Preview: Sabres’ skid still needs snapping
Buffalo hosts Philly in first of four-game homestand.
Game 33
Buffalo Sabres (6-23-4) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (16-13-4)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Flyers Blog: Broad Street Hockey
Know Your Opponent
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 16-13-4
Last 10: 3-6-1
Division Ranking: 5th in the East
PP: 15th (20.7%)
PK: 28th (72.8%)
1. Will this be the one?
Tonight, the Sabres have the tough task of snapping their 17-game losing streak. Can they do it? Probably not. Perhaps a more achievable goal would be to score some, um, goals. In Saturday’s game against the Bruins, Buffalo managed only three shots on goal in the final period and consequently blew their 2-1 lead to add another loss to their record.
In their last 10 home games, Buffalo is 0-9-1 with 10 GF, 39 GA (!), and five shutouts against them. Is the season over yet? Yikes.
2. Top Scorers
Philly forward James van Riemsdyk leads his team with 13 goals and 18 assists, while Sabres’ Sam Reinhart leads at 21 points with his 12 goals and nine assists. These will be the players to watch during what could be a close game. The last time these two teams met was March 9 when the Flyers won 5-4 in a shootout.
3. If Anything...
It will be interesting to see how the lines shake out again tonight. Linus Ullmark also returned Saturday and recorded 33 saves on 36 shots, so if anything, watching him back in the net will be better than the chaos we were watching during the handful of games while he was injured.
Projected Lineup
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner - Curtis Lazar - Kyle Okposo
Victor Olofsson - Dylan Cozens - Sam Reinhart
Taylor Hall - Cody Eakin - Riley Sheahan/Steven Fogarty
Defense
Ramus Dahlin - Henri Jokiharju
Brandon Montour - Colin Miller
Matt Irwin - Rasmus Ristolainen
Starting Goaltender: Linus Ullmark
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards
Claude Giroux - Kevin Hayes - Joel Farabee
James van Riemsdyk - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom - Nolan Patrick - Jakub Voracek
Michael Raffl - Scott Laughton - Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
Travis Sanheim - Philippe Myers
Ivan Provorov - Justin Braun
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sam Morin
Starting Goaltender: Brian Elliott