NHL Recaps: Sunday, Dec 29, 2024

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

Game recaps

Final

Full report

Buffalo Sabres

St. Louis Blues

Buffalo Sabres beat St. Louis Blues 4–2

Buffalo Sabres beat St. Louis Blues 4–2 at STL. Tage Thompson (BUF) led the scoring with 1G 1A. BUF's first power-play unit (Zucker, Thompson, Dahlin, Quinn and Peterka) scored 1 power-play goal on 2 attempts in 2:49 together.

•Jason Zucker had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 18:13.
•Tage Thompson had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 19:18.
•Colton Parayko had 2 assists (2 points) on 3 shots in 22:24.

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

Anaheim Ducks beat Edmonton Oilers 5–3

Anaheim Ducks beat Edmonton Oilers 5–3 at home. Leon Draisaitl (EDM) led the scoring with 2G 0A. ANA won it by committee.

•Leon Draisaitl had two goals (2 points) on 4 shots in 21:32.
•Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 16:18.
•Evan Bouchard had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 22:13.

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

Detroit Red Wings beat Washington Capitals 4–2

Detroit Red Wings beat Washington Capitals 4–2 at home. Alex DeBrincat (DET) led the scoring with 2G 0A. New look for DET: Tarasenko–Compher–Berggren skated 11:09 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (16.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Alex DeBrincat had two goals (2 points) on 3 shots in 17:49.
•Lucas Raymond had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 17:42.
•Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 17:34.

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

Montreal Canadiens beat Tampa Bay Lightning 5–2

Montreal Canadiens beat Tampa Bay Lightning 5–2 at TBL. Joel Armia (MTL) led the scoring with 1G 1A. New look for TBL: Kucherov–Paul–Point skated 9:10 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (45.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Joel Armia had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 13:54.
•Alexandre Carrier had 2 assists (2 points) on 3 shots in 21:10.
•New look for TBL: Kucherov–Paul–Point skated 9:10 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (45.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

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

Pittsburgh Penguins edge New York Islanders 3–2

Pittsburgh Penguins beat New York Islanders 3–2 at home. Michael Bunting (PIT) led the scoring with 1G 1A. PIT's first power-play unit (Malkin, Karlsson, Glass, Tomasino and O'Connor) scored 1 power-play goal on 9 attempts in 1:37 together.

•Michael Bunting had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 13:32.
•Philip Tomasino had 2 assists (2 points) on 1 shot in 12:57.
•PIT's first power-play unit (Malkin, Karlsson, Glass, Tomasino and O'Connor) scored 1 power-play goal on 9 attempts in 1:37 together.

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

Ottawa Senators beat Minnesota Wild 3–1

Ottawa Senators beat Minnesota Wild 3–1 at MIN. Ridly Greig (OTT) led the scoring with 1G 0A. OTT's first power-play unit (Norris, Batherson, Tkachuk, Sanderson and Stützle) scored 1 power-play goal on 5 attempts in 2:22 together.

•OTT's first power-play unit (Norris, Batherson, Tkachuk, Sanderson and Stützle) scored 1 power-play goal on 5 attempts in 2:22 together.
•New look for OTT: Tkachuk–Pinto–Greig skated 13:09 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (55.2% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•New look for MIN: Johansson–Hartman–Eriksson Ek skated 10:26 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (61.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

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

Vegas Golden Knights beat Calgary Flames 3–0

Vegas Golden Knights beat Calgary Flames 3–0 at home. Tanner Pearson (VGK) led the scoring with 1G 1A. VGK's first power-play unit (Stone, Hertl, Theodore, Olofsson and Eichel) scored 1 power-play goal on 12 attempts in 4:32 together.

•Tanner Pearson had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 10:59.
•Shea Theodore had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 19:08.
•VGK's first power-play unit (Stone, Hertl, Theodore, Olofsson and Eichel) scored 1 power-play goal on 12 attempts in 4:32 together.

