Buffalo SabresBUF 5–3 Final New York RangersNYR

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Final	1st	2nd	3rd	T	SOG
Buffalo SabresBUF	2	0	3	5	27
New York RangersNYR	1	2	0	3	20

Playoff odds, %	Change
BUF	+0.0
NYR	+0.0

How the result moved each team's playoff odds, calculated Apr 8, 2026 7:03 PM EDT.

Highlights

Scoring

1st Period
4:40	BUF	Ryan McLeod (13) Jason Zucker (19), Conor Timmins (8) · snap xG 0.10	1–0 ▶
8:58	BUF	Zach Benson (11) Rasmus Dahlin (53), Bowen Byram (31) · deflected xG 0.35	2–0 ▶
19:21	NYR	Alexis Lafrenière (23)PP Adam Fox (43), J.T. Miller (34) · tip-in xG 0.09	2–1 ▶
2nd Period
2:57	NYR	Alexis Lafrenière (24) Drew Fortescue (2) · snap xG 0.18	2–2 ▶
14:44	NYR	Adam Fox (9)PP Vincent Trocheck (37), Mika Zibanejad (43) · wrist xG 0.09	2–3 ▶
3rd Period
5:51	BUF	Alex Tuch (31) Peyton Krebs (27), Tage Thompson (41) · deflected xG 0.10	3–3 ▶
7:14	BUF	Jason Zucker (24) Ryan McLeod (40) · wrist xG 0.62	4–3 ▶
18:45	BUF	Zach Benson (12)EN Josh Doan (26), Josh Norris (19) · wrist xG 0.93	5–3 ▶

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

BUF 68%Deserve to win32% NYR

BUF		NYR
4.14	Expected goals	2.21
5	Goals (no shootout)	3
2.06	Expected goals, 5 on 5	1.62
52	Shot attempts	53
41	Unblocked attempts	29
27	Shots on goal	20

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
10:14	BUF	Deserve to win	Deserve to win · BUF takes the lead, 60–40% NYR had led since 1:49 of the 1st, by as much as 64%
17:21	NYR	Deserve to win	Deserve to win · NYR takes the lead, 60–40% BUF had led since 10:14 of the 1st, by as much as 60%
3rd Period
7:14	BUF	Deserve to win	Deserve to win · BUF takes the lead, 66–34% NYR had led since 17:21 of the 1st, by as much as 63%
7:20	BUF	xG swing	xG swing · Out-chanced NYR 1.55–0.22 In xG over 10 minutes, 17:30 of the 2nd to 7:30 of the 3rd; goals 2–0
18:24	NYR	Pulled goalie	Pulled goalie · Pulled Shesterkin, down 4–3 With 1:36 left; BUF scored at 18:45 of the 3rd (5–3)

Shot map

BUF shoots ←Bigger circle: higher xG; filled: goal→ NYR 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.

Box score

Buffalo Sabres

	Skater	G	A	P	+/−	Att	xG	Hit	Blk	TOI
Forwards
72	Tage Thompson	0	1	1	+1	6	0.38	1	1	22:18
22	Jack Quinn	0	0	0	+2	3	0.30	0	0	19:24
89	Alex Tuch	1	0	1	+1	3	0.12	0	2	19:05
17	Jason Zucker	1	1	2	+2	5	1.06	0	1	18:14
71	Ryan McLeod	1	1	2	+1	3	0.11	0	1	17:10
19	Peyton Krebs	0	1	1	+1	2	0.05	3	1	15:04
9	Josh Norris	0	0	0	+2	3	0.26	0	2	14:46
91	Josh Doan	0	1	1	+1	2	0.17	0	0	13:08
6	Zach Benson	2	0	2	+1	3	1.35	0	1	12:59
48	Tyson Kozak	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	3	2	10:50
29	Beck Malenstyn	0	0	0	0	1	0.02	5	0	10:15
70	Tanner Pearson	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	3	0	08:52
Defense
26	Rasmus Dahlin	0	1	1	+2	7	0.21	0	1	24:30
24	Bowen Byram	0	1	1	+1	4	0.05	0	1	22:07
23	Mattias Samuelsson	0	0	0	+1	1	0.00	3	1	20:39
25	Owen Power	0	0	0	+1	1	0.02	0	1	20:09
21	Conor Timmins	0	1	1	+2	3	0.01	0	4	16:26
7	Michael Kesselring	0	0	0	+1	4	0.03	1	0	10:37

Goalie	SA	GA	SV	SV%	xGA	GSAx
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen	20	3	17	.850	2.21	-0.79

New York Rangers

	Skater	G	A	P	+/−	Att	xG	Hit	Blk	TOI
Forwards
10	J.T. Miller	0	1	1	-1	4	0.30	0	1	20:51
16	Vincent Trocheck	0	1	1	-1	1	0.00	3	1	18:48
93	Mika Zibanejad	0	1	1	-3	7	0.34	1	1	18:44
24	Tye Kartye	0	0	0	0	4	0.26	0	0	16:07
50	Will Cuylle	0	0	0	-2	3	0.40	8	1	15:46
13	Alexis Lafrenière	2	0	2	-2	3	0.27	0	0	15:07
42	Noah Laba	0	0	0	-1	2	0.11	1	1	13:33
43	Conor Sheary	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	12:28
94	Gabe Perreault	0	0	0	-1	1	0.11	1	1	12:09
22	Jonny Brodzinski	0	0	0	-1	5	0.10	1	0	12:03
38	Adam Sykora	0	0	0	-1	1	0.04	0	1	11:16
49	Jaroslav Chmelar	0	0	0	-1	1	0.00	1	0	11:15
Defense
44	Vladislav Gavrikov	0	0	0	-1	5	0.08	1	0	24:41
23	Adam Fox	1	1	2	-1	6	0.11	1	0	23:20
4	Braden Schneider	0	0	0	-2	5	0.08	5	2	22:35
29	Matthew Robertson	0	0	0	-1	2	0.01	1	1	15:52
17	Will Borgen	0	0	0	-1	1	0.00	1	1	15:24
45	Drew Fortescue	0	1	1	-1	2	0.01	1	0	13:34

Goalie	SA	GA	SV	SV%	xGA	GSAx
Igor Shesterkin	26	4	22	.846	3.20	-0.80

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.

