Game Recap

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 on January 31, 2026. Despite the result, the Buffalo Sabres held the edge in expected goals (12.60 to 7.68) at 5-on-5, indicating the Montreal Canadiens received favorable bounces or strong goaltending. The Buffalo Sabres created 21 high-danger scoring chances compared to 10 from the Montreal Canadiens at 5-on-5. Cole Caufield scored 2 goals. Josh Doan was the most dangerous skater with 2.88 individual expected goals on 3 shots at 5-on-5. The Buffalo Sabres outshot the Montreal Canadiens 38-31 in total shots on goal.

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Montreal Canadiens logo
MTL4 - 2BUF
Jan 31, 2026 · Regular Season
Buffalo Sabres logo

Overview

PeriodCorsiFenwickShotsSCHDSCxGGoals
FA%FA%FA%FA%FA%FA%FA%
BUFP1221953.7161355.2111150.0171553.17463.63.902.7558.6010.0
P2241463.2161061.512666.718772.07370.04.861.1980.420100.0
P3312060.8241955.8151451.7231265.710662.56.605.3955.1030.0
Total775359.2564257.1383155.1583463.0241364.915.379.3362.22433.3
MTLP1192246.3131644.8111150.0151746.94736.42.753.9041.410100.0
P2142436.8101638.561233.371828.03730.01.194.8619.6020.0
P3203139.2192444.2141548.3122334.361037.55.396.6044.930100.0
Total537740.8425642.9313844.9345837.0132435.19.3315.3737.84266.7

Win Probability

0%25%50%75%100%P1P2P30:0010:0020:0030:0040:0050:0060:00Home Win ProbabilityBUFMTL
BUF Favored
MTL Favored
Goal
Power Play

Gameflow — Cumulative xG

0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.55.05.56.06.57.07.58.08.59.09.510.010.511.011.512.012.513.013.514.014.515.015.5P1P2P30:0010:0020:0030:0040:0050:0060:00Cumulative xG
BUF
MTL
Goal

Shot Density Heatmap

MTL Attempts
BUF Attempts

Individual Event Map

SvSvSvMSvMMSvSvSvSvSvGASvMSvMSvMSvSvSvSvSvSvSvGAMMSvMSvSvSvSvSvGASvSvMMGA
MTL ShootBUF Shoot
SvSave
GAGoal Against
MMissed Shot Against

Player Matchup Grid

This grid shows how every skater on the home team (BUF) performed against every skater on the away team (MTL) when they were on the ice at the same time.

  • Rows = BUF players, Columns = MTL players. Forwards are listed first, then defensemen.
  • Green = the BUF player had a favorable matchup (above 50%). Red = unfavorable (below 50%).
  • Values shown from the home team's perspective. Toggle between CF% (shot attempt share) and xGF% (expected goal share).
  • Cells with fewer than 3 shared events are grayed out (insufficient sample). Hover over any cell for full details.
BUF ↓ / MTLSuzukiDanaultEvansKapanenDachVelenoSlafkovskýDemidovCaufieldAndersonBolducGallagherMathesonDobsonCarrierGuhleHutsonXhekaj
Thompson47556971407920503338793364537248670
McLeod3377706371675052421006710075587175470
Ostlund5080648367576775568625837740897156100
Krebs08850140501090862567100157103775
Helenius56100578863576767561002510075291008040100
Kozak010050185088010050100100205001950
Benson3162766050752040304575446753854857100
Zucker58694464575052595788508373536574460
Malenstyn01005021050151401002550100177501967
Tuch25577360457820292536783863567343440
Quinn6482716757100565957881008381607379500
Doan536962865667557156803386682980706390
Dahlin375872765079455336707563696270674067
Power317582335583262625708378744179503860
Samuelsson206256643863434829602950684779563067
Byram5886673755503535566033567525100683583
Metsa089331005067670865086674082060100
Kesselring503304050025205040050020100382083