Score away–home after each goal; season totals in parentheses.
Shot quality
Expected goals (xG) rate every unblocked shot by how often shots like it go in, from where it was taken,
the shot type, the strength and what happened just before it. How it works
PIT 31%Deserve to win69% VAN
PIT
VAN
3.16
Expected goals
4.25
3
Goals (no shootout)
2
3.00
Expected goals, 5 on 5
2.75
56
Shot attempts
68
42
Unblocked attempts
52
25
Shots on goal
32
Game notes
What stood out as the game went on, from the play-by-play and the shifts. Time on the bench is
counted in 5-on-5 play outside the penalty box; the note says the player sat, not why. Goals saved are against the
shots' expected goals (xG).
1st Period
17:40
VAN
No shift
No shift · Buium, 13:07 on the bench
No shift from 7:40 of the 1st to 0:47 of the 2nd; 3 shifts (1:27) before that
18:20
PIT
No shift
No shift · St. Ivany, 48:09 on the bench
No shift after 8:11 of the 1st; 3 shifts (2:54) before that
2nd Period
3:39
VAN
Deserve to win
Deserve to win · VAN takes the lead, 69–31%
PIT had led since 4:33 of the 1st, by as much as 63%
4:40
VAN
xG swing
xG swing · Out-chanced PIT 1.14–0.12
In xG over 10 minutes, 14:40 of the 1st to 4:40 of the 2nd; neither team scored
9:07
PIT
Goalie
Goalie · Skinner +2.0 goals saved
0 goals on 2.03 xG, 16 shots on goal
17:30
PIT
xG swing
xG swing · Out-chanced VAN 1.32–0.32
In xG over 10 minutes, 7:30 to 17:30 of the 2nd; goals 2–0
3rd Period
20:00
VAN
xG swing
xG swing · Out-chanced PIT 1.61–0.37
In xG over 10 minutes, 10:00 of the 3rd to the end of the 3rd; goals 1–0
Shot map
PIT shoots ←Bigger circle: higher xG; filled: goal→ VAN shoots
About these numbers
xG comes from hockeystats.io's own model, a gradient-boosted tree model trained on every unblocked shot
from the 2021-22 to 2025-26 regular seasons using the NHL's public play-by-play. Each shot's value is the
share of similar shots that became goals. A team's xG is the sum over its shots; "deserve to win" asks how
often the team would outscore its opponent if every shot went in at exactly that rate. Blocked shots count
as attempts but have no xG (the NHL records where they were blocked, not where they were taken), so the map
leaves them out.
An expected-goals take on Dom Luszczyszyn's Game Score: goals and assists, the quality of a
player's own shots, shot quality for and against while they were on the ice at 5v5, penalties, faceoffs and puck plays,
all in goals; goalies by goals saved above expected. From the NHL play-by-play and shift charts.
