Game #5
Buffalo Sabres (1-2-1) at Philadelphia Flyers (2-3-1)
Puck drop: 7:30 p.m. EST | Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, PA
TV: NBCSN | Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Flyers Blog: Broad Street Hockey
Three Questions
1. How will Anders Nilsson look in his Sabres debut?
Robin Lehner is out sick, so Anders Nilsson gets the call tonight with Linus Ullmark serving as his backup. Nilsson played well in the preseason after a horrid campaign last year, and the Sabres haven’t shown through for games that they can score enough to overcome poor goaltending, so Nilsson will need to be strong tonight against one of the highest scoring teams in the league thus far.
2. Will Sam Reinhart’s move back to center help spark the offense?
Reinhart moves back to his natural position tonight, centering a line between Zemgus Girgensons and Tyler Ennis. On paper, that line seems to complement each other nicely, but the Sabres need to start getting fewer theoretical goals and more actual goals, and hopefully getting a smart center who can really move the puck in Reinhart will do just that.
3. Who will win the second period?
This seems like kind of a silly question to ask, but the Flyers have dominated the second period this season, scoring a league-leading 13 goals in their six games compared to the Sabres measly three. Getting out to a strong start is always important, but making the right adjustments during the first intermission will be equally important tonight.
Projected BUF Lines
Goal: Anders Nilsson