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Game Recap
SJS3
FinalSat, Nov 29, 2025Every game that night
VGK4

VGK beat SJS 4-3, and the chances backed it up: 4.54 expected goals to 2.39. W. Smith led the way with 2 points (2 G, 0 A). C. Lindbom stopped 18 of 21.

Scoring

1st2nd3rdT
SJS1203
VGK1304
  1. 1st 7:34SJSW. Smith0.11 xG
  2. 1st 16:13VGKT. Hertl0.16 xG
  3. 2nd 5:36VGKC. Sissons0.60 xG
  4. 2nd 7:02VGKM. Marner0.02 xG
  5. 2nd 12:38VGKT. HertlPP0.11 xG
  6. 2nd 14:40SJSW. SmithPP0.25 xG
  7. 2nd 19:35SJSW. Eklund0.19 xG

Team Stats

SJSVGK
21Shots on goal24
2.39Expected goals4.54
55Shot attempts66
185v5 shots on goal21
1/2Power play1/2
25Hits6
22Blocked shots18
4Penalty minutes4
18Giveaways12
5Takeaways4

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

Expected Goals Over the Game

SJS 2.39 xGVGK 4.54 xGGoal

0123451st2nd3rdSJS goal, 7:34VGK goal, 16:13VGK goal, 5:36VGK goal, 7:02VGK goal, 12:38SJS goal, 14:40SJS goal, 19:35

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

SJS21 on goal, 3 scored
VGK24 on goal, 4 scored

GoalSavedMissedBlockedBigger: a better chance

Box Score

SJS Skaters

PlayerPosGAPSOGHITBLK+/-PIMTOIPP TOI
W. SmithC2024000019:531:09
M. CelebriniC011401+1020:101:09
W. EklundLW1011110019:551:09
T. ToffoliC011111+1016:530:35
A. GaudetteRW0110100014:430:00
A. WennbergC0002040018:471:09
C. GrafRW000141-1017:040:00
T. DellandreaC000121-2015:560:00
P. KurashevC000100-2012:580:00
B. GoodrowC000020028:140:00
R. ReavesRW000131008:070:00
Z. OstapchukC000030007:220:00
M. FerraroD011231+2022:200:00
D. OrlovD011131-2220:470:00
J. KlingbergD000103+1023:151:09
T. LiljegrenD000004-1021:580:00
N. LeddyD000101-1015:330:00
S. MukhamadullinD000022-1014:130:00
GoalieSASVGASV%TOI
A. Nedeljkovic24204.83358:16Loss
Y. Askarov000–0:00

VGK Skaters

PlayerPosGAPSOGHITBLK+/-PIMTOIPP TOI
T. HertlC202300-1017:223:36
M. MarnerRW112201+1016:313:36
J. EichelC0112010019:583:36
M. StoneRW011011+1019:553:36
P. DorofeyevRW011012-1017:293:36
B. HowdenC011201+1014:390:00
C. SissonsC101121+1012:250:00
K. KolesarRW011110+1011:430:00
C. ReinhardtLW011110+1211:330:00
I. BarbashevLW0003000017:000:00
B. BowmanRW0001000015:160:00
A. HoltzRW000000-1012:220:00
B. HuttonD011201+1013:290:00
B. McNabbD000203-1222:440:00
S. TheodoreD000101+1022:200:00
N. HanifinD000101-1020:490:00
Z. WhitecloudD000202-1020:220:00
K. KorczakD000003+3012:540:00
GoalieSASVGASV%TOI
C. Lindbom21183.85760:00Win
A. Schmid000–0:00

Lines at 5-on-5

SJS

Line 1W. Smith17:35M. Celebrini17:52T. Toffoli15:09
Line 2A. Wennberg16:01W. Eklund17:11A. Gaudette14:43
Line 3T. Dellandrea12:48C. Graf13:54P. Kurashev12:58
Pair 1M. Ferraro18:44J. Klingberg20:57
Pair 2D. Orlov20:47T. Liljegren18:22
Pair 3N. Leddy15:33S. Mukhamadullin14:13

VGK

Line 1I. Barbashev16:34B. Bowman15:16J. Eichel15:21
Line 2T. Hertl13:03P. Dorofeyev13:53A. Holtz12:22
Line 3M. Stone15:18B. Howden13:56M. Marner12:12
Pair 1B. McNabb21:01S. Theodore20:37
Pair 2N. Hanifin20:14Z. Whitecloud19:47
Pair 3B. Hutton13:29K. Korczak12:54

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 teamTomas Hertl VGK Faces SJS, his team until Jan 20242 G, 3 SOG

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

How We Did

We projectedIt finished
ScoreSJS 2.3, VGK 3.7SJS 3, VGK 4
Total goals6.17
Shots on goalSJS 22.5, VGK 33.4SJS 21, VGK 24
Win chanceVGK 72%VGK won

Players

PlayerSOG projectedSOGPoints projectedPointsGoal chanceGoals
VGK J. Eichel3.821.29137%0
VGK P. Dorofeyev3.200.74135%0
SJS M. Celebrini2.840.90128%0
VGK T. Hertl2.830.84231%2
VGK S. Theodore2.310.76011%0
VGK N. Hanifin2.310.55012%0
VGK B. Bowman2.310.74026%0
VGK M. Stone2.201.05130%0
SJS W. Smith2.040.70223%2
VGK M. Marner2.021.25231%1
SJS T. Toffoli1.910.49122%0
SJS W. Eklund1.910.63119%1
VGK I. Barbashev1.630.70025%0
VGK B. Howden1.520.48123%0
VGK A. Holtz1.400.27014%0
SJS J. Klingberg1.410.4109%0
VGK B. Hutton1.420.2516%0
SJS D. Orlov1.310.4018%0
SJS A. Gaudette1.300.32117%0
SJS P. Kurashev1.210.39014%0
SJS T. Dellandrea1.210.2509%0
VGK B. McNabb1.120.2906%0
SJS A. Wennberg1.120.48015%0
VGK C. Sissons1.110.29111%1
SJS C. Graf1.010.35013%0
SJS T. Liljegren1.000.2506%0
VGK K. Korczak1.000.2404%0
VGK K. Kolesar1.010.28111%0
VGK Z. Whitecloud1.020.2407%0
SJS M. Ferraro1.020.2014%0
SJS S. Mukhamadullin0.900.2404%0
VGK C. Reinhardt0.810.22110%0
SJS B. Goodrow0.800.1609%0
SJS N. Leddy0.610.1903%0
SJS R. Reaves0.510.1105%0
SJS Z. Ostapchuk0.500.0704%0

Shots on goal: 22 of 36 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.