Worth the replay?

1. #1

   Golden KnightsatAvalanche

   NHL· ESPNDown to the wire

   C+

   49/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension30/30

   Swings13/25

   Comeback10/20

   Decided late8/15

   Back-and-forth3/10

   Drama 65 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 49

2. #2

   ThunderatSpurs

   NBA· NBC/PeacockBig comebackBack and forth

   D

   35/100
   ▸ Why this grade

   Late tension7/30

   Swings15/25

   Comeback14/20

   Decided late0/15

   Back-and-forth10/10

   Drama 46 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 35

Ranked from each game's win probability as it was played (ESPN's for football and basketball; ours, from the goals, for hockey): how in doubt it was near the end, how far the winner came back from, how late it was decided, how big its momentum swings were and how often a team erased a deficit, with a bonus for overtime. That drama is then weighted by how good a matchup it was going in (its pre-game Watchability score), so a thriller between top teams ranks above an equally wild game between minor ones.