xJawn NHL expected goals

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BOS 6 – 2 PIT

Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins

Final · Nov 5, 2026
2026-27 · regular season
The call
PIT 51.4% ✗
expected 3.36–3.41 · BOS won 6–2
actual xG
2.45–2.41
xG share, predicted → actual
BOS 50% → 50%50% → 50% PIT
Today's puzzle Remember Some Guys — name the skater from the shape of his career. Three clues, one guess a day. Play →
On the ice
Adjusts with rink filters

Strength and score are read from BOS's side, the same minutes at both ends: PP = BOS power play · PK = PIT power play · Leading = BOS ahead · ST = each club's own power play.

BOS attacks◀ all strengths
PIT attacksall strengths ▶
× goal• on net ◦ missed· blocked hover any attempt for the shooter, its xG and everything the model saw
How to read this map

One rink, both teams: BOS attacks the left net, PIT the right. Every attempt is a Gaussian bump of height = its model xG. The controls switch the surface (xG heatmap ↔ vs league) and the markers; vs league compares this game against a typical NHL team-game under the same filter (2026-27 regular season, 283 games), so a 5v5 view is measured against league 5v5.

A strength or score filter is read from BOS's side and mirrored for PIT: “BOS PP” shows BOS's power-play attempts on the left and PIT's shorthanded attempts on the right — the same minutes of the game at both ends. Empty-net attempts are excluded unless you include them. The Player control narrows the map and the rows beneath it to the attempts by either club while one player was on the ice (for a goalie, while he was in net); his own attempts wear a blue ring. vs league switches off while a player is picked — the league baseline is a whole team-game, which one player's slice is not. Hover any attempt for the shooter, the result, its xG, and the inputs behind it: clock, strength, score, shot type, distance, angle, handedness, rush/rebound, what happened just before, and the goalie or the blocker.

What each side produced

all strengths · this game
BOS PIT
bars share a scale within each row · the longer bar is the row's leader
Goalson the map
6 2
Expected goals
2.46 2.41
xG%share of xG
50% 50%
High-dangerattempts ≥ 0.20 xG
2 0
Shots on goal
24 19
Attempts
42 56
xG by period · whole game 1st1.4–0.52nd0.6–1.23rd0.4–0.7

The Bruins beat the Penguins 6–2 on the road in a game the chances called about even, BOS 2.5 to PIT 2.4 in expected goals. BOS scored 6 on 2.5 expected.

Counts come from the shot table behind the map: empty-net attempts and the shootout are excluded, so the goals here can trail the official final by an empty-netter or the shootout's deciding goal. Same numbers as the post-game cards.

As the game went

all situations · this game
cumulative BOS − PIT xG · bands = power plays · lines = goals
1ST2ND3RD+0.5−0.5+1−1BOS AHEAD ▲PIT AHEAD ▼
How to read this

One line: cumulative BOS minus PIT expected goals. Above zero BOS is ahead on chances, below zero PIT is. Shaded bands are power plays in the side's colour; vertical lines are goals.

Goals

this game
xG = the chance, before it went in
TeamScorerPeriodTimexG
BOSPavel Zacha 1st12:07 0.17
BOSMark Kastelic 1st15:04 0.05
BOSElias Lindholm 1st18:57 0.26
BOSPavel Zacha 2nd14:24 0.12
BOSMorgan Geekie 2nd16:57 0.22
BOSFraser Minten 3rd8:39 0.10
PITJustin Brazeau 1st9:04 0.06
PITNick Robertson 2nd7:57 0.06
Who

Skaters

all · whole game · this game
on-ice xG for and against, his own attempts, the net
strength
period
sort
How to read this

Every skater: on-ice xG against to the left of zero, for to the right, his own attempts as the solid bar, a hash at the net. The slim track under the name is ice time. The chart opens sorted by net, best first; pick another key to re-order it, and click the same key again to flip it. A name opens the player's page. Pick a period and every bar re-lays for that period alone on the same scale as the whole game, so the three periods add up to it; a skater who did not play in it fades to the bottom.

