Game 19
Buffalo Sabres (6-9-3) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (10-4-3)
Puck Drop: 3:00 PM | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Flyers Blog: Broad Street Hockey
Know Your Opponent
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: (10-4-3) | 23 PTS
Division Ranking: 4th in East Division
PP: 16th (19.7%)
PK: 28th (71.7%)
What to Watch
1. The Sabres Need Goaltending Help
Early on Saturday, it was revealed that the Sabres expect goaltender Linus Ullmark to miss at least a month of game action due to the injury he suffered earlier in the week. All signs point to Ullmark really missing more than a month, but either way, the Sabres are in goaltending trouble. Carter Hutton, who started Saturday’s 3-0 loss and will play again Sunday, simply won’t cut it as a long-term solution.
What other options are there? Jonas Johansson? Dustin Tokarski? Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen? There’s no easy answer here, and it’s nothing that will be solved before puck drop on Sunday, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on in the days ahead.
2. A Fuller Lineup
While captain Jack Eichel remains day-to-day and missed Saturday’s game, the Sabres roster as a whole is looking the fullest it has in a long time. Tobias Rieder is back; Jeff Skinner has finally come off the healthy scratch list, and Rasmus Ristolainen returned to the ice Saturday after his bout with COVID-19. Buffalo’s lineup has been anything but consistent over the course of this short season, and while you can’t necessarily blame that for how poorly they’ve played, it’s hard to put together a consistent effort without a *consistent roster.*
We’ll have to see if Eichel returns on Sunday afternoon or if he remains day-to-day.
3. Hitting the Road
Sunday’s matinee tilt rounds off a three-game homestead for the Sabres, who will then hit the road for five straight games. That will kick off a super-packed March for the Sabres, who are set to play 17 games in 31 days. It begins with Buffalo facing the Rangers on Tuesday before three straight against the New York Islanders. They’ll face the Flyers once more on March 9 before finally heading back to Buffalo.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Victor Olofsson – Curtis Lazar – Sam Reinhart
Taylor Hall – Eric Staal – Dylan Cozens
Tobias Rieder – Cody Eakin – Kyle Okposo
Jeff Skinner – Casey Mittelstadt – Riley Sheahan
Defense
Jacob Bryson – Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin – Colin Miller
Henri Jokiharju – Brandon Montour
Starting Goaltender: Carter Hutton
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards
James van Riemsdyk – Sean Couturier – Joel Farabee
Claude Giroux – Kevin Hayes – Nolan Patrick
Oskar Lindblom – Scott Laughton – Jakub Voracek
Michael Raffl – Connor Bunnaman – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
Ivan Provorov – Shayne Gostisbehere
Travis Sanheim – Justin Braun
Robert Hagg – Erik Gustafsson
Starting Goaltender: Carter Hart