@ CBJ (Feb 24, 2015)@ FLA (Feb 28, 2015) ›

February 26, 2015

First Niagara Center | Buffalo

VAN 36 BUF

FINAL

Head-to-Head vs VAN all-time
1ST2ND3RDT
VAN1113
BUF1146
Shots on goal VAN 31, BUF 24W M. NeuvirthL E. Lack
Summary

VAN had more shot attempts in all situations, but Buffalo won 6-3.

IN NET
Buffalo M. Neuvirth .903
VAN E. Lack .783
POWER PLAY
Buffalo 0 of 1
VAN 0 of 0
TURNING POINT
T. Mitchell goal (P3 12:43), Sabres win chance rises from 43% to 86%
WIN DNA
2 of 4 winning traits
SHIFTS
Buffalo pinned 1:46 at 5v5 (typical 0:53)
Game Leaders
B. Gionta
3 (1G-2A)
POINTS
B. Gionta
2.6
GAME SCORE
B. Gionta
4
SHOTS
B. Flynn
20:57
TOI (F)
R. Ristolainen
22:11
TOI (D)
M. Neuvirth
.903 (28/31)
SAVE %

Stats by Period

All situations, by period.

BUFVAN

Shots on goal are counted from the play-by-play, which on a few games sits one shot off the box score line in the header and Team Stats.

Additional per-period stats
Each cell is BUF-VAN.
 1ST2ND3RDTotal
Faceoffs Won5-1213-128-1126-35
Hits13-55-55-223-12
Takeaways2-10-10-12-3
Giveaways1-01-22-24-4
PDO (5v5): BUF 1.139VAN 0.861. Shooting % plus save %. About 1.000 is neutral.

Game Flow

Running shot attempts for and against, all situations. Shading shows who led.

P3 20:00
+26+130-13-26shot attemptsBUFVAN

Dots are goals, navy for Buffalo.

How this is measured

Score-adjusted weights each attempt by how often teams take one in that score state, home or away, at that point of the game, league-wide (2016-17 to 2025-26): the share as if the game were tied at a neutral site. Score-tied counts only attempts while tied, and needs 15 tied minutes and 30 attempts.

Win Probability

Buffalo's chance of winning, from the score, the time left and the strength state.

Opened at 33%.

P3 20:00
100%75%50%25%0%Buffalo win chanceBUFVAN
BIGGEST SWINGS
  1. P3 12:43T. Mitchell (5) 43% to 86%+43
  2. P3 07:27D. Sedin (14) 78% to 42%-36
  3. P3 04:46A. Meszaros (2) 41% to 75%+34
  4. P2 08:59C. Stewart (11) 16% to 38%+22

Dots are goals, diamonds penalties, squares a goalie pull; navy for Buffalo.

How this is measured

Each team is expected to score at the league rate for the season, tilted for home ice and scaled for the strength state. The chance Buffalo ends regulation ahead follows from the score and the time left, with a tie going to 3-on-3 overtime and a shootout. The opening value comes from both teams' goals for and against to that date, regressed toward the league average early in a season, plus home ice.

Shot Map

Every shot attempt, to scale.

Replay
P3 19:58
Shot on goal (size = xG)GoalMissed shot×Blocked shot

Win DNA

2 of 4 winning traits showed up tonight. Win rates are over the full 2014–15 regular season (82 games).

Wins (23)Losses (59, 8 in overtime or a shootout)This game
3+ scorersD combined 3+ ptsScored firstDepth goal50%100%
Yes
3+ different scorers
Sabres win 64% when yes, 15% when no
No
Defensemen combined for 3+ points
too few games to split
Yes
Scored first
Sabres win 50% when yes, 11% when no
No
Depth forward scored
Sabres win 52% when yes, 19% when no

Shift Rhythm

Buffalo was pinned for 1:46 at 5v5, well above the typical 0:53 a game, and gave up 3 shot attempts in that time.

R. Ristolainen was out for 0:56 of it, the most on the team.

Vancouver was pinned for 2:01 at 5v5, well above the typical 0:53 a game.

Buffalo sent skaters back out on short rest 37 times, well above the typical 22 a game.