BOS
against for own net ice time
0.50.5111.51.50Charlie McAvoyD20:02+0.91Hampus LindholmD20:13+0.61James HagensF11:57+0.41Casey MittelstadtF12:53+0.31Elias LindholmF14:40+0.26Sean KuralyF14:47+0.23Tanner JeannotF13:16+0.18Pavel ZachaF18:37+0.15Morgan GeekieF13:44+0.13David PastrnakF20:23+0.11Mark KastelicF13:11-0.09JJ PeterkaF18:25-0.12William BorgenD21:02-0.27Nikita ZadorovD21:25-0.33Marat KhusnutdinovF14:00-0.41Fraser MintenF13:54-0.46Frederic BrunetD16:21-0.53Mason LohreiD19:10-0.74
0.50.5111.51.50Charlie McAvoyD18:21+0.87Hampus LindholmD19:25+0.74James HagensF11:08+0.35Casey MittelstadtF12:53+0.31Sean KuralyF14:23+0.23Tanner JeannotF12:50+0.18Mark KastelicF12:18+0.03Elias LindholmF12:42+0.02Pavel ZachaF17:30-0.12Morgan GeekieF12:37-0.13JJ PeterkaF17:36-0.17David PastrnakF18:27-0.21William BorgenD19:46-0.24Nikita ZadorovD20:10-0.30Marat KhusnutdinovF13:10-0.39Fraser MintenF12:18-0.40Frederic BrunetD16:21-0.53Mason LohreiD18:05-0.90
0.250.250.50.50David PastrnakF1:56+0.32Elias LindholmF1:08+0.26Pavel ZachaF1:07+0.26Morgan GeekieF1:07+0.26Charlie McAvoyD0:51+0.16Mason LohreiD1:05+0.16JJ PeterkaF0:49+0.05James HagensF0:49+0.05Fraser MintenF0:48+0.05Sean KuralyF0:04+0.00Nikita ZadorovD0:04+0.00William BorgenD0:04+0.00Tanner JeannotF0:04+0.00Mark KastelicF0:04+0.00
0.250.250Tanner JeannotF0:22+0.00Sean KuralyF0:20+0.00William BorgenD1:12-0.03Nikita ZadorovD1:11-0.03Elias LindholmF0:50-0.03Marat KhusnutdinovF0:50-0.03Charlie McAvoyD0:50-0.12Mark KastelicF0:49-0.12Hampus LindholmD0:48-0.12Fraser MintenF0:48-0.12
PIT
against for own net ice time
0.50.5111.51.50Kaedan KorczakD19:28+0.44Sidney CrosbyF17:15+0.39Ville KoivunenF8:57+0.38Blake LizotteF13:29+0.24Connor DewarF16:14+0.20Spencer StastneyD20:15+0.20Nick RobertsonF14:57+0.18Kris LetangD20:27+0.16Hendrix LapierreF12:21+0.12Declan CarlileD17:14+0.10Justin BrazeauF11:49+0.09Evgeni MalkinF16:11+0.03Tommy NovakF17:06-0.07Egor ChinakhovF15:42-0.25Samuel GirardD20:08-0.41Ben KindelF18:07-0.41Rickard RakellF17:15-0.56Erik KarlssonD21:05-0.72
0.50.5111.51.50Kaedan KorczakD18:40+0.50Blake LizotteF12:37+0.40Ville KoivunenF8:39+0.38Connor DewarF14:56+0.36Nick RobertsonF14:20+0.34Declan CarlileD15:30+0.31Spencer StastneyD19:43+0.30Sidney CrosbyF15:27+0.24Kris LetangD20:04+0.16Hendrix LapierreF12:21+0.12Justin BrazeauF11:49+0.09Evgeni MalkinF15:51+0.03Tommy NovakF15:29-0.22Egor ChinakhovF15:19-0.25Samuel GirardD19:37-0.30Rickard RakellF14:25-0.55Ben KindelF16:27-0.56Erik KarlssonD18:46-0.70
0.250.250Sidney CrosbyF1:44+0.15Rickard RakellF1:42+0.15Ben KindelF1:40+0.15Erik KarlssonD1:37+0.15Tommy NovakF1:37+0.15Kris LetangD0:23+0.00Egor ChinakhovF0:23+0.00Evgeni MalkinF0:20+0.00Ville KoivunenF0:18+0.00Declan CarlileD0:16+0.00
0.250.250Sidney CrosbyF0:04+0.00Kaedan KorczakD0:48-0.05Spencer StastneyD0:32-0.10Samuel GirardD0:31-0.10Connor DewarF1:18-0.16Rickard RakellF1:08-0.16Blake LizotteF0:52-0.16Erik KarlssonD0:42-0.16Nick RobertsonF0:37-0.16Declan CarlileD1:28-0.21

