NHL Final Intelligence
Buffalo Sabres 7, Anaheim Ducks 6 — Recap
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Game Recap
The Buffalo Sabres outlasted the Anaheim Ducks in a high-scoring 7-6 contest, navigating a chaotic first period that ended in a 3-3 tie. Anaheim struck quickly, taking an early two-goal lead with Mikael Granlund scoring at 1:57, assisted by Jackson LaCombe and Leo Carlsson, followed by Cutter Gauthier at 2:54, with Beckett Sennecke and Carlsson also assisting. Buffalo's Tyson Kozak cut the deficit at 10:03, but Roger McQueen restored Anaheim's two-goal advantage less than a minute later. The Sabres then rallied to tie the game before the first intermission, with Noah Ostlund scoring at 11:39, assisted by Zach Benson and Tage Thompson, and Thompson adding his first goal at 15:32, assisted by Benson and Peyton Krebs.
Buffalo seized control in the second period, as Tage Thompson scored twice in quick succession. Thompson's second goal at 18:36, assisted by Peyton Krebs, gave the Sabres their first lead of the game. Just 15 seconds later, at 18:51, Thompson completed a hat trick, assisted by Rasmus Dahlin and Krebs, extending Buffalo's advantage to 5-3. Thompson, who finished with three goals and two assists for a five-point night, then assisted Jack Quinn's goal at 1:57 of the third period, making it 6-3. Zach Benson, who also had a three-point performance with a goal and two assists, scored at 6:37, increasing Buffalo's lead to 7-3.
Anaheim mounted a late charge in the third period after Buffalo had built a significant lead. Cutter Gauthier scored his second goal of the game at 7:26, assisted by Jackson LaCombe and Leo Carlsson, who finished with three assists. Tristan Luneau added another goal for Anaheim at 18:52, and Beckett Sennecke made it a one-goal game at 19:29. Ducks goaltender Ville Husso made 23 saves on 30 shots, while Buffalo's Colten Ellis stopped 28 of 34 shots. The Sabres improved their record to 5-4-3, and Anaheim dropped to 5-6-1. SportsFBI's model had correctly leaned toward Buffalo at 59%.
How the Prediction Fared
Before puck drop, DraftKings favored the Buffalo Sabres (-162, 62% implied) over the Anaheim Ducks.
SportsFBI's model, locked before puck drop, favored the Buffalo Sabres (59% confidence). It gave a 33% chance of a 3+ goal margin; the game was decided by 1 goal.
💵 Betting Result FanDuel closing line
Standouts
Every skater's and goalie's line is in the box score below.
📊 Game Flow
- P1 1:57 Mikael Granlund (Jackson LaCombe, Leo Carlsson) ANA · Power play · snap shot · BUF 0, ANA 1
- P1 2:54 Cutter Gauthier (Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson) ANA · Power play · slap shot · BUF 0, ANA 2
- P1 10:03 Tyson Kozak (Sam Carrick, Mattias Samuelsson) BUF · wrist shot · BUF 1, ANA 2
- P1 10:38 Roger McQueen (Sam Colangelo, Nick Jensen) ANA · snap shot · BUF 1, ANA 3
- P1 11:39 Noah Ostlund (Zach Benson, Tage Thompson) BUF · Power play · snap shot · BUF 2, ANA 3
- P1 15:32 Tage Thompson (Zach Benson, Peyton Krebs) BUF · wrist shot · BUF 3, ANA 3
- P2 18:36 Tage Thompson (Peyton Krebs) BUF · wrist shot · BUF 4, ANA 3
- P2 18:51 Tage Thompson (Rasmus Dahlin, Peyton Krebs) BUF · wrist shot · BUF 5, ANA 3
- P3 1:57 Jack Quinn (Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin) BUF · Power play · snap shot · BUF 6, ANA 3
- P3 6:37 Zach Benson (Olen Zellweger) BUF · snap shot · BUF 7, ANA 3
- P3 7:26 Cutter Gauthier (Jackson LaCombe, Leo Carlsson) ANA · Power play · slap shot · BUF 7, ANA 4
- P3 18:52 Tristan Luneau (Judd Caulfield) ANA · Power play · snap shot · BUF 7, ANA 5
- P3 19:29 Beckett Sennecke ANA · Power play · snap shot · BUF 7, ANA 6
📋 Team Stats
| Team | P1 | P2 | P3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF | 9 | 16 | 6 | 31 |
| ANA | 12 | 6 | 17 | 35 |
🎯 Shot Map
- 7Goals16% of attempts
- 24Saved53% of attempts
- 14Missed the net31% of attempts
- 6Goals13% of attempts
- 29Saved62% of attempts
- 12Missed the net26% of attempts
● goal (large) · ● saved · ✕ missed the net; blocked shots are not located. Each team attacks to the right.
