Michkov, Travis Sanheim)snap0.08 xG
BUF: Tuch, Malenstyn, Samuelsson, PowerPHI: Sanheim, Konecny, Tippett, Zegras, Michkov
BUF 1 – 1 PHI
9:04
PHITrevor ZegrasPP (Travis Sanheim, Travis Konecny)snap0.16 xG
BUF: Tuch, Timmins, McLeod, SamuelssonPHI: Sanheim, Konecny, Tippett, Zegras, Michkov
BUF 1 – 2 PHI
9:25
PHIBobby Brink (Noah Cates, Nikita Grebenkin)wrist0.53 xG
BUF: Thompson, Norris, Dahlin, Byram, BensonPHI: Cates, Brink, Andrae, Drysdale, Grebenkin
BUF 1 – 3 PHI

2nd period

1:45
PHINoah Cates (Bobby Brink, Jamie Drysdale)snap0.32 xG
BUF: Malenstyn, Timmins, Norris, Samuelsson, KrebsPHI: Couturier, Cates, Brink, Andrae, Drysdale
BUF 1 – 4 PHI
11:48
BUFBowen Byram (Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn)wrist0.09 xG
BUF: Tuch, McLeod, Byram, Quinn, PowerPHI: Sanheim, Dvorak, Tippett, Zegras, York
BUF 2 – 4 PHI
12:43
PHIOwen Tippett (Matvei Michkov, Sean Couturier)other0.39 xG
BUF: Zucker, Timmins, McLeod, Samuelsson, QuinnPHI: Couturier, Tippett, Andrae, Drysdale, Michkov
BUF 2 – 5 PHI

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
Ryan McLeod C	L1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	20:13	—	—	52	39
Jason Zucker L	L1	1	0	1	-1	3	0.33	2	0	0	18:12	—	—	52	38
Jack Quinn R	L1	0	1	1	0	1	0.34	2	0	0	15:26	—	—	48	35
Josh Norris C	L2	0	1	1	-2	2	0.53	2	0	0	17:35	—	—	56	26
Tage Thompson C	L2	0	0	0	-1	2	0.19	1	0	2	17:34	—	—	56	28
Zach Benson L	L2	0	0	0	-1	2	0.13	0	0	0	13:57	—	—	60	32
Beck Malenstyn L	L3	0	0	0	-1	0	0.00	2	3	0	11:09	—	—	27	9
Peyton Krebs C	L3	0	0	0	-1	1	0.02	4	1	2	9:31	—	—	21	6
Josh Dunne C	L3	0	0	0	0	1	0.07	0	1	2	7:32	—	—	36	28
Alex Tuch R	L4	0	1	1	+1	2	0.40	0	4	0	19:31	—	—	58	68
Josh Doan R	L4	0	1	1	0	6	0.72	0	0	0	16:32	—	—	60	49
Noah Ostlund C	L4	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	0	10:34	—	—	55	52
Owen Power D	D1	0	0	0	+1	3	0.20	1	0	0	21:34	—	—	68	51
Jacob Bryson D	D1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	1	0	11:06	—	—	33	30
Bowen Byram D	D2	1	0	1	0	2	0.45	0	3	0	23:49	—	—	55	32
Rasmus Dahlin D	D2	0	0	0	-1	1	0.23	0	0	15	16:34	—	—	62	44
Mattias Samuelsson D	D3	0	0	0	-2	3	0.12	1	2	0	20:57	—	—	42	26
Conor Timmins D	D3	0	0	0	-2	0	0.00	0	5	2	16:56	—	—	44	32

BUF goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Colten Ellis(start)	L	35	30	5	.857	5.75	60:00

Philadelphia Flyers

PHI skaters
Skater	Line	G	A	P	+/-			Hits	Blk	PIM		PP	SH
Noah Cates L	L1	1	1	2	+2	5	1.04	0	4	0	17:43	—	—	29	63
Bobby Brink R	L1	1	1	2	+2	3	0.85	0	0	0	13:52	—	—	29	63
Nikita Grebenkin R	L1	0	1	1	+1	0	0.00	5	1	0	12:02	—	—	39	67
Sean Couturier C	L2	0	1	1	+2	1	0.10	1	1	0	20:27	—	—	75	81
Owen Tippett R	L2	1	0	1	0	5	1.34	2	1	0	16:34	—	—	55	62
Matvei Michkov R	L2	0	2	2	+1	2	0.10	0	0	4	15:37	—	—	70	74
Rodrigo Abols C	L3	0	0	0	0	1	0.33	1	1	2	12:28	—	—	67	91
Garnet Hathaway R	L3	0	0	0	0	1	0.34	1	1	2	12:17	—	—	69	93
Nicolas Deslauriers L	L3	0	0	0	0	2	0.26	5	0	2	9:32	—	—	58	84
Travis Konecny R	L4	1	1	2	0	2	0.20	2	0	0	16:35	—	—	45	49
Trevor Zegras C	L4	1	0	1	-1	4	0.59	0	0	0	14:06	—	—	30	30
Christian Dvorak C	L4	0	0	0	-1	2	0.17	0	1	0	13:16	—	—	31	32
Jamie Drysdale D	D1	0	1	1	+3	0	0.01	0	0	0	23:05	—	—	55	80
Emil Andrae D	D1	0	0	0	+3	3	0.10	1	0	0	18:47	—	—	67	89
Nick Seeler D	D2	0	0	0	0	0	0.05	0	1	0	21:03	—	—	39	52
Egor Zamula D	D2	0	0	0	0	1	0.01	0	1	0	17:32	—	—	48	49
Travis Sanheim D	D3	0	2	2	-1	2	0.24	0	2	2	23:42	—	—	38	52
Cam York D	D3	0	0	0	-1	1	0.03	0	1	2	10:37	—	—	44	42

PHI goalies
Goalie	Dec	SA	SV	GA			TOI
Samuel Ersson(start)	W	29	27	2	.931	3.73	59:57

Goal anatomy

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

Trevor Zegras (PHI PP) 1st 9:04 · assists Travis Sanheim, Travis Konecny · Forecheck turnover · 38.4 mph shot.

Trevor Zegras · 1st 9:04 · PHI PP

Play: turnover-forecheck
Passes: 1 (royal road)
Shot: 38.4 mph
Distance: 44 ft

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

Noah Cates · 2nd 1:45 · PHI

Play: cycle
Passes: 3
Shot: 20.0 mph
Distance: 4 ft

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

Owen Tippett · 2nd 12:43 · PHI

Play: turnover-forecheck
Passes: 0
Shot: 5.1 mph
Distance: 9 ft

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

Jason Zucker · 1st 4:08 · BUF PP

Play: rebound
Entry: carry
Odd man: 5-on-4
Passes: 4 (royal road)
Shot: 34.8 mph
Distance: 8 ft
Entry to goal: 8.7 s
Type: one-timer, rebound

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

Travis Konecny · 1st 8:26 · PHI PP

Play: point-shot
Passes: 2
Shot: 63.8 mph
Distance: 44 ft

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

Bobby Brink · 1st 9:25 · PHI

Play: rebound
Passes: 0
Shot: 29.3 mph
Distance: 1 ft
Type: rebound

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

Bowen Byram · 2nd 11:48 · BUF

Play: cycle
Passes: 4 (royal road)
Shot: 63.5 mph
Distance: 27 ft

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.