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Game Recap
BUF1
FinalThu, Apr 2, 2026Every game that night
OTT4

OTT beat BUF 4-1, and the chances backed it up: 4.18 expected goals to 2.21. R. Greig led the way with 2 points (1 G, 1 A). D. Cozens had 6 shots on goal against our projection of 2.5. L. Ullmark stopped 21 of 22.

Scoring

1st2nd3rdT
BUF0101
OTT0134
  1. 2nd 8:49BUFM. Samuelsson0.01 xG
  2. 2nd 15:18OTTD. Cozens0.10 xG
  3. 3rd 5:55OTTL. Eller0.17 xG
  4. 3rd 17:42OTTR. GreigEN0.94 xG
  5. 3rd 18:42OTTS. PintoEN0.94 xG

Team Stats

BUFOTT
22Shots on goal24
2.21Expected goals4.18
46Shot attempts52
185v5 shots on goal18
0/2Power play0/2
24Hits32
16Blocked shots10
19Penalty minutes9
12Giveaways10
4Takeaways3

Expected goals: the chance each unblocked shot had of going in, by our model, added up.

Expected Goals Over the Game

BUF 2.21 xGOTT 4.18 xGGoal

012341st2nd3rdBUF goal, 8:49OTT goal, 15:18OTT goal, 5:55OTT goal, 17:42OTT goal, 18:42

Each step up is a shot: how likely it was to go in. A team well above the other had the better chances, whatever the score.

Shot Map

BUF22 on goal, 1 scored
OTT22 on goal, 4 scored

GoalSavedMissedBlockedBigger: a better chance

Box Score

BUF Skaters

PlayerPosGAPSOGHITBLK+/-PIMTOIPP TOI
P. KrebsC011241+1012:160:00
R. McLeodC000101-1220:411:58
A. TuchRW0001110018:571:32
J. DoanRW000211-2018:252:01
Z. BensonLW000110-2217:351:35
T. ThompsonC0002000017:122:28
J. ZuckerLW000021-2016:482:25
J. NorrisC000110-21016:102:01
J. QuinnRW000220-1015:131:59
J. GreenwayLW000022-1011:390:00
B. MalenstynLW000010-109:330:00
J. DunneC000021-107:170:00
B. ByramD011103-1022:580:34
M. SamuelssonD1012310020:490:00
R. DahlinD000201-2022:373:26
O. PowerD0002120019:340:01
Z. MetsaD000101-1016:040:00
L. StanleyD000230-1513:300:00
GoalieSASVGASV%TOI
U. Luukkonen22202.90958:42Loss
A. Lyon000–0:00

OTT Skaters

PlayerPosGAPSOGHITBLK+/-PIMTOIPP TOI
R. GreigC112121+2017:080:00
S. PintoC101310+1020:101:11
D. CozensC101641+1016:092:51
B. TkachukLW011031+1715:552:46
W. FoegeleLW011010+109:421:13
L. EllerC101300+108:180:00
T. StützleC0002500019:572:49
M. AmadioRW000020+1018:530:00
D. BathersonRW0000300015:182:45
F. ZetterlundLW0001310014:121:10
C. GirouxRW0003200013:521:13
N. CousinsC000101+1010:250:00
J. SpenceD011223+3230:482:38
A. ZubD011002+2024:240:02
N. MatinpaloD000220-1024:290:00
L. ThomsonD000010+2020:551:22
C. CrottyD0000100013:370:00
T. KlevenD000000001:480:00
GoalieSASVGASV%TOI
L. Ullmark22211.95560:00Win
J. Reimer000–0:00

Lines at 5-on-5

BUF

Line 1A. Tuch14:40T. Thompson14:13P. Krebs12:15
Line 2J. Doan15:27Z. Benson14:23J. Norris13:48
Line 3J. Zucker13:15R. McLeod16:41J. Quinn12:53
Pair 1O. Power18:04B. Byram21:27
Pair 2L. Stanley11:59Z. Metsa13:34
Pair 3M. Samuelsson17:33R. Dahlin18:40

OTT

Line 1M. Amadio16:06S. Pinto15:38C. Giroux12:21
Line 2R. Greig14:28D. Cozens13:18B. Tkachuk12:52
Line 4N. Cousins10:25W. Foegele8:29L. Eller7:45
Pair 1J. Spence25:48A. Zub20:49
Pair 2C. Crotty11:50N. Matinpalo21:36

From the NHL's shift charts: the players on the ice together most at 5-on-5, with each one's own 5-on-5 time.

Storylines That Played Out

  • Old teamDylan Cozens OTT Faces BUF, his team until Mar 20251 G, 6 SOG
  • Old teamJosh Norris BUF Faces OTT, his team until Mar 20251 SOG
  • HometownJack Quinn BUF Plays in his hometown2 SOG

As Tonight had them before puck drop, with what each player did.

How We Did

We projectedIt finished
ScoreBUF 3.0, OTT 3.4BUF 1, OTT 4
Total goals6.45
Shots on goalBUF 24.2, OTT 30.4BUF 22, OTT 24
Win chanceOTT 55%OTT won

Players

PlayerSOG projectedSOGPoints projectedPointsGoal chanceGoals
OTT B. Tkachuk3.900.87133%0
BUF T. Thompson3.121.01040%0
OTT D. Cozens2.560.66125%1
OTT T. Stützle2.421.00031%0
OTT D. Batherson2.300.80028%0
BUF R. Dahlin2.320.86018%0
BUF A. Tuch2.310.77030%0
OTT S. Pinto2.230.61126%1
BUF J. Quinn2.120.63021%0
OTT J. Spence1.920.5319%0
BUF J. Zucker1.900.63024%0
OTT T. Kleven1.800.3206%0
BUF J. Doan1.620.46019%0
OTT R. Greig1.610.41216%1
OTT W. Foegele1.500.33117%0
OTT C. Giroux1.530.56019%0
OTT F. Zetterlund1.510.32014%0
BUF J. Norris1.510.61026%0
BUF Z. Benson1.310.42013%0
BUF O. Power1.320.3707%0
OTT M. Amadio1.300.45020%0
BUF B. Byram1.210.45111%0
OTT N. Cousins1.210.30012%0
BUF M. Samuelsson1.220.3918%1
OTT A. Zub1.100.3016%0
BUF R. McLeod1.110.57017%0
BUF P. Krebs1.120.41112%0
OTT L. Eller1.030.2119%1
OTT N. Matinpalo1.020.1302%0
BUF L. Stanley0.920.2305%0
OTT L. Thomson0.900.2002%0
BUF B. Malenstyn0.900.1707%0
BUF J. Greenway0.800.1908%0
BUF J. Dunne0.800.1306%0
BUF Z. Metsa0.710.1905%0

Shots on goal: 21 of 35 players within one of their projection; they took 0.3 fewer than projected on average.

Our projections as they stood at puck drop. One game says little about a model; Model Notes has how it tests over thousands.