Buffalo Sabres (8-8-1) at Philadelphia Flyers (7-8-2)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM | Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, PA
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Philadelphia Fliers
Record: 7-8-2 | 16 PTS
Division Ranking: 6th in Metropolitan
Last Game: 5-4 OT Win vs Ottawa
PP: 20th (18.5%)
PK: 3rd (87.9%)
What to Watch
1. Offense by Committee
The Sabres notched their first win without a Tage Thompson goal Thursday night against the Blues. They will have to continue the trend as Thompson has been ruled out for tonight’s game. Lindy Ruff also announced Jordan Greenway and UPL will miss tonight’s game with injuries. Juri Kulich was called up from Rochester to take Greenway’s place and Levi will start. Injuries provide an opportunity for other players to step up. McLeod was excellent with Benson and Tuch against the Blues, but they cannot be the only line generating offense. They will need to contributions throughout the lineup to overcome the absence of their injured players.
2. Pepper the Goalie
The Flyers have suffered from some of the worst goaltending in the league. Samuel Ersson is the only one of the three Flyers goaltender this year to average less than 3 goals against a game (2.70) or a save percentage above .900 (.902). Fedotov and Kolosov have .862 and .863 save percentages respectively with surrendering nearly 4 goals a game. Ersson’s availability is uncertain as he’s listed day-to-day on the injury report. Regardless of who is in the net, Buffalo must take advantage of the sub-par goaltending. They have a chance to turn the game into a stat night, but they will need to earn it.
3. Be Ready to Work
The Flyers may not be one of the most talented teams in the league, but the Sabres cannot take them lightly. John Tortorella teams are notorious for grinding down opponents regardless of talent disparities. A poor start will play directly into the Flyers hands and allow them to drag the game into the mud. Buffalo had success against Philadelphia last year by winning two out of three matchups. However, the one loss was a brutal 5-1 embarrassment on home ice. In an inconsistent season, this is an opportunity for Buffalo to keep pace in the standings while they wait for key players to return from injury.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Benson – McLeod – Tuch
Peterka – Cozens – Quinn
Kulich – Krebs – Zucker
Malenstyn – Lafferty – Aube-Kubel
Defense
Dahlin – Byram
Power – Bryson
Gilbert – Clifton
Starter: Levi
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards
Tippett – Couturier* – Konecny
Farabee – Laughton – Brink
Richard – Poehling – Michkov
Foerster – Cates – Hathaway
Defense
Andrae – Sanheim
Seeler – Ristolainen
Zamula – Johnson
Starter: Fedotov
*Couturier is a game-time decision