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Game Recap
DAL5
Final/SOThu, Jan 29, 2026Every game that night
VGK4

DAL beat VGK 5-4 in a shootout, and the chances backed it up: 3.69 expected goals to 2.44. M. Bourque led the way with 2 points (2 G, 0 A). I. Barbashev had 4 shots on goal against our projection of 1.4. J. Oettinger stopped 17 of 21.

Scoring

1st2nd3rdSOT
DAL13015
VGK01304
  1. 1st 1:37DALM. Duchene0.05 xG
  2. 2nd 4:07VGKK. Kolesar0.17 xG
  3. 2nd 8:46DALM. Bourque0.21 xG
  4. 2nd 14:16DALM. Bourque0.12 xG
  5. 2nd 16:43DALW. Johnston0.29 xG
  6. 3rd 4:04VGKR. SmithSH0.16 xG
  7. 3rd 13:54VGKI. Barbashev0.09 xG
  8. 3rd 19:11VGKM. Marner0.05 xG

Team Stats

DALVGK
27Shots on goal21
3.69Expected goals2.44
56Shot attempts61
245v5 shots on goal18
0/2Power play0/1
29Hits26
23Blocked shots11
2Penalty minutes4
19Giveaways15
8Takeaways1

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

Expected Goals Over the Game

DAL 3.69 xGVGK 2.44 xGGoal

00.511.522.533.541st2nd3rdOTDAL goal, 1:37VGK goal, 4:07DAL goal, 8:46DAL goal, 14:16DAL goal, 16:43VGK goal, 4:04VGK goal, 13:54VGK goal, 19:11

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

DAL27 on goal, 4 scored
VGK21 on goal, 4 scored

GoalSavedMissedBlockedBigger: a better chance

Box Score

DAL Skaters

PlayerPosGAPSOGHITBLK+/-PIMTOIPP TOI
M. BourqueC202410+1017:090:59
S. SteelC022211+1016:150:00
J. BennLW022112+1013:001:01
M. RantanenRW011101-1022:113:01
W. JohnstonC101431-1020:392:49
J. RobertsonLW011210-1218:482:49
M. DucheneC1011100017:262:15
R. HintzC011220-1015:201:45
J. HryckowianC0002500015:030:11
R. FaksaC0001210012:140:00
O. BäckC0000100012:010:00
A. ErneLW0000700010:430:00
M. HeiskanenD000001-2026:501:52
T. HarleyD0002160026:122:08
E. LindellD000313-3023:511:00
N. LundkvistD000112+2019:330:10
A. PetrovicD000013+2013:250:00
K. CapobiancoD000102+2012:200:00
GoalieSASVGASV%TOI
J. Oettinger21174.81065:00Win
C. DeSmith000–0:00

VGK Skaters

PlayerPosGAPSOGHITBLK+/-PIMTOIPP TOI
M. MarnerRW1122100021:231:02
K. KolesarRW112251-1014:380:25
M. StoneRW011001+2020:090:50
I. BarbashevLW1014300018:580:58
T. HertlC011010-1015:171:02
R. SmithRW101100-1014:240:00
J. EichelC000030+2222:481:04
P. DorofeyevRW000000+1017:171:06
A. HoltzRW0000500013:110:00
B. BowmanRW000301-1013:041:10
T. LaczynskiC000011009:430:31
C. ReinhardtLW000030009:030:00
R. AnderssonD0113020022:440:54
S. TheodoreD000101-1026:190:58
N. HanifinD000201+1023:510:00
J. LauzonD000232-1218:140:00
B. HuttonD0001100015:500:00
K. KorczakD0000010015:020:00
GoalieSASVGASV%TOI
A. Hill27234.85264:05OT loss
A. Schmid000–0:00

Lines at 5-on-5

DAL

Line 2J. Robertson15:18M. Bourque15:25R. Hintz11:37
Line 3M. Duchene13:11S. Steel13:28J. Benn11:59
Line 4R. Faksa11:23O. Bäck10:54A. Erne10:43
Pair 1M. Heiskanen20:20E. Lindell20:12
Pair 2N. Lundkvist19:23T. Harley20:36
Pair 3A. Petrovic13:21K. Capobianco12:19

VGK

Line 1M. Stone14:35J. Eichel16:44I. Barbashev16:52
Line 2M. Marner14:47P. Dorofeyev13:38B. Bowman11:54
Line 3T. Hertl12:59K. Kolesar13:01R. Smith13:16
Pair 1N. Hanifin19:47R. Andersson18:06
Pair 2S. Theodore20:12J. Lauzon17:16
Pair 3B. Hutton15:50K. Korczak15:02

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.

How We Did

We projectedIt finished
ScoreDAL 2.9, VGK 3.2DAL 5, VGK 4
Total goals6.09
Shots on goalDAL 22.6, VGK 28.8DAL 27, VGK 21
Win chanceVGK 56%DAL won

Players

PlayerSOG projectedSOGPoints projectedPointsGoal chanceGoals
VGK J. Eichel3.301.15031%0
VGK P. Dorofeyev2.900.69032%0
DAL J. Robertson2.921.04136%0
VGK T. Hertl2.500.75127%0
DAL M. Rantanen2.211.06132%0
VGK M. Stone2.101.01129%0
VGK R. Andersson2.130.44111%0
DAL W. Johnston2.140.79130%1
VGK S. Theodore2.010.61010%0
DAL R. Hintz2.020.80129%0
VGK M. Marner1.921.05226%1
VGK N. Hanifin1.920.4108%0
DAL M. Heiskanen1.700.64010%0
DAL T. Harley1.520.48011%0
DAL M. Bourque1.540.36215%2
VGK I. Barbashev1.440.58120%1
DAL M. Duchene1.410.59122%1
VGK R. Smith1.310.39116%1
VGK B. Hutton1.210.2206%0
VGK J. Lauzon1.220.1804%0
VGK B. Bowman1.230.43014%0
DAL J. Benn1.110.41215%0
DAL N. Lundkvist1.110.2205%0
DAL S. Steel1.020.34211%0
VGK K. Kolesar1.020.29211%1
DAL J. Hryckowian1.020.33013%0
VGK K. Korczak1.000.2404%0
VGK A. Holtz1.000.2009%0
DAL E. Lindell0.930.3007%0
VGK T. Laczynski0.900.1808%0
DAL A. Petrovic0.800.1404%0
VGK C. Reinhardt0.700.1607%0
DAL R. Faksa0.710.2407%0
DAL A. Erne0.600.1507%0
DAL K. Capobianco0.510.1304%0
DAL O. Bäck0.500.1907%0

Shots on goal: 23 of 36 players within one of their projection; they took 0.1 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.