Lines & pairs

all · whole game · this game
most-used units · when they played · on-ice xG lines are by strength · 5v5 shown
strength
period
sort
How to read this

The units that actually played together most at the chosen strength — forward lines and defence pairs at 5v5, the whole group on the ice on the power play or the kill — each with when it was on the ice at that strength across the game clock (period and power-play bands behind the strip) and on-ice xG against / for while the whole unit was out, at that strength only. Sorted by time together; pick another key to re-order, and a name opens the player's page. Pick a period and the strip veils the rest of the game while the bars re-lay for that period alone, on the whole game's scale.

BOS
on ice power play penalty kill xGA xGF
PIT
on ice power play penalty kill xGA xGF

Matchups

5v5 · this game
every skater against every skater, goalies first · hover a cell
order
BOS won the chances PIT won them full colour = a margin of 0.75 xG or more taller = more time together (full height at 12:00) on together, dead even never on together G = goalie: his row or column is each skater against the whole other team
SilovsMalkinChinakhovKindelCrosbyRakellNovakDewarLizotteRobertsonBrazeauLapierreKoivunenKarlssonGirardStastneyKorczakLetangCarlileGL1L2L3L4D1D2D3GL1L2L3L4D1D2D3DiPietroPastrnakZachaPeterkaKuralyJeannotKastelicGeekieKhusnutdinovMintenLindholmMittelstadtHagensZadorovBorgenLindholmMcAvoyLohreiBrunet
How to read this

Rows are BOS's skaters, columns PIT's, grouped the way they played: forward lines (L1 = the line that played together most), then defence pairs. Each cell covers the five-on-five time those two players shared the ice. Its colour is the club that out-chanced the other in that time — expected goals for minus against — and the stronger the colour, the bigger the margin. Each cell is also raised: the taller the block, the longer the two shared the ice, up to full height at 12:00 of five-on-five time. A grey cell means they met and it came out even; an open, flat one means they never met at five-on-five.

The first row and column are the goalies. A goalie is in net for every five-on-five second, so a skater's cell against the other side's goalie is all of that skater's five-on-five time against that team — the rest of his row or column added up — and the corner where the two goalies meet is the game's five-on-five. Those cells cover far more time than any pair, so they reach full colour sooner and stand at full height, a wall along each edge of the grid. A goalie change adds a second goalie row or column, each covering his own time.

Linemates share the ice, so a line against a line reads as a block. The margin is a total, not a rate: a long matchup has room to build a big gap and a thirty-second one does not — which is what the height is there to show: a tall, strong cell is the game's story; a short, strong one is a moment. Hover (or tap) any cell for the exact time together, the xG each way, attempts and goals. One game — a strong cell is what happened, not what would happen again.

