NHL Recaps: Friday, Dec 20, 2024

7 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

Toronto Maple Leafs beat Buffalo Sabres 6–3

Toronto Maple Leafs beat Buffalo Sabres 6–3 at BUF. William Nylander (TOR) led the scoring with 1G 2A.

•William Nylander had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 19:22.
•Bobby McMann had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 11:13.
•JJ Peterka had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 16:00.

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

Montreal Canadiens edge Detroit Red Wings 4–3

Montreal Canadiens beat Detroit Red Wings 4–3 at DET. Jake Evans (MTL) led the scoring with 1G 1A. MTL's first power-play unit (Laine, Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson and Slafkovský) scored 1 power-play goal on 3 attempts in 2:50 together.

•Emil Heineman had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 9:39.
•Jake Evans had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 16:02.
•Michael Rasmussen had 2 assists (2 points) in 13:31.

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

Florida Panthers edge St. Louis Blues 2–1 (OT)

Florida Panthers beat St. Louis Blues 2–1 in overtime at home. Aleksander Barkov (FLA) led the scoring with 1G 1A. Scott Perunovich (STL) played 8:18, −7:56 down on his 16:14 season average over 34 games.

•Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 24:18.
•Scott Perunovich (STL) played 8:18, −7:56 down on his 16:14 season average over 34 games.
•New look for FLA: Bennett–Rodrigues–Samoskevich skated 10:55 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (71.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

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

Washington Capitals beat Carolina Hurricanes 3–1

Washington Capitals beat Carolina Hurricanes 3–1 at home. Connor McMichael (WSH) led the scoring with 1G 0A. New look for WSH: Dubois–McMichael–Protas skated 10:01 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (55.6% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•New look for WSH: Dubois–McMichael–Protas skated 10:01 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (55.6% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•New look for WSH: Wilson–Mangiapane–Strome skated 9:11 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (23.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•New look for WSH: Vrana–Raddysh–Lapierre skated 4:04 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (14.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

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

New York Rangers beat Dallas Stars 3–1

New York Rangers beat Dallas Stars 3–1 at DAL. Vincent Trocheck (NYR) led the scoring with 1G 1A. Igor Shesterkin (NYR) faced 42 shots and stopped 41 (.976), +13 against a season average of 28.7; the win.

•Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 5 shots in 23:26.
•Igor Shesterkin (NYR) faced 42 shots and stopped 41 (.976), +13 against a season average of 28.7; the win.
•New look for NYR: Smith–Zibanejad–Berard skated 5:37 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (40% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

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

Utah Mammoth edge Minnesota Wild 2–1

Utah Mammoth beat Minnesota Wild 2–1 at MIN. Dylan Guenther (UTA) led the scoring with 2G 0A. UTA's first power-play unit (Schmaltz, Keller, Sergachev, Guenther and Cooley) scored 1 power-play goal on 3 attempts in 2:23 together.

•Dylan Guenther had two goals (2 points) on 3 shots in 13:41.
•UTA's first power-play unit (Schmaltz, Keller, Sergachev, Guenther and Cooley) scored 1 power-play goal on 3 attempts in 2:23 together.
•Marco Rossi (MIN) played 24:15, +6:05 up on his 18:10 season average over 81 games.

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

Colorado Avalanche beat Anaheim Ducks 4–2

Colorado Avalanche beat Anaheim Ducks 4–2 at ANA. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) led the scoring with 1G 2A. COL's first power-play unit (MacKinnon, Nichushkin, Rantanen, Colton and Makar) scored 1 power-play goal on 12 attempts in 5:28 together.

•Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 18:49.
•Cale Makar had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 7 shots in 23:02.
•Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 21:19.

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

Goal of the night

The hardest tracked shot of the night: Emil Heineman for MTL @ DET, 72.9 mph. Full game report →

Emil Heineman (MTL @ DET): Rush, loose puck, 3 passes, 72.9 mph shot.

Top performers

Player	Game	G	A	P	SOG	Hits	Blk	TOI	PP
Nathan MacKinnon COL	at ANA	1	2	3	3	0	1	18:49	—
William Nylander TOR	at BUF	1	2	3	3	0	0	19:22	—
Dylan Guenther UTA	at MIN	2	0	2	3	1	0	13:41	—
Cale Makar COL	at ANA	1	1	2	7	1	3	23:02	—
Vincent Trocheck NYR	at DAL	1	1	2	5	5	3	23:26	—
Owen Power BUF	vs TOR	1	1	2	3	2	1	23:33	—
Aleksander Barkov FLA	vs STL	1	1	2	3	0	2	24:18	—
Bobby McMann TOR	at BUF	1	1	2	3	1	0	11:13	—
Valeri Nichushkin COL	at ANA	1	1	2	3	1	0	21:19	—
Max Domi TOR	at BUF	1	1	2	3	0	0	11:51	—
Mattias Samuelsson BUF	vs TOR	1	1	2	2	1	2	21:25	—
Jake Evans MTL	at DET	1	1	2	2	2	0	16:02	—

Line changes

New look for FLA: Bennett–Rodrigues–Samoskevich skated 10:55 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (71.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for STL: Faksa–Walker–Toropchenko skated 8:14 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (31.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for WSH: Dubois–McMichael–Protas skated 10:01 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (55.6% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for WSH: Wilson–Mangiapane–Strome skated 9:11 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (23.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for WSH: Vrana–Raddysh–Lapierre skated 4:04 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 NYR: Smith–Zibanejad–Berard skated 5:37 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (40% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for DAL: Benn–Stankoven–Johnston skated 5:06 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (27.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for NYR: Carrick–Edstrom–Rempe skated 4:00 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (33.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for MIN: Foligno–Hartman–Khusnutdinov skated 6:14 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (70% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for MIN: Gaunce–Shore–Jones skated 5:48 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (12.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →

Goalie notes

Goalie	Game	Dec	SA	GA	SV%
Igor Shesterkin NYR	at DAL	W	42	1	.976
Cam Talbot DET	vs MTL	L	33	4	.879
Scott Wedgewood COL	at ANA	W	32	2	.938
Jake Oettinger DAL	vs NYR	L	29	2	.931
Karel Vejmelka UTA	at MIN	W	29	1	.966
Samuel Montembeault MTL	at DET	W	28	3	.893
Matt Murray TOR	at BUF	W	27	3	.889
Sergei Bobrovsky FLA	vs STL	W	27	1	.963
Joel Hofer STL	at FLA	O	27	2	.926
Charlie Lindgren WSH	vs CAR	W	25	1	.960
Pyotr Kochetkov CAR	at WSH	L	22	3	.864
John Gibson ANA	vs COL	L	22	3	.864
Marc-Andre Fleury MIN	vs UTA	L	18	2	.889
James Reimer BUF	vs TOR	—	15	1	.933
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen BUF	vs TOR	L	13	4	.692

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.