🏒 Box Score
| Player | Pos | G | A | P | +/- | SOG | HIT | BLK | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tage Thompson | C | 3 | 2 | 5 | +3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 17:49 |
| Zach Benson | L | 1 | 2 | 3 | +3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 19:30 |
| Peyton Krebs | C | 0 | 3 | 3 | +3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 15:55 |
| Rasmus Dahlin | D | 0 | 2 | 2 | +3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 26:00 |
| Noah Ostlund | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19:26 |
| Jack Quinn | R | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18:28 |
| Tyson Kozak | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12:14 |
| Mattias Samuelsson | D | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 25:27 |
| Olen Zellweger | D | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18:14 |
| Sam Carrick | C | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 08:45 |
| Owen Power | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 23:55 |
| Josh Doan | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14:00 |
| Josh Norris | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13:51 |
| Ryan McLeod | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13:45 |
| Beck Malenstyn | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13:11 |
| Louis Crevier | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12:39 |
| Jason Zucker | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11:04 |
| Dennis Gilbert | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10:35 |
| Player | Dec | SV | SA | SV% | GA | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colten Ellis | W | 29 | 35 | 82.9 | 6 | 59:56 |
| Player | Pos | G | A | P | +/- | SOG | HIT | BLK | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo Carlsson | C | 0 | 3 | 3 | -1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 22:09 |
| Cutter Gauthier | L | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 22:18 |
| Beckett Sennecke | R | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 21:13 |
| Jackson LaCombe | D | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 29:36 |
| Mikael Granlund | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23:14 |
| Tristan Luneau | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 21:57 |
| Roger McQueen | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13:44 |
| Nick Jensen | D | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14:49 |
| Judd Caulfield | R | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13:38 |
| Sam Colangelo | R | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11:06 |
| Tim Washe | C | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16:09 |
| Tyson Hinds | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15:18 |
| Noah Warren | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14:45 |
| Travis Mitchell | D | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14:24 |
| A.J. Greer | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 13:33 |
| Alex Killorn | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13:00 |
| Frank Vatrano | R | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11:33 |
| Jeff Malott | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10:48 |
| Player | Dec | SV | SA | SV% | GA | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ville Husso | L | 24 | 31 | 77.4 | 7 | 53:34 |
🎟️ Player Props Results Consensus lines
| Player | Prop | Line | Actual | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tage Thompson BUF | Points | 0.5 | 5 | Over |
| Assists | 0.5 | 2 | Over | |
| Goals | 0.5 | 3 | Over | |
| Shots on goal | 3.5 | 4 | Over | |
| Zach Benson BUF | Points | 0.5 | 3 | Over |
| Assists | 0.5 | 2 | Over | |
| Goals | 0.5 | 1 | Over | |
| Shots on goal | 2.5 | 3 | Over | |
| Leo Carlsson ANA | Points | 0.5 | 3 | Over |
| Assists | 0.5 | 3 | Over | |
| Goals | 0.5 | 0 | Under | |
| Shots on goal | 2.5 | 5 | Over | |
| Jackson LaCombe ANA | Points | 0.5 | 2 | Over |
| Assists | 0.5 | 2 | Over | |
| Shots on goal | 1.5 | 1 | Under | |
| Rasmus Dahlin BUF | Points | 0.5 | 2 | Over |
| Assists | 0.5 | 2 | Over | |
| Shots on goal | 2.5 | 4 | Over | |
| Beckett Sennecke ANA | Points | 0.5 | 2 | Over |
| Assists | 0.5 | 1 | Over | |
| Goals | 0.5 | 1 | Over | |
| Shots on goal | 2.5 | 2 | Under |
The last pregame line, graded against the final box score.
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