NHL Recaps: Friday, Mar 23, 2018

5 games: what happened that matters for your fantasy team, built from the play-by-play and shift charts.

Game recaps

Final

Full report

Montreal Canadiens

Buffalo Sabres

Montreal Canadiens beat Buffalo Sabres 3–0

Montreal Canadiens beat Buffalo Sabres 3–0 at BUF. Paul Byron (MTL) led the scoring with 1G 0A. Antti Niemi (MTL) faced 35 shots and stopped 35 (.1000), +5 against a season average of 29.6; the win.

•Antti Niemi (MTL) faced 35 shots and stopped 35 (.1000), +5 against a season average of 29.6; the win.
•New look for BUF: Pouliot–Okposo–Larsson skated 4:51 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (40% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•Jacob de la Rose (MTL) played 15:46, +4:00 up on his 11:46 season average over 54 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

New Jersey Devils edge Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 (OT)

New Jersey Devils beat Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 in overtime at PIT. Taylor Hall (NJD) led the scoring with 1G 2A. Keith Kinkaid (NJD) faced 43 shots and stopped 40 (.930), +13 against a season average of 29.6; the win.

•Taylor Hall had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 7 shots in 20:06.
•Nico Hischier had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 16:57.
•Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 5 shots in 21:08.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

St. Louis Blues beat Vancouver Canucks 4–1

St. Louis Blues beat Vancouver Canucks 4–1 at home. Patrik Berglund (STL) led the scoring with 2G 0A. Carl Gunnarsson (STL) played 4:10, −12:12 down on his 16:22 season average over 62 games.

•Patrik Berglund had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 18:05.
•Carl Gunnarsson (STL) played 4:10, −12:12 down on his 16:22 season average over 62 games.
•New look for STL: Thorburn–Sundqvist–Barbashev skated 6:15 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (58.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Winnipeg Jets edge Anaheim Ducks 3–2 (OT)

Winnipeg Jets beat Anaheim Ducks 3–2 in overtime at home. Mark Scheifele (WPG) led the scoring with 1G 2A. John Gibson (ANA) faced 42 shots and stopped 39 (.929), +11 against a season average of 31.2; the overtime loss.

•Mark Scheifele had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 2 shots in 22:21.
•Blake Wheeler had 2 assists (2 points) on 4 shots in 19:58.
•John Gibson (ANA) faced 42 shots and stopped 39 (.929), +11 against a season average of 31.2; the overtime loss.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Boston Bruins edge Dallas Stars 3–2

Boston Bruins beat Dallas Stars 3–2 at DAL. Brad Marchand (BOS) led the scoring with 1G 2A. Tuukka Rask (BOS) faced 42 shots and stopped 40 (.952), +14 against a season average of 28.0; the win.

•Brad Marchand had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 2 shots in 19:57.
•David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 17:30.
•Tuukka Rask (BOS) faced 42 shots and stopped 40 (.952), +14 against a season average of 28.0; the win.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Top performers

Player	Game	G	A	P	SOG	Hits	Blk	TOI	PP
Taylor Hall NJD	at PIT	1	2	3	7	1	1	20:06	—
Brad Marchand BOS	at DAL	1	2	3	2	1	1	19:57	—
Mark Scheifele WPG	vs ANA	1	2	3	2	1	0	22:21	—
Patrik Berglund STL	vs VAN	2	0	2	2	1	1	18:05	—
Sidney Crosby PIT	vs NJD	1	1	2	5	1	0	21:08	—
David Pastrnak BOS	at DAL	1	1	2	4	0	1	17:30	—
Nico Hischier NJD	at PIT	1	1	2	3	0	0	16:57	—
Blake Wheeler WPG	vs ANA	0	2	2	4	1	0	19:58	—
Greg Pateryn DAL	vs BOS	0	0	0	3	2	8	19:01	—

Line changes

New look for BUF: Pouliot–Okposo–Larsson skated 4:51 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (40% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for NJD: Boyle–Stafford–Coleman skated 4:20 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (14.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for STL: Thorburn–Sundqvist–Barbashev skated 6:15 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (58.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for VAN: Jokinen–Sutter–Boucher skated 5:28 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (64.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for ANA: Perry–Henrique–Rakell skated 10:24 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (20% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →

Goalie notes

Goalie	Game	Dec	SA	GA	SV%
Keith Kinkaid NJD	at PIT	W	43	3	.930
John Gibson ANA	at WPG	O	42	3	.929
Tuukka Rask BOS	at DAL	W	42	2	.952
Kari Lehtonen DAL	vs BOS	L	36	3	.917
Antti Niemi MTL	at BUF	W	35	0	.1000
Matt Murray PIT	vs NJD	O	34	4	.882
Anders Nilsson VAN	at STL	L	25	4	.840
Linus Ullmark BUF	vs MTL	L	22	1	.955
Jake Allen STL	vs VAN	W	20	1	.950
Connor Hellebuyck WPG	vs ANA	W	18	2	.889

Next up: tonight's starting goalies, today's line combinations and today's games. Takeaways are generated from the numbers with fixed rules; nothing is written by a language model.