Buffalo Sabres

Player	Rating	Points	Shots	On ice	Pen	FO	Other	GSAx	TOI
17 Jason Zucker L	+3.29	+1.45	+0.69	+0.95	+0.15	0.00	+0.05	—	18:14
6 Zach Benson L	+2.63	+1.50	+0.88	+0.19	0.00	0.00	+0.07	—	12:59
71 Ryan McLeod C	+2.05	+1.45	+0.07	+0.62	-0.15	+0.03	+0.03	—	17:10
26 Rasmus Dahlin D	+2.00	+0.70	+0.13	+1.15	0.00	0.00	+0.01	—	24:30
4 Bowen Byram D	+1.57	+0.55	+0.03	+0.79	+0.15	0.00	+0.05	—	22:07
21 Conor Timmins D	+1.45	+0.55	+0.01	+0.73	0.00	0.00	+0.16	—	16:26
22 Jack Quinn R	+1.15	0.00	+0.20	+0.94	0.00	0.00	+0.02	—	19:24
9 Josh Norris C	+1.12	+0.55	+0.17	+0.50	-0.15	-0.05	+0.10	—	14:46
72 Tage Thompson C	+1.02	+0.55	+0.25	+0.01	+0.15	+0.02	+0.05	—	22:18
89 Alex Tuch R	+1.00	+0.75	+0.07	+0.04	0.00	+0.02	+0.12	—	19:05
91 Josh Doan R	+0.98	+0.70	+0.11	+0.20	0.00	0.00	-0.02	—	13:08
19 Peyton Krebs C	+0.58	+0.70	+0.04	+0.01	-0.15	-0.04	+0.03	—	15:04
23 Mattias Samuelsson D	+0.01	0.00	0.00	+0.02	0.00	0.00	-0.01	—	20:39
29 Beck Malenstyn L	-0.05	0.00	+0.01	-0.21	+0.15	0.00	0.00	—	10:15
8 Michael Kesselring D	-0.06	0.00	+0.02	-0.07	0.00	0.00	-0.02	—	10:37
48 Tyson Kozak C	-0.14	0.00	0.00	-0.20	0.00	-0.04	+0.10	—	10:50
70 Tanner Pearson L	-0.21	0.00	0.00	-0.21	0.00	0.00	0.00	—	8:52
25 Owen Power D	-0.77	0.00	+0.01	-0.81	0.00	0.00	+0.03	—	20:09
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen G	-0.79	0.00	—	—	0.00	—	—	-0.79	60:00

New York Rangers

Player	Rating	Points	Shots	On ice	Pen	FO	Other	GSAx	TOI
23 Adam Fox D	+1.99	+1.45	+0.07	+0.63	-0.15	0.00	-0.02	—	23:20
13 Alexis Lafrenière L	+1.23	+1.50	+0.18	-0.43	0.00	0.00	-0.02	—	15:07
8 J.T. Miller C	+1.17	+0.55	+0.19	+0.34	0.00	+0.04	+0.05	—	20:51
16 Vincent Trocheck C	+0.75	+0.70	0.00	+0.16	-0.15	-0.01	+0.05	—	18:48
24 Tye Kartye L	+0.73	0.00	+0.17	+0.26	+0.30	0.00	0.00	—	16:07
43 Conor Sheary L	+0.24	0.00	0.00	+0.26	0.00	0.00	-0.02	—	12:28
44 Vladislav Gavrikov D	+0.12	0.00	+0.05	+0.22	-0.15	0.00	0.00	—	24:41
45 Drew Fortescue D	+0.03	+0.70	+0.01	-0.67	0.00	0.00	0.00	—	13:34
38 Adam Sykora L	+0.01	0.00	+0.02	-0.21	+0.15	0.00	+0.05	—	11:16
42 Noah Laba C	-0.09	0.00	+0.07	-0.21	0.00	+0.04	+0.01	—	13:33
94 Gabe Perreault R	-0.18	0.00	+0.07	-0.30	0.00	0.00	+0.05	—	12:09
49 Jaroslav Chmelar R	-0.21	0.00	0.00	-0.21	0.00	0.00	0.00	—	11:15
50 Will Cuylle L	-0.42	0.00	+0.26	-0.68	0.00	-0.01	+0.01	—	15:46
93 Mika Zibanejad C	-0.42	+0.55	+0.22	-1.21	0.00	-0.01	+0.03	—	18:44
22 Jonny Brodzinski C	-0.44	0.00	+0.07	-0.52	0.00	+0.01	0.00	—	12:03
17 Will Borgen D	-0.52	0.00	0.00	-0.42	-0.15	0.00	+0.05	—	15:24
29 Matthew Robertson D	-0.53	0.00	+0.01	-0.56	0.00	0.00	+0.03	—	15:52
31 Igor Shesterkin G	-0.80	0.00	—	—	0.00	—	—	-0.80	58:27
4 Braden Schneider D	-0.90	0.00	+0.05	-1.07	0.00	0.00	+0.12	—	22:35

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.