NHL Recaps: Thursday, Dec 21, 2023

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

Game recaps

Final

Full report

Toronto Maple Leafs

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres rout Toronto Maple Leafs 9–3

Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs 9–3 at home. Alex Tuch (BUF) led the scoring with 0G 4A.

•Alex Tuch had 4 assists (4 points) on 1 shot in 16:14.
•Jeff Skinner had two goals and an assist (3 points) on 5 shots in 14:26.
•Tage Thompson had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 5 shots in 15:20.

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

Final / OT

Full report

Washington Capitals

Columbus Blue Jackets

Washington Capitals edge Columbus Blue Jackets 3–2 (OT)

Washington Capitals beat Columbus Blue Jackets 3–2 in overtime at CBJ. John Carlson (WSH) led the scoring with 0G 3A. WSH's first power-play unit (Ovechkin, Carlson, Wilson, Mantha and Strome) scored 1 power-play goal on 15 attempts in 3:09 together.

•John Carlson had 3 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 26:10.
•Anthony Mantha had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 14:49.
•Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 7 shots in 21:08.

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

St. Louis Blues beat Florida Panthers 4–1

St. Louis Blues beat Florida Panthers 4–1 at FLA. Pavel Buchnevich (STL) led the scoring with 2G 1A. New look for FLA: Barkov–Reinhart–Tkachuk skated 7:46 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (60% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Pavel Buchnevich had two goals and an assist (3 points) on 4 shots in 17:28.
•Robert Thomas had 3 assists (3 points) on 1 shot in 18:27.
•Jordan Kyrou had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 17:28.

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

Nashville Predators beat Philadelphia Flyers 4–2

Nashville Predators beat Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 at PHI. Philip Tomasino (NSH) led the scoring with 2G 0A. PHI's first power-play unit (Couturier, Ristolainen, Konecny, Frost and Foerster) scored 1 power-play goal on 5 attempts in 3:32 together.

•Philip Tomasino had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 15:11.
•Colton Sissons had 2 assists (2 points) on 1 shot in 17:11.
•Filip Forsberg had 2 assists (2 points) on 5 shots in 20:24.

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

Pittsburgh Penguins edge Carolina Hurricanes 2–1 (SO)

Pittsburgh Penguins beat Carolina Hurricanes 2–1 in a shootout at home. Sidney Crosby (PIT) led the scoring with 1G 0A. Rickard Rakell (PIT) played 20:38, +4:10 up on his 16:28 season average over 69 games.

•Rickard Rakell (PIT) played 20:38, +4:10 up on his 16:28 season average over 69 games.
•Jake Guentzel (PIT) played 23:08, +3:10 up on his 19:59 season average over 66 games.
•Jesper Fast (CAR) played 17:05, +4:32 up on his 12:33 season average over 72 games.

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

Tampa Bay Lightning edge Vegas Golden Knights 5–4

Tampa Bay Lightning beat Vegas Golden Knights 5–4 at home. Brayden Point (TBL) led the scoring with 2G 1A.

•Brayden Point had two goals and an assist (3 points) on 4 shots in 17:26.
•Nick Paul had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 1 shot in 17:53.
•Nikita Kucherov had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 5 shots in 18:36.

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

Edmonton Oilers beat New Jersey Devils 6–3

Edmonton Oilers beat New Jersey Devils 6–3 at NJD. Ryan McLeod (EDM) led the scoring with 2G 0A.

•Ryan McLeod had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 14:33.
•Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 20:02.
•Dawson Mercer had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 14:15.

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

Dallas Stars edge Vancouver Canucks 4–3 (OT)

Dallas Stars beat Vancouver Canucks 4–3 in overtime at home. Matt Duchene (DAL) led the scoring with 1G 1A.

•Conor Garland had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 14:18.
•Dakota Joshua had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 18:04.
•Matt Duchene had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 18:48.

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

Minnesota Wild edge Montreal Canadiens 4–3 (OT)

Minnesota Wild beat Montreal Canadiens 4–3 in overtime at home. Marco Rossi (MIN) led the scoring with 1G 2A.

•Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 2 shots in 29:09.
•Marco Rossi had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 16:00.
•Brock Faber had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 33:25.

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

Colorado Avalanche beat Ottawa Senators 6–4

Colorado Avalanche beat Ottawa Senators 6–4 at home. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) led the scoring with 4G 1A. COL's first power-play unit (MacKinnon, Drouin, Nichushkin, Rantanen and Makar) scored 3 power-play goals on 11 attempts in 5:40 together.

•Nathan MacKinnon had 4 goals and an assist (5 points) on 9 shots in 22:51.
•Valeri Nichushkin had 3 assists (3 points) on 2 shots in 29:05.
•COL's first power-play unit (MacKinnon, Drouin, Nichushkin, Rantanen and Makar) scored 3 power-play goals on 11 attempts in 5:40 together.