The model

The prediction, scored

🔒 pregame · this game

Before puck drop the engine made PIT a 51.4% favorite, expecting a 3.36–3.41 game — BOS won 6–2, so the call missed. Every number in this section was issued before the game and is never re-graded.

pred. xGactual xG pred. 5v5actual 5v5 pred. STactual PP
BOS 3.362.45 2.432.13 0.690.32
PIT 3.412.41 2.432.26 0.700.15

Predicted 5v5 / special-teams portions come from the predicted map's strength splits (one shared scale per team pins the all-strengths total to its expected goals), so they don't sum exactly — the remainder is 4v4, 3v3, and other mixed states. The actual columns are the card's own counts (empty-net attempts excluded); the actual PP column is power-play xG only, the same bucket the predicted map's special-teams view draws.

The pregame score grid

🔒 pregame · this game

The likeliest finals the engine saw before the game, with what actually happened marked — ■ BOS · ■ PIT.

Likeliest finals (BOS–PIT)probability
3–3 6.8% tied after regulation — OT/SO decides
2–2 5.3% tied after regulation — OT/SO decides
4–4 4.9% tied after regulation — OT/SO decides
2–4 3.8%
4–2 3.7%
6–2 1.4% what happened
3.6%3.4%011.8%11.3%119.6%19.1%221.8%21.6%318.3%18.5%412.4%12.7%57.0%7.4%63.4%3.6%72.2%2.4%8+

Scoreline odds are the engine's own grid: each team's goals as a Poisson count, with the fitted adjustment for how often games end tied after regulation (ρ = 0.35), so these odds and the headline win probability come from the same numbers. The OT/SO layer is a separate fitted model and is already inside the headline win probability.

The pregame read

🔒 pregame · this game

The engine made PIT a 51.4% favorite — PIT controls 50.4% of the predicted xG. Of BOS's 3.36 expected goals, 2.43 should come at 5v5 and 0.69 on the power play; PIT projects 2.43 at 5v5 and 0.70 on the power play. The logistic challenger put the home side at 52.9%, Elo at 52.6%.

Why PIT 51.4%
win chance× expected goals
goaltending −5.3 PIT ×0.93 · BOS ×1.03
home ice +3.8 PIT ×1.08 · BOS ×1.00
5v5 play +3.3 PIT ×1.09 · BOS ×1.02
finishing −0.7 PIT ×1.07 · BOS ×1.09
special teams −0.3 PIT ×1.00 · BOS ×1.00
schedule +0.2 PIT ×1.00 · BOS ×1.00

Win chance is in points toward PIT (bars right of the line push toward PIT, left toward BOS). Each win-chance number is one-at-a-time: that piece reset to league average (neutral ice, a typical night's rest) on both sides and the game re-priced; the pieces interact, so they don't add up to the call. The multipliers are exact: a league-average team on neutral ice, on a typical night's rest, would expect 2.91 goals in this game, and each side's expected goals is that times its column of multipliers. Special teams reads small because the engine's power-play terms fit near zero, not because special teams don't matter.

Where the engine expected the goals

🔒 pregame · this game

The predicted surface, issued before puck drop — not this game's shots (those are the card's map above). BOS attacks the left net, PIT the right; each end multiplies where the attacking team generates xG this season by where its opponent concedes it, scaled so each end totals the engine's expected goals. Actual shots lays the game's unblocked attempts on top: × goals, • on net, ◦ missed.

Context

Tale of the tape

season to date

How each team fares on its own, season to date: per-game xG rates with league rank (of 32). Rank 1 is best on every row — orange ranks sit in the top third of the league, gray in the bottom third.

BOSPIT
3.01 (15th) Offense
xG for / game
3.10 (10th)
2.93 (15th) Defense
xG against / game
3.10 (20th)
0.63 (26th) Power play
PP xG / game
0.63 (27th)
0.70 (12th) Penalty kill
PP xG conceded / game
0.73 (16th)

Season-to-date form as of the site's latest build, shown for context — the ratings the engine actually used were its own as-of-game-day state. Replay this matchup in the lab →