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

Dallas Stars rout Chicago Blackhawks 5–1

Dallas Stars beat Chicago Blackhawks 5–1 at CHI. Jamie Benn (DAL) led the scoring with 1G 2A.

•Jamie Benn had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 5 shots in 19:10.
•Matt Duchene had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 5 shots in 18:39.
•Evgenii Dadonov had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 15:29.

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

Los Angeles Kings edge Philadelphia Flyers 5–4

Los Angeles Kings beat Philadelphia Flyers 5–4 at home. Anze Kopitar (LAK) led the scoring with 2G 0A. New look for PHI: Laughton–Frost–Michkov skated 9:23 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (47.1% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Anze Kopitar had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 21:17.
•Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 23:36.
•Matvei Michkov had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 16:35.

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

Goal of the night

The hardest tracked shot of the night: Adrian Kempe for LAK vs PHI, 88.4 mph. Full game report →

Adrian Kempe (LAK vs PHI): Odd-man rush, carried in, 3-on-2 at the blue line, 3 passes, 88.4 mph shot.

Top performers

Player	Game	G	A	P	SOG	Hits	Blk	TOI	PP
Jamie Benn DAL	at CHI	1	2	3	5	0	1	19:10	—
Matt Duchene DAL	at CHI	1	2	3	5	0	0	18:39	—
Leon Draisaitl EDM	at ANA	2	0	2	4	0	0	21:32	—
Alex DeBrincat DET	vs WSH	2	0	2	3	0	1	17:49	—
Anze Kopitar LAK	vs PHI	2	0	2	2	0	0	21:17	—
Jason Robertson DAL	at CHI	1	1	2	5	2	1	20:45	—
Robby Fabbri ANA	vs EDM	1	1	2	5	0	0	21:10	—
Joel Armia MTL	at TBL	1	1	2	4	2	0	13:54	—
Evgenii Dadonov DAL	at CHI	1	1	2	4	0	0	15:29	—
Lucas Raymond DET	vs WSH	1	1	2	4	0	0	17:42	—
Adrian Kempe LAK	vs PHI	1	1	2	3	2	1	23:36	—
Mason McTavish ANA	vs EDM	1	1	2	3	1	1	18:13	—

Line changes

New look for DET: Tarasenko–Compher–Berggren skated 11:09 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (16.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for DET: Motte–Rasmussen–Kasper skated 7:11 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for TBL: Kucherov–Paul–Point skated 9:10 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (45.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for OTT: Tkachuk–Pinto–Greig skated 13:09 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (55.2% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for MIN: Johansson–Hartman–Eriksson Ek skated 10:26 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (61.5% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for OTT: Gaudette–Batherson–Stützle skated 11:01 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (56% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for PHI: Laughton–Frost–Michkov skated 9:23 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (47.1% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →

Goalie notes

Goalie	Game	Dec	SA	GA	SV%
Marcus Hogberg NYI	at PIT	L	41	3	.927
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen BUF	at STL	W	37	2	.946
Jonas Johansson TBL	vs MTL	L	36	4	.889
Filip Gustavsson MIN	vs OTT	L	36	2	.944
Dan Vladar CGY	at VGK	L	36	2	.944
Arvid Soderblom CHI	vs DAL	L	35	5	.857
Calvin Pickard EDM	at ANA	L	31	4	.871
Alex Nedeljkovic PIT	vs NYI	W	31	2	.935
Leevi Meriläinen OTT	at MIN	W	31	1	.968
Ilya Samsonov VGK	vs CGY	W	31	0	.1000
Charlie Lindgren WSH	at DET	L	27	4	.852
Alex Lyon DET	vs WSH	W	27	2	.926
Jake Oettinger DAL	at CHI	W	25	1	.960
Lukas Dostal ANA	vs EDM	W	23	3	.870
Samuel Montembeault MTL	at TBL	W	23	2	.913
David Rittich LAK	vs PHI	W	21	4	.810
Aleksei Kolosov PHI	at LAK	L	20	5	.750
Jordan Binnington STL	vs BUF	L	16	4	.750

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.