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

Calgary Flames beat Anaheim Ducks 3–0

Calgary Flames beat Anaheim Ducks 3–0 at ANA. Elias Lindholm (CGY) led the scoring with 1G 2A. CGY's first power-play unit (Kadri, Lindholm, Andersson, Sharangovich and Zary) scored 1 power-play goal on 14 attempts in 5:47 together.

•Elias Lindholm had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 4 shots in 23:10.
•CGY's first power-play unit (Kadri, Lindholm, Andersson, Sharangovich and Zary) scored 1 power-play goal on 14 attempts in 5:47 together.
•Lukas Dostal (ANA) faced 43 shots and stopped 41 (.953), +13 against a season average of 29.8; the loss.

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

Arizona Coyotes beat San Jose Sharks 5–2

Arizona Coyotes beat San Jose Sharks 5–2 at SJS. Alexander Kerfoot (ARI) led the scoring with 1G 2A. ARI's first power-play unit (Kerfoot, Schmaltz, Keller, Durzi and Maccelli) scored 1 power-play goal on 3 attempts in 2:55 together.

•Alexander Kerfoot had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 20:26.
•Clayton Keller had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 17:22.
•Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 19:33.

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

Goal of the night

The hardest tracked shot of the night: Nathan MacKinnon for COL vs OTT, 73.4 mph. Full game report →

Nathan MacKinnon (COL vs OTT): Forecheck turnover, 0 passes, 73.4 mph shot.

Top performers

Player	Game	G	A	P	SOG	Hits	Blk	TOI	PP
Nathan MacKinnon COL	vs OTT	4	1	5	9	0	0	22:51	—
Alex Tuch BUF	vs TOR	0	4	4	1	0	2	16:14	—
Jeff Skinner BUF	vs TOR	2	1	3	5	0	1	14:26	—
Pavel Buchnevich STL	at FLA	2	1	3	4	1	0	17:28	—
Brayden Point TBL	vs VGK	2	1	3	4	0	0	17:26	—
Tage Thompson BUF	vs TOR	1	2	3	5	1	0	15:20	—
Nikita Kucherov TBL	vs VGK	1	2	3	5	0	0	18:36	—
Elias Lindholm CGY	at ANA	1	2	3	4	2	2	23:10	—
Clayton Keller ARI	at SJS	1	2	3	3	0	1	17:22	—
Marco Rossi MIN	vs MTL	1	2	3	3	0	0	16:00	—
Alexander Kerfoot ARI	at SJS	1	2	3	3	0	0	20:26	—
Kirill Kaprizov MIN	vs MTL	1	2	3	2	0	1	29:09	—

Line changes

New look for FLA: Barkov–Reinhart–Tkachuk skated 7:46 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (60% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for STL: Schenn–Kapanen–Neighbours skated 14:52 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (25.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for ANA: Henrique–Strome–Vatrano skated 9:31 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (73.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for ANA: Jones–Leason–McTavish skated 5:18 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (55.6% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →

Goalie notes

Goalie	Game	Dec	SA	GA	SV%
Alexandar Georgiev COL	vs OTT	W	45	4	.911
Lukas Dostal ANA	vs CGY	L	43	2	.953
Joel Hofer STL	at FLA	W	38	1	.974
Joonas Korpisalo OTT	at COL	L	38	5	.868
Charlie Lindgren WSH	at CBJ	W	36	2	.944
Jiri Patera VGK	at TBL	L	36	5	.861
Thatcher Demko VAN	at DAL	O	36	4	.889
Andrei Vasilevskiy TBL	vs VGK	W	34	4	.882
Elvis Merzlikins CBJ	vs WSH	O	32	3	.906
Vitek Vanecek NJD	vs EDM	L	32	4	.875
Juuse Saros NSH	at PHI	W	31	2	.935
Karel Vejmelka ARI	at SJS	W	31	2	.935
Samuel Ersson PHI	vs NSH	L	30	3	.900
Mackenzie Blackwood SJS	vs ARI	L	30	5	.833
Devon Levi BUF	vs TOR	W	27	3	.889
Calvin Pickard EDM	at NJD	W	26	3	.885
Pyotr Kochetkov CAR	at PIT	O	25	1	.960
Filip Gustavsson MIN	vs MTL	W	25	3	.880
Jacob Markstrom CGY	at ANA	W	25	0	.1000
Alex Nedeljkovic PIT	vs CAR	W	24	1	.958
Samuel Montembeault MTL	at MIN	O	24	4	.833
Sergei Bobrovsky FLA	vs STL	L	23	3	.870
Scott Wedgewood DAL	vs VAN	W	20	3	.850
Ilya Samsonov TOR	at BUF	L	19	5	.737
Martin Jones TOR	at BUF	—	15	4	.733
Akira Schmid NJD	vs EDM	—	6	2	.667

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.