BUFVANTypical game, 2025–26
Pinned time (5v5)1:462:010:53
Shot attempts against while pinned301
Short-rest shifts37722

When Vancouver was pinned

PeriodClockPinnedSkaters (unbroken play)Attempts againstGA
P15:06 to 5:160:10
L. Vey 1:10
00
P118:38 to 18:440:06
L. Vey 1:06
00
P22:06 to 2:460:4000
P29:59 to 10:010:02
L. Vey 1:03
00
P219:42 to 19:520:1000

When Buffalo was pinned

PeriodClockPinnedSkaters (unbroken play)Attempts againstGA
P15:06 to 5:140:0810
P16:14 to 6:310:1700
P118:38 to 18:510:1300
P22:21 to 2:220:0100
P26:42 to 7:100:2820
How this is measured

Pinned. A team is pinned when 3 or more of its skaters on the ice are past a minute of unbroken play, at 5v5. A hemmed-in shift is an even-strength shift in which the unit was on for more than 1:00 without a whistle to change on, and stayed at even strength for most of it. A stoppage inside a shift starts the clock over, however it began: what counts is the run of play they could not get off the ice for. Only the time past the minute counts: the first minute of those shifts plays like any other stretch of the game, while past it the play tilts hard toward the end the pinned team is defending (in 2025–26, a pinned team took 24% of the shot attempts; pinned time was 1.9% of all 5v5 play). Pinned time is seconds on the clock, not each skater's seconds added up.

Short rest. An even-strength shift a skater started after less than 45 seconds on the bench, same period only (an intermission is a full rest).

Typical game. The middle value across Buffalo games in the 2025–26 regular season, counting both teams (164 team totals), so it stands in for a league-average game. This season has no measured row yet, so 2025–26 stands in. A sentence at the top only appears when a number is among the highest fifth of those, or when a goal went in while a team was pinned.

Shots at an empty net are left out of every row. None of this says why a goal went in: a unit that cannot change is pinned and tiring at the same time, so these rows describe when the danger came, not what caused it.

Shift by shift

Shift length, in order, for one Buffalo skater this game.

27 shifts, averaging 0:46. 8 hemmed-in, 3 after a short rest, 0:49 pinned.

Replay
Shift 27
Hemmed-in shiftShort rest before itGoal forGoal againstPenalty takenPower playPenalty killPeriod average and middle half of shifts (even strength)
P1avg 0:44P2avg 0:49P3avg 0:470:000:301:001:30151015202527Shift Number

Period averages are even strength only. Typical in 2025–26: 0:45, 0:50 (the long change), 0:47.

Line Combinations

Lines and pairs at 5v5, and how they did together.

What do TOI, CF, xG% etc. mean?
GP
Games in which this exact line/pair shared the ice together at 5v5.
TOI
Time on ice together at 5v5, meaning the whole line/pair on the ice at once, not any one player's own total. Only the seconds that exact pair or trio was the unit count, which is why a pair's TOI and xG% here differ slightly from the WOWY table, where together counts every 5v5 second the two share, whoever else is on the ice.
xGF / xGA
Expected goals for/against while this combo was on the ice, from this site's own xG model.
xG%
Share of on-ice expected goals this combo earned: xGF / (xGF + xGA). The single best read on who controlled play.
GF / GA
Actual goals for/against while this combo was on the ice together.
CF / CA (Corsi For / Against, Shot Attempts)
"Corsi" is just the hockey-analytics name for total shot attempts: shots on goal, missed shots, and blocked shots combined, a volume proxy for who had the puck more. CF is this combo's own attempts, CA is the opponent's.
CF%
Share of on-ice shot attempts (Corsi) this combo earned: CF / (CF + CA).
CF% Rel
This combo's CF% minus the team's own CF% in the minutes this exact combo was NOT on the ice. Positive means the combo lifted the team's play; negative means it dragged it down.
xGF% Rel
This combo's xG% minus the team's own xG% in the minutes this exact combo was NOT on the ice. Positive means the combo lifted the team's expected-goals share; negative means it dragged it down.
FF / FA
Unblocked shot attempts (also called Fenwick): shots on goal plus misses, excluding blocks. One layer closer to real scoring chances than CF/CA.
SF / SA
Shots on goal for/against while this combo was on the ice together.
Minimum Ice Time
Drag the slider on each table down to see combos with less shared ice time. Their percentages get noisier the lower you go, since a combo that barely played together can swing to 100% or 0% off a single shot.
STRENGTH
Forward Lines
LineGPTOIGFGACFCACF%CF% RelFFFASFSA
Stewart–Foligno–Flynn117:572192229.0%-6.4%915713
Gionta–Moulson–Mitchell114:213081044.4%11.5%8675
Dalpe–Varone–Larsson110:540031023.1%-12.1%3723
Ellis–Hodgson–Deslauriers16:48025741.7%8.1%3524
Pageof 1
Defense Pairs
LineGPTOIGFGACFCACF%CF% RelFFFASFSA
Weber–Ristolainen118:370272125.0%-11.2%713512
Meszaros–Pysyk116:121061430.0%-4.8%61257
Benoit–Bogosian114:582181338.1%4.5%71057
Pageof 1

Three Stars

1T. MitchellBUF | C2G 0A 2P
2C. StewartBUF | RW1G 1A 2P
3B. GiontaBUF | RW1G 2A 3P

