Buffalo Sabres (30-35-6) at Philadelphia Flyers (29-36-9)
Puck Drop: 1:00 PM EST | Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, PA
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Record: 29-36-9 | 67 PTS
Last Game: 6-4 Win vs. Montreal Canadiens
Division Ranking: 8th in Metropolitan Division
PP: 13.7% (30th); Sabres: 17.9% (27th)
PK: 77.3% (17th); Sabres: 76.4% (T22nd)
What to Watch
1. Tough Seasons
Both teams in this afternoon’s matchup have a few things in common. To start, their record is almost identical as both the Flyers and Sabres have really disappointed their fans this season and currently sit in last place in each of their respective divisions. Another common theme with each club this season is their unfortunate power play. Up until March 27th, Philadelphia was 0-for-34 with the man advantage during the entire month. Though they had a solid start to the season in this department, the Flyers have spent their last 60+ games ranked almost dead last in the league and, at one point, went 18-for-158. The Sabres? Not much better at 27th in the league. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see how each of their special teams performs today.
2. Tortorella No More
Thursday morning, Philly general manager (and former Sabre star) Daniel Briere announced that the organization was relieving John Tortorella of his coaching duties and sliding assistant coach Brad Shaw into his spot “immediately.” The announcement may not have surprised many fans as the team has been on the aforementioned downward spiral this season and in the middle of a rebuild (sound familiar?). This afternoon’s game will be just the second game under Shaw, so lines may be shuffled around, a fire may be lit under the team, etc.
They may also be looking for a bit of momentum after their victory against Montreal on Thursday night – Shaw’s first in his new position. Prior to Thursday, the club was on a six-game losing streak and lost 11 out of their last 12 under Tortorella.
3. Keep Your Eyes On…
Philly rookie Matvei Michkov is having quite the season despite his team’s hardships. The Russian forward was a big contributor to the Flyers’ win on Thursday night, adding two goals an an assist past Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes. Michkov now leads the NHL in goals among rookies and will be someone the Sabres will want to look out for come puck drop.
Buffalo is also coming off their own big win after defeating the Penguins on Thursday, 7-3 (would it even be Sabres hockey if they didn’t start showing up in March?). Typically a slump during any given game, the second period yielded five goals and two came from Jiri Kulich, who seems to have become a staple in the lineup as of late with the absence of players like Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker. Kulich will be another young player to keep an eye on offensively as he looks to keep trending in the right direction, remaining on that top line.
Shout out to Rasmus Dahlin, too – who is always fun to keep an eye on – as this afternoon is his 500th career game. He will be the third youngest defenseman to accomplish this. For fun, sound off in the comments with your favorite Dahlin memory or play (maybe someday we can add the playoffs to his resume).
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Tage Thompson
JJ Peterka – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Isak Rosen* – Peyton Krebs – Alex Tuch
Beck Malenstyn – Tyson Kozak – Sam Lafferty**
*Jason Zucker missed Thursday’s game due to “personal issues,” but should be back in the lineup with Krebs and Tuch today.
**Lafferty is still questionable with a groin injury, so Rosen may take his spot come game time.
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power – Jacob Bernard-Docker
Bowen Byram – Connor Clifton
Goaltenders: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (expected), James Reimer
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards
Travis Konecny – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov
Bobby Brink – Noah Cates – Tyson Foerster
Jakob Pelletier – Ryan Poehling – Owen Tippett
Nicolas Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Olle Lycksell
Defense
Travis Sanheim – Nick Seeler
Jamie Drysdale – Nick Seeler
Emil Andrae – Egor Simula
Goaltenders: Samuel Ersson (expected), Ivan Fedotov