Colorado AvalancheCOL 3–2 Final/OT Washington CapitalsWSH

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Final/OT 1st2nd3rdOT T SOG
Colorado AvalancheCOL 0021 3 24
Washington CapitalsWSH 1010 2 22
Playoff odds, % Change
WSH -2.0
COL +0.0
NYI +0.6
CBJ +0.5

How the result moved each team's playoff odds, calculated Mar 22, 2026 11:57 AM EDT.

Highlights

Scoring

1st Period
11:53 WSH Justin Sourdif (14) Connor McMichael (25), Matt Roy (15) · snap xG 0.21 0–1 ▶
2nd Period
No scoring
3rd Period
1:05 COL Gabriel Landeskog (10) Martin Necas (53) · snap xG 0.26 1–1 ▶
6:03 COL Nicolas Roy (8) Zakhar Bardakov (9) · snap xG 0.20 2–1 ▶
14:17 WSH Alex Ovechkin (26)PP Dylan Strome (35), Cole Hutson (1) · slap xG 0.11 2–2 ▶
Overtime
1:22 COL Brock Nelson (32) Martin Necas (54), Devon Toews (16) · tip-in xG 0.19 3–2 ▶

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

COL 49%Deserve to win51% WSH
COLWSH
2.71Expected goals2.75
3Goals (no shootout)2
1.65Expected goals, 5 on 52.16
55Shot attempts42
38Unblocked attempts35
24Shots on goal22

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).

2nd Period
2:50 WSH No shift No shift · Frank, 39:12 on the bench
No shift after 10:34 of the 1st; 3 shifts (1:22) before that
9:40 WSH No shift No shift · Lapierre, 11:02 on the bench
No shift from 17:04 of the 1st to 10:36 of the 2nd; 4 shifts (2:27) before that
3rd Period
19:20 WSH No shift No shift · Lapierre, 10:45 on the bench
No shift after 6:03 of the 3rd; 9 shifts (5:44) before that

Shot map

COL shoots ←Bigger circle: higher xG; filled: goal→ WSH shoots
Rasmus Sandin: snap, 68 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 1:10) Justin Sourdif: snap, 13 ft, xG 0.04 (P1 1:46) Ryan Leonard: snap, 35 ft, xG 0.04 (P1 2:01) Sam Malinski: snap, 59 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 3:10) Nazem Kadri: snap, 17 ft, xG 0.14 (P1 3:22) Martin Necas: slap, 45 ft, xG 0.05 (P1 3:39) Dylan Strome: snap, 32 ft, xG 0.15 (P1 7:25) Sam Malinski: snap, 59 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 7:50) Jack Drury: snap, 58 ft, xG 0.03 (P1 9:57) Ethen Frank: snap, 10 ft, xG 0.19 (P1 10:32) Zakhar Bardakov: snap, 54 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 10:49) Aliaksei Protas: snap, 39 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 11:13) Gavin Brindley: tip-in, 11 ft, xG 0.03 (P1 12:57) Martin Necas: backhand, 10 ft, xG 0.19 (P1 13:55) Jakob Chychrun: snap, 63 ft, xG 0.03 (P1 15:04) Tom Wilson: snap, 10 ft, xG 0.05 (P1 15:05) Alex Ovechkin: snap, 45 ft, xG 0.03 (P1 16:35) Nathan MacKinnon: backhand, 8 ft, xG 0.10 (P1 17:39) Connor McMichael: snap, 17 ft, xG 0.21 (P1 17:54) Aliaksei Protas: snap, 13 ft, xG 0.16 (P1 19:34) Nazem Kadri: snap, 28 ft, xG 0.09 (P1 19:42) Josh Manson: snap, 47 ft, xG 0.03 (P2 0:15) Aliaksei Protas: snap, 28 ft, xG 0.06 (P2 0:24) Cale Makar: snap, 40 ft, xG 0.03 (P2 3:25) Brett Kulak: slap, 58 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 3:36) Cale Makar: snap, 55 ft, xG 0.00 (P2 3:47) Cale Makar: snap, 38 ft, xG 0.03 (P2 3:55) Brock Nelson: slap, 29 ft, xG 0.04 (P2 4:00) Brock Nelson: slap, 26 ft, xG 0.10 (P2 4:25) Connor McMichael: slap, 45 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 4:55) Tom Wilson: snap, 11 ft, xG 0.12 (P2 6:12) Rasmus Sandin: snap, 70 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 8:08) Brent Burns: snap, 40 ft, xG 0.05 (P2 8:24) Alex Ovechkin: slap, 29 ft, xG 0.12 (P2 11:22) Josh Manson: snap, 67 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 11:45) Gabriel Landeskog: tip-in, 23 ft, xG 0.07 (P2 12:42) Brandon Duhaime: backhand, 27 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 13:28) Brock Nelson: snap, 25 ft, xG 0.21 (P2 13:56) Nazem Kadri: snap, 41 ft, xG 0.02 (P2 14:07) Jakob Chychrun: snap, 38 ft, xG 0.07 (P2 16:46) Jakob Chychrun: snap, 40 ft, xG 0.07 (P2 17:00) Pierre-Luc Dubois: snap, 60 ft, xG 0.03 (P2 17:09) Parker Kelly: backhand, 11 ft, xG 0.18 (P2 17:55) Rasmus Sandin: snap, 51 ft, xG 0.02 (P2 19:02) Ryan Leonard: snap, 45 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 1:56) Ryan Leonard: snap, 33 ft, xG 0.10 (P3 2:07) Jakob Chychrun: slap, 70 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 2:11) Connor McMichael: snap, 35 ft, xG 0.07 (P3 5:12) Cale Makar: snap, 31 ft, xG 0.05 (P3 6:52) Pierre-Luc Dubois: backhand, 7 ft, xG 0.21 (P3 7:01) Rasmus Sandin: snap, 59 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 7:16) Tom Wilson: tip-in, 27 ft, xG 0.06 (P3 7:40) Brent Burns: slap, 44 ft, xG 0.02 (P3 8:41) Martin Fehérváry: snap, 37 ft, xG 0.07 (P3 10:59) Aliaksei Protas: wrap-around, 5 ft, xG 0.05 (P3 11:22) Ryan Leonard: snap, 10 ft, xG 0.18 (P3 11:44) Nazem Kadri: snap, 37 ft, xG 0.07 (P3 12:08) Aliaksei Protas: backhand, 8 ft, xG 0.04 (P3 13:22) Pierre-Luc Dubois: wrist, 9 ft, xG 0.19 (P3 13:24) Josh Manson: slap, 56 ft, xG 0.02 (P3 16:24) Josh Manson: snap, 49 ft, xG 0.02 (P3 16:40) Devon Toews: snap, 64 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 16:45) Brent Burns: snap, 50 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 19:08) Josh Manson: bat, 8 ft, xG 0.03 (P3 19:09) Brent Burns: snap, 73 ft, xG 0.00 (P3 19:19) Nathan MacKinnon: snap, 35 ft, xG 0.08 (OT 0:17) Martin Necas: snap, 31 ft, xG 0.16 (OT 0:53) Brock Nelson: slap, 22 ft, xG 0.13 (OT 1:07) Justin Sourdif: GOAL, snap, 26 ft, xG 0.21 (P1 11:53) Gabriel Landeskog: GOAL, snap, 9 ft, xG 0.26 (P3 1:05) Nicolas Roy: GOAL, snap, 22 ft, xG 0.20 (P3 6:03) Alex Ovechkin: GOAL, slap, 35 ft, xG 0.11 (P3 14:17) Brock Nelson: GOAL, tip-in, 7 ft, xG 0.19 (OT 1:22)
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.