Box Score

ON-ICE RATES
Player
G
A
P
+/-
PIM
SOG
iGAx
On-Ice
Game Score
TOI
On-Ice TOIxGF%xGF% RelCF%CF% RelFF%GF%PDOxGSGS
#12 B. Gionta (RW)
1
2
3
+4
0
4
16:5942.1%+10.4%53.3%100.0%1.429
2.6
19:29
#17 T. Mitchell (C)
2
0
2
+4
0
2
15:5442.1%+10.4%53.3%100.0%1.429
2.1
16:55
#26 M. Moulson (LW)
0
2
2
+4
0
0
14:5544.4%+13.3%57.1%100.0%1.429
1.7
16:41
#80 C. Stewart (RW)
1
1
2
+1
0
3
19:2832.4%-3.2%40.7%66.7%1.151
1.2
20:44
#65 B. Flynn (C)
1
0
1
+1
0
2
19:0130.3%-6.7%38.5%66.7%1.173
0.5
20:57
#3 M. Pysyk (D)
0
1
1
+1
0
0
17:1431.8%-3.3%36.8%100.0%1.167
0.3
18:19
#41 A. Meszaros (D)
1
0
1
+2
0
1
19:1629.2%-7.2%35.0%100.0%1.333
0.7
20:21
#19 C. Hodgson (C)
0
0
0
-2
0
2
8:0150.0%+19.2%50.0%0.0%0.500
-0.2
9:00
#20 Z. Dalpe (C)
0
0
0
0
0
1
11:1323.1%-13.3%30.0%1.000
-0.2
12:06
#22 J. Larsson (LW)
0
0
0
0
0
0
12:2721.4%-15.5%27.3%1.000
-0.4
13:13
#37 M. Ellis (LW)
0
0
0
-2
0
1
7:2546.2%+14.3%44.4%0.0%0.500
-0.2
7:25
#44 N. Deslauriers (LW)
0
0
0
-2
0
1
8:4135.7%+1.9%30.0%0.0%0.600
-0.4
8:41
#82 M. Foligno (LW)
0
0
0
+1
0
3
18:5828.1%-10.2%36.0%66.7%1.209
-0.2
20:46
#84 P. Varone (C)
0
0
0
0
0
1
13:0121.4%-15.5%27.3%1.000
-0.3
14:03
#6 M. Weber (D)
0
0
0
0
0
1
20:2735.3%+2.0%45.8%33.3%0.944
-0.3
22:09
#47 Z. Bogosian (D)
0
0
0
+3
0
1
17:4142.9%+13.4%47.6%75.0%1.250
0.2
21:00
#55 R. Ristolainen (D)
0
0
0
-2
0
0
20:5125.0%-14.2%35.0%0.0%0.833
-0.9
22:11
#61 A. Benoit (D)
0
0
0
+2
0
1
15:1340.9%+9.3%44.4%75.0%1.357
0.2
16:00
Total
6
6
12
0
24
6.3

On-ice rates are 5-on-5. Rel compares to the team with that skater off the ice.

GoalieSAGAxGASV%GSAxGSTOIDec
#34 M. Neuvirth313.9030.660:00W

Team Stats

VANBUF
31Shots on Goal24
11.1%Shooting % (5v5)25.0%
.750Save % (5v5).889
0.861PDO (5v5)1.139
35 (57%)Faceoffs Won26 (43%)
0Power Play Chances1
PP%0%
100%PK%
0PPG0
2Penalty Minutes0
12Hits23
3Blocked Shots17
4Giveaways4
3Takeaways2

Full Game Log

1ST
00:00Period start
13:07GOAL (BUF): Torrey Mitchell (4), assists: Matt Moulson, Brian Gionta
14:09GOAL (VAN): Shawn Matthias (15), assists: Nick Bonino, Dan Hamhuis
20:00Period end
2ND
00:00Period start
05:42GOAL (VAN): Jannik Hansen (12), assists: Dan Hamhuis
08:59GOAL (BUF): Chris Stewart (11), unassisted
20:00Period end
3RD
00:00Period start
04:46GOAL (BUF): Andrej Meszaros (2), unassisted
07:27GOAL (VAN): Daniel Sedin (14), assists: Henrik Sedin
12:43GOAL (BUF): Torrey Mitchell (5), assists: Brian Gionta, Matt Moulson
18:28GOAL (BUF): Brian Flynn (5), assists: Chris Stewart, Mark Pysyk
19:58GOAL (BUF): Brian Gionta (7), unassisted(EN)
20:00Period end
20:00Game end
@ CBJ (Feb 24, 2015)@ FLA (Feb 28, 2015) ›