#expected-goals

#expected-goals

Not many people would have predicted a Toronto Maple Leafs vs.Florida Panthers second round matchup, but here we are.It will be the first time these two teams will face each other in the NHL postseason.The Maple Leafs were getting ready to take on the Boston Bruins in the second round, but three straight wins by the Panthers now means the Leafs get home ice advantage in a winnable series with a berth in the Eastern Conference Final on the line.

The shocker of all shockers: The best regular season team of all time - particularly dominant in the third period all year -continued to forfeit playoff leads in the final frame of Game 7 en route to the biggest first-round upset in NHL history.Verhaeghe send the Bruins home!The biggest upset in the salary cap era is complete!

Despite picking up five of six possible points over the course of their past three games - all on the road - the New York Rangers have not been at the top of their game for a while now.They've been lucky to escape with points in the past few games.The results were more telling immediately prior, where they had gone just 2-5-1 in their previous eight contests.

The Washington Capitals have scored 41 goals in 2023 so far.That ranks them 29th in the league by goal total and 28th by goal rate.In nine of the team's sixteen games since the new year, they've scored two or fewer goals.Of those nine games, they won two.In short, offense is killing the Washington Capitals.

Bruins "They're more talented than the people they usually play."Whether it's skimming over the scoresheet or assessing play via the "eye test", one doesn't need to devote a lot of time to gauge the playmaking capabilities found on Boston's second-line trio of David Krejci, David Pastrnak, and Pavel Zacha.

Honestly, I'm not sure how much point there is in trying to break down the Leafs and Habs game from a numbers perspective.When the Leafs felt like trying they easily outplayed Montreal.When they felt they had done enough, it was some of the worst hockey imaginable.I don't know if there is anything that will be said below that can't be covered with a tortoise and hare analogy, but I told my boss we'd have some form of analytics post after every game, so we're doing this.

I'm going to talk about vibes without using the word vibes.To avoid it, I can be fancy and call it the zeitgeist of Leafs fandom, or just be plain-spoken and call it feelings.No matter what you call it, judging the Leafs by how you feel watching the games - I've looked very little at any meaningful stats early on - is like trying to catch a fish in your bare hands.

Julian Nagelsmann and Leon Goretzka urged Bayern Munich to become more ruthless after escaping with a 2-1 victory in Saturday's match at lowly Stuttgart.Bayern held a convincing two-goal lead at Mercedes-Benz Arena with a little over an hour played after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting added to Matthijs de Ligt's first-half opener.

Capitals defenseman Alex Alexeyev had a career-first during the team's 8-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.The 23-year-old Russian defenseman led all Capitals in ice time after receiving 23:07 TOI from head coach Peter Laviolette.His big night came after getting a career-high in ice time with 25:07 three nights earlier against the Anaheim Ducks.

Dani Ceballos' late goal saw Real Madrid beat Villarreal 3-2 and complete a stunning comeback in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.Madrid were beaten 3-1 by rivals Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final on Sunday and found themselves two goals down at the break at Estadio de la Ceramica after goals from Etienne Capoue and Samuel Chukwueze.

It brings me no joy to report that a one time ECHL reclamation project turned top four defenseman has taken a tour for the worse.I was an early adopter of Justin Holl fandom and it seemed like Mike Babcock would rob us of a good time.Sheldon Keefe gave Holl his opportunity and for one glorious season alongside Jake Muzzin it looked like the good times were never going to end.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been off for Christmas, but are back tonight.The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the Christmas break by sending Denis Malgin to Colorado in exchange for Dryden Hunt, then declaring themselves the new best team in the NHL by absolutely hammering the Tampa Bay Lightning.They also dusted the Flyers for good measure, and entered the break on 17-3-5 run since October 30th.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are not a team that needs much, if anything, in terms of reinforcements.Eventually, the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to have to scratch players like Conor Timmins (whos averaging a point per game lately as a defenseman) and Zach Aston Reese or Pontus Holmberg who have been more or less great in their roles.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Boston Bruins in a game that meant everything.Sure, you can beat the Philadelphia Flyers about as thoroughly as it's possible to beat an NHL team, but they stink.For the Toronto Maple Leafs to really show that they are who we thought they were, they needed to show that they could handle the Boston Bruins.

No matter what happens on New Years Eve, the Dallas Stars are going to enter 2023 as the top team in the Central Division.The team is coming off a dominating performance against the Minnesota Wild.The game featured a playoff quality first period, after which Dallas started to tilt the ice.Ultimately, the third period proved the Stars the better team.

After nearly two wild and dramatic weeks at the World Cup, we have the reached the win-or-go-home portion of the tourney.Sixteen teams remain, 16 others have been eliminated, and the fun continues on Saturday.Be sure to check in with ESPN throughout the tournament as we bring you the latest from Qatar.

Juventus made it five straight Serie A wins as Moise Kean's goal was enough to see off bottom-placed hosts Hellas Verona on Thursday.Verona had lost eight consecutive league games while Massimiliano Allegri's men had won four in a row.However, Salvatore Bocchetti's men made it difficult for Juve and it looked as if they had a chance of earning an important point.

Social media, for all of its alleged benefits, isn't generally known as a venue for the expression of well-considered, nuanced thoughts.(Take a minute to recover from that shocking observation if you need it.)The real-time nature of reactions and interactions can, at times, add to the charm of sites like Twitter, as users play fast-and-loose with facts and hyperbole reigns supreme.