Box score

Colorado Avalanche

Skater GAP+/− AttxG HitBlkTOI
Forwards
88 Martin Necas 022 +1 30.40 1023:36
29 Nathan MacKinnon 000 0 60.18 1022:50
11 Brock Nelson 101 +1 60.67 1020:13
43 Valeri Nichushkin 000 -1 10.00 0018:47
92 Gabriel Landeskog 101 +1 20.33 3117:21
91 Nazem Kadri 000 0 50.32 2015:48
18 Jack Drury 000 0 30.03 0014:39
17 Parker Kelly 000 0 10.18 3013:52
22 Joel Kiviranta 000 0 00.00 1012:14
10 Nicolas Roy 101 +1 20.20 0008:40
54 Gavin Brindley 000 +1 10.03 0004:57
93 Zakhar Bardakov 011 +1 10.01 0004:28
Defense
8 Cale Makar 000 0 60.11 0125:06
27 Brett Kulak 000 0 20.01 1120:31
7 Devon Toews 011 +2 30.01 0019:45
70 Sam Malinski 000 +1 20.02 1119:24
84 Brent Burns 000 0 50.09 0017:29
42 Josh Manson 000 0 60.11 1116:16
Goalie SAGA SVSV% xGA GSAx
Mackenzie Blackwood 22220 .909 2.75 +0.75

Washington Capitals

Skater GAP+/− AttxG HitBlkTOI
Forwards
43 Tom Wilson 000 -1 30.23 3124:46
80 Pierre-Luc Dubois 000 -2 30.43 1024:10
21 Aliaksei Protas 000 -2 50.33 0120:37
77 Connor McMichael 011 +1 40.30 0020:03
8 Alex Ovechkin 101 0 40.25 2018:45
34 Justin Sourdif 101 +1 20.24 3217:22
72 Anthony Beauvillier 000 -1 10.00 1116:53
9 Ryan Leonard 000 +1 50.33 3015:05
17 Dylan Strome 011 0 20.15 0114:31
24 Brandon Duhaime 000 -1 10.01 1007:09
22 Hendrix Lapierre 000 -1 00.00 1105:44
53 Ethen Frank 000 0 10.19 0001:22
Defense
6 Jakob Chychrun 000 0 40.19 1121:30
42 Martin Fehérváry 000 -1 20.07 1120:34
38 Rasmus Sandin 000 -1 50.04 1120:10
3 Matt Roy 011 -1 00.00 0118:50
44 Cole Hutson 011 0 00.00 0017:55
57 Trevor van Riemsdyk 000 0 00.00 0214:57
Goalie SAGA SVSV% xGA GSAx
Logan Thompson 24321 .875 2.71 -0.29

Skaters by time on ice. Goalie lines count shots with the goalie in net, from the NHL play-by-play.

