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2026-27 Season Live

Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals NHL Predictions

2023-01-03 • Capital One Arena
Washington Capitals 4 - 5 Buffalo Sabres (OT)
🚨 Upset Loss (53% underdog)

📊 Pre-Game Predictions

Win Probability
WSH: 52.8%
BUF: 47.2%
Expected Goals
WSH: 3.53
BUF: 3.09
Total Goals
Median: 6.1
Over 5.5: 60%
Over 6.5: 47%

🥅 Goalie Matchup

WSH
D. Kuemper
BUF
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - 7-5-1 | 0.903 SV% | 2.46 GAA
StatWSHBUF
Season SV%—0.903
Last 5 SV%——
SV% vs Opponent——
GAA—2.46
Last 5 / vs opponent shown when available in goalie stats. Confirmed goalie row used when available; otherwise current projected starter is shown.

Goalie Game Metrics

TeamGoalieSASavesGASV%xGAHD FacedGSAx
WSHD. Kuemper2924582.8%2.771-2.23
BUFUkko-Pekka Luukkonen3228487.5%3.111-0.89
SA uses shots on goal plus goals. xGA, high-danger faced, and GSAx use modeled scoring attempts against. GSAx is xGA minus goals against.

Head-to-Head History

Model accuracy in this matchup: 53% • WSH at home vs BUF: 5-2
DateScoreWinnerModel Pick
2026-04-04WSH 6 - 2 BUFWSHWSH
2026-03-12BUF 1 - 2 WSHWSHBUF
2025-11-01BUF 4 - 3 WSHBUFBUF
2025-03-30WSH 5 - 8 BUFBUFWSH
2025-01-06BUF 4 - 3 WSHBUFWSH

Shot Quality by Period

PeriodTeamShotsHigh DangerxG
1WSH1100.65
1BUF1500.90
2WSH2001.31
2BUF1000.70
3WSH1411.07
3BUF1110.95
4WSH200.07
4BUF200.22
Shots are modeled attempts: shots on goal, goals, and missed shots. Blocked shots are excluded. High danger is xG >= 0.20.

📈 Post-Game Analysis

Prediction Result
❌ Incorrect
Confidence: 52.8%
Total Goals
Actual: 9.0
Expected: 6.6
Score Breakdown
Washington Capitals 4 - 5 Buffalo Sabres
Expected: 3.5 - 3.1