The Philadelphia Flyers will host the Buffalo Sabres tonight at the Wells Fargo Center and will look to grab 2 points and get back on the winning track.
On paper, October was a grueling month for the Flyers as the rebuilding team had to contend with some of the league’s top teams and even the defending champs. However at 4-4-1, the young Flyers held their own. Now we move to November and the Flyers will start the month against a team that is all too familiar with rebuilding, and now looks to emerge from years of development and contend with the top teams of the NHL.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Sabres have not had a great start to a season in which they expect to contend for a playoff spot. Buffalo holds a 4-5-0 record but with the talent they have on the roster in players like Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens and Rasmus Dahlin, its hard to imagine this squad wouldn’t figure it out.
Won
- vs. Lightning (3-2 F/OT)
- vs. Islanders (3-1)
- vs. Senators (6-4)
- vs. Avalanche (4-0)
Lost
- vs. Rangers (5-1)
- vs. Islanders (3-2)
- vs. Flames (4-3)
- vs. Canadiens (3-1)
- vs. Devils (5-4)
What to look for in the Sabres
The Sabres defeated the mighty Colorado Avalanche in their last time on the ice with a score of 4-0. A shutout of the Avalanche should be a huge momentum builder for a team that has struggled to string wins together. The Sabres have not won 2 in a row this season and after coming off a big win, look to do so in a home and home with Philly.
As mentioned above, the Sabres have a good group of young talent. A record of 4-5-0 doesn’t spell doom just yet and with the skill these players possess, you’d imagine the Sabres could go on a run at some point (let’s hope they wait until they’re done playing the Flyers). Predictably, Rasmus Dahlin has recorded 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) and is off to a good start. Meanwhile the team’s leader in goals at the moment isn’t Tage Thompson or Dylan Cozens, but is 31-year-old Jeff Skinner with 5 tallies. Skinner has 4 assists to go along with it, good enough to tie Dahlin in points at 9. After a 2 point game against the Avalanche, the hot Skinner will have to be put in check by the Flyers defense.
Let’s not overlook their young goaltender too. With one of the better names in the NHL, the 24-year-old Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is looking to solidify himself this year as the goalie of the future in Buffalo. With a 2.84 GAA and a .915 SV%, there is something to build off of there. After letting up 4 goals to Ottawa and then 3 to New Jersey, the young netminder blanked the Colorado Avalanche, saving all 23 shots. Surely UPL will be looking to build off his first shut out of the year against the Flyers. We should find out early on tonight if Luukkonen brought his “A” game.
Sabres to keep an eye on tonight
- You’re always gong to have to look out for Tage Thompson and the wicked shot he has. Thompson has 4 goals and 2 assists on the year and was held scoreless last time out, recording an assist and 2 shots. There no doubt Thompson will look to increase that shot total tonight and tie his team ate Jeff Skinner in goals.
- Rasmus Dahlin looks like he will be making plays and recording points in this league for a long time. The 23-year-old ultra-talented defensemen will be all over the ice tonight and as he goes, so do the Sabres.
- Alex Tuch scored 36 goals last year and only has found the back of the net once this season. Tuch may be gripping his stick tightly tonight as he tires to get back to his scoring form.
What do the Flyers need to do to win?
The Flyers have taken on some of the league’s best so far this season and yes, they’ve certainly held their own and the effort is there. But it’s been evident that the growing pains that come with a rebuilding team are sure to spring up.
Looking at the Carolina game, the Flyers squandered 5 power play opportunities. This frustration isn’t new as the Flyers are now 4 for 32 on the PP, bad enough for a 12.5% clip. With the team tied for 25th in the league in power play percentage, they need to start converting these chances if they want to get 2 more points tonight against Buffalo.
Another issue the Flyers seem to be struggling with is closing out games. Whether it was letting up the last-minute game-winning goal in Vegas, falling to the Stars in overtime, or more recently allowing the Hurricanes’ tiebreaking goal late in the third, the Flyers find themselves with the chance to win and then it vanishes at the final moment. It’s hard to say how to fix this problem or pinpoint the cause, but for starters the Flyers surely need to manage the puck better in the dying moments of the game and convert on their opportunities to score. With a team like Buffalo, if they give the Flyers a chance to put one on the board they need to take it.
Flyers to keep an eye on tonight
- This will be a recurring theme all year it seems but in case you didn’t know, Travis Konecny is off to a hot start this season. With 11 points in 9 games, the winger leads the team in goals with 8. Look for TK to continue his run with a couple points tonight.
- Carter Hart has a 2.30 GAA this season and a .921 SV%. He no doubt has been one of the team’s best players so far. Hart will once again have his hands full tonight as the likes of Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner will look to increase their goal totals.
- The rookie Bobby Brink just recently got on the board with 2 goals against the Wild and tallied 2 assists against the Ducks. After not recording a goal in 2 consecutive games, look for Brink to notch his 3rd of the year.
PHI Record: 4-4-1, 9 pts, 6th in Metropolitan
BUF Record: 4-5-0, 8 pts, 8th in Atlantic
When: 7:00 pm ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast Info: TNT, Max, 97.5 The Fanatic
Last Game PHI: 10/30/23, 3-2 L vs. Carolina
Last Game BUF: 10/29/23, 4-0 W vs. Colorado
PHI Goalie: Carter Hart (4-3-0, .921 SV%, 2.30 GAA, 1 SO)
BUF Goalie: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (2-1-0, .915 SV%, 2.84 GAA, 1 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#74 Owen Tippett – #14 Sean Couturier – #89 Cam Atkinson
#11 Travis Konecny – #48 Morgan Frost– #71 Tyson Foerster
#86 Joel Farabee – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #21 Scott Laughton – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#5 Egor Zamula – #26 Sean Walker
#24 Nick Seeler – #37 Louie Belpedio
#79 Carter Hart
#33 Samuel Ersson
Scratches: #25 Ryan Poehling, #98 Victor Mete
Injuries: #18 Marc Staal, #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
BUF Projected Lineup
#12 Jordan Greenway – #72 Tage Thompson – #15 Brandon Biro
#53 Jeff Skinner – #37 Casey Mittelstadt – #77 J.J. Peterka
#17 Tyson Jost – #24 Dylan Cozens – #89 Alex Tuch
#28 Zemgus Girgensons – #19 Peyton Krebs – #21 Kyle Okposo
#26 Rasmus Dahlin – #23 Mattias Samuelsson
#25 Owen Power – #10 Henri Jokiharju
#78 Jacob Bryson – #6 Erik Johnson
#1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
#27 Devon Levi
Scratches: #71 Victor Olofsson
Injuries: #9 Zach Benson, #22 Jack Quinn, #31 Eric Comrie
Suspended: #75 Connor Clifton
News and Notes
– Betting Odds: Sabres -110, Flyers -110, o/u 6.5
– Buffalo has won six of their last eight matchups against the Flyers.
– The Flyers have had tremendous home ice advantage recently against the Sabres, as they have won 16 of the last 22 contests in Philadelphia.
– Buffalo averages 3.00 goals per game, while the Flyers are averaging 3.11.
– On the other side of the puck, the Sabres are allowing an identical 3.00 goals per game and the Flyers are allowing 3.33.
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