Player ratings

What each player added to the result, in goals, from most to least. Hover a number for what it's made of.

Colorado Avalanche

Player Rating Points Shots On ice Pen FO Other GSAx TOI
88 Martin Necas C +1.24 +1.40 +0.26 -0.42 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 23:36
11 Brock Nelson C +0.89 +0.75 +0.44 -0.32 0.00 +0.01 +0.02 — 20:13
93 Zakhar Bardakov C +0.82 +0.70 +0.01 +0.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 4:28
39 Mackenzie Blackwood G +0.75 0.00 — — 0.00 — — +0.75 61:12
7 Devon Toews D +0.75 +0.55 0.00 +0.19 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 19:45
10 Nicolas Roy C +0.69 +0.75 +0.13 -0.04 -0.15 0.00 0.00 — 8:40
92 Gabriel Landeskog L +0.55 +0.75 +0.22 -0.37 -0.15 +0.05 +0.05 — 17:21
94 Joel Kiviranta L +0.23 0.00 0.00 +0.21 0.00 0.00 +0.02 — 12:14
8 Cale Makar D +0.14 0.00 +0.07 -0.13 +0.15 0.00 +0.05 — 25:06
54 Gavin Brindley C +0.13 0.00 +0.02 +0.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 4:57
18 Jack Drury C +0.11 0.00 +0.02 +0.05 0.00 +0.04 0.00 — 14:39
70 Sam Malinski D +0.11 0.00 +0.02 +0.08 0.00 0.00 +0.01 — 19:24
29 Nathan MacKinnon C +0.11 0.00 +0.12 -0.18 +0.15 0.00 +0.02 — 22:50
91 Nazem Kadri C +0.06 0.00 +0.21 -0.14 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 15:48
17 Parker Kelly C +0.01 0.00 +0.12 +0.05 -0.15 -0.01 0.00 — 13:52
27 Brett Kulak D -0.28 0.00 +0.01 -0.26 0.00 0.00 -0.03 — 20:31
42 Josh Manson D -0.32 0.00 +0.07 -0.27 -0.15 0.00 +0.03 — 16:16
13 Valeri Nichushkin R -0.36 0.00 0.00 -0.32 0.00 0.00 -0.04 — 18:47
84 Brent Burns D -0.54 0.00 +0.06 -0.45 -0.15 0.00 0.00 — 17:29

Washington Capitals

Player Rating Points Shots On ice Pen FO Other GSAx TOI
34 Justin Sourdif C +1.89 +0.75 +0.16 +0.98 0.00 -0.04 +0.04 — 17:22
24 Connor McMichael L +1.39 +0.70 +0.19 +0.52 0.00 -0.03 0.00 — 20:03
42 Martin Fehérváry D +1.08 0.00 +0.04 +0.94 0.00 0.00 +0.10 — 20:34
21 Aliaksei Protas L +0.90 0.00 +0.21 +0.31 +0.30 0.00 +0.07 — 20:37
17 Dylan Strome C +0.82 +0.70 +0.09 +0.03 0.00 -0.01 +0.01 — 14:31
9 Ryan Leonard R +0.76 0.00 +0.21 +0.54 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 15:05
38 Rasmus Sandin D +0.60 0.00 +0.03 +0.56 0.00 0.00 +0.01 — 20:10
6 Jakob Chychrun D +0.57 0.00 +0.12 +0.40 0.00 0.00 +0.05 — 21:30
8 Alex Ovechkin L +0.53 +0.75 +0.17 -0.23 -0.15 0.00 0.00 — 18:45
53 Ethen Frank R +0.33 0.00 +0.12 +0.20 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 1:22
57 Trevor van Riemsdyk D +0.32 0.00 0.00 +0.09 +0.15 0.00 +0.08 — 14:57
43 Tom Wilson R +0.23 0.00 +0.15 +0.02 0.00 +0.01 +0.05 — 24:46
80 Pierre-Luc Dubois C +0.21 0.00 +0.28 -0.05 0.00 -0.02 0.00 — 24:10
3 Matt Roy D +0.06 +0.55 0.00 -0.67 +0.15 0.00 +0.03 — 18:50
22 Brandon Duhaime L -0.04 0.00 +0.01 -0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 7:09
44 Cole Hutson D -0.08 +0.55 0.00 -0.48 -0.15 0.00 0.00 — 17:55
48 Logan Thompson G -0.29 0.00 — — 0.00 — — -0.29 61:05
72 Anthony Beauvillier R -0.30 0.00 0.00 -0.49 +0.15 -0.01 +0.05 — 16:53
29 Hendrix Lapierre C -0.50 0.00 0.00 -0.54 0.00 +0.01 +0.03 — 5:44

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.