Go ad-free AND support the site for the 26-27 season for just $18. Sign up now!
Game Recap
MIN3
Final/SOWed, Dec 31, 2025Every game that night
SJS4

SJS beat MIN 4-3 in a shootout despite fewer good chances: 2.14 expected goals to 2.79. M. Celebrini led the way with 2 points (1 G, 1 A). P. Regenda had 4 shots on goal against our projection of 1.4. Y. Askarov stopped 20 of 23.

Scoring

1st2nd3rdSOT
MIN10203
SJS02114
  1. 1st 10:38MINV. Tarasenko0.06 xG
  2. 2nd 1:14SJSI. Chernyshov0.17 xG
  3. 2nd 16:47SJSJ. SkinnerPP0.10 xG
  4. 3rd 4:16SJSM. Celebrini0.11 xG
  5. 3rd 6:40MINM. Foligno0.02 xG
  6. 3rd 8:47MINM. Zuccarello0.11 xG

Team Stats

MINSJS
23Shots on goal28
2.79Expected goals2.14
63Shot attempts54
185v5 shots on goal23
0/1Power play1/1
19Hits19
13Blocked shots22
2Penalty minutes2
14Giveaways19
3Takeaways5

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

Expected Goals Over the Game

MIN 2.79 xGSJS 2.14 xGGoal

00.511.522.531st2nd3rdOTMIN goal, 10:38SJS goal, 1:14SJS goal, 16:47SJS goal, 4:16MIN goal, 6:40MIN goal, 8:47

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

MIN22 on goal, 3 scored
SJS28 on goal, 3 scored

GoalSavedMissedBlockedBigger: a better chance

Box Score

MIN Skaters

PlayerPosGAPSOGHITBLK+/-PIMTOIPP TOI
M. ZuccarelloRW1012100016:171:28
R. HartmanRW011013+2015:470:31
V. TarasenkoRW101100+1014:170:32
V. HinostrozaC011001+2013:540:00
M. FolignoLW101221+1013:060:00
K. KaprizovLW0004200021:191:28
J. Eriksson EkC000220-1020:171:29
M. BoldyLW000421-1020:011:30
M. JohanssonLW000100-1018:040:30
D. YurovRW0000010014:360:00
Y. TreninC0002300012:060:00
N. SturmC0000300010:200:00
J. MiddletonD011020+1016:430:00
Z. BogosianD011010+1215:160:00
Q. HughesD000302+1029:051:26
B. FaberD000003+1023:350:34
J. BrodinD000001-1020:120:00
J. SpurgeonD000200-1018:410:32
GoalieSASVGASV%TOI
J. Wallstedt28253.89364:27OT loss
F. Gustavsson000–0:00

SJS Skaters

PlayerPosGAPSOGHITBLK+/-PIMTOIPP TOI
M. CelebriniC1124020021:591:31
I. ChernyshovLW1121000016:080:24
W. EklundLW0110200018:261:32
J. SkinnerLW1011110014:310:25
A. WennbergC0000020021:581:33
C. GrafRW0001110018:370:26
T. ToffoliC0003210015:431:16
P. RegendaLW0004110214:360:41
T. DellandreaC000010-1013:560:00
B. GoodrowC000110-1013:260:00
R. ReavesRW000212-1011:250:00
Z. OstapchukC000120009:540:00
D. OrlovD011140+1022:210:33
J. KlingbergD000311+1025:461:24
M. FerraroD000312-1022:150:00
S. MukhamadullinD000215-1020:150:00
V. IorioD000001-1017:050:00
S. DickinsonD000103-1014:390:00
GoalieSASVGASV%TOI
Y. Askarov23203.87065:00Win
A. Nedeljkovic000–0:00

Lines at 5-on-5

MIN

Line 1M. Johansson15:06J. Ek15:54M. Boldy15:01
Line 4M. Foligno12:19Y. Trenin11:27N. Sturm10:00
Pair 1Q. Hughes23:32B. Faber21:11
Pair 2J. Spurgeon16:34J. Brodin18:44
Pair 3Z. Bogosian15:16J. Middleton15:43

SJS

Line 1A. Wennberg16:27C. Graf16:10T. Toffoli14:27
Pair 1D. Orlov19:52J. Klingberg22:10
Pair 3V. Iorio15:43S. Dickinson13:35

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
ScoreMIN 3.3, SJS 2.7MIN 3, SJS 4
Total goals6.07
Shots on goalMIN 29.6, SJS 27.3MIN 23, SJS 28
Win chanceMIN 60%SJS won

Players

PlayerSOG projectedSOGPoints projectedPointsGoal chanceGoals
MIN K. Kaprizov3.641.34047%0
SJS M. Celebrini3.341.09231%1
MIN M. Boldy3.241.06036%0
MIN J. Ek3.020.78028%0
MIN Q. Hughes2.631.09015%0
SJS T. Toffoli2.630.69028%0
SJS W. Eklund2.400.68121%0
MIN R. Hartman2.300.53123%0
MIN M. Zuccarello2.120.87123%1
SJS I. Chernyshov2.110.52216%1
MIN V. Tarasenko1.910.59123%1
MIN B. Faber1.800.45011%0
SJS J. Klingberg1.830.53013%0
SJS J. Skinner1.810.43120%1
MIN M. Johansson1.510.57018%0
SJS C. Graf1.510.51021%0
SJS D. Orlov1.410.3918%0
MIN D. Yurov1.400.47015%0
SJS P. Regenda1.440.23012%0
MIN J. Spurgeon1.320.4009%0
SJS A. Wennberg1.300.55016%0
MIN Y. Trenin1.320.29013%0
SJS M. Ferraro1.230.2205%0
MIN J. Brodin1.100.3507%0
SJS T. Dellandrea1.100.2308%0
MIN N. Sturm1.100.26011%0
MIN M. Foligno1.120.31115%1
MIN V. Hinostroza1.100.24111%0
SJS S. Dickinson1.010.1704%0
SJS S. Mukhamadullin1.020.2506%0
MIN Z. Bogosian1.000.2015%0
MIN J. Middleton0.900.2415%0
SJS B. Goodrow0.810.1709%0
SJS V. Iorio0.800.2003%0
SJS Z. Ostapchuk0.610.0905%0
SJS R. Reaves0.620.1306%0

Shots on goal: 21 of 36 players within one of their projection; they took 0.2 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.