Game 77
Buffalo Sabres (27-38-11) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (23-40-11)
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: (23-40-11) | 57 PTS
Division Ranking: 8th in Metropolitan
PP: 32nd (12.7%)
PK: 23rd (76.3%)
1. Home-and-Home
As the end of the regular season continues to rapidly approach, we find ourselves with a kink in the schedule that might provide some very exciting hockey.
Saturday night marks the first game in a back-to-back, home-and-home series between the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers.
The games between Buffalo and Philadelphia are normally chippy but the large amount of hockey played between these two teams should produce an even more exciting game.
2. Staring Down 20 Goals
The Buffalo Sabres have a couple forwards with their sights set on surpassing the 20 goal mark on the season.
Kyle Okposo, who has been incredibly consistent throughout the entire season, currently sits at 19 goals in 70 games.
Victor Olofsson, who has seen his game improve over the last few months, currently sits at 18 goals in 66 games.
Both players will continue to flex their offensive muscles but you have to wonder if they have a little more motivation with that 20-goal plateau staring them both in the face.
3. Fifth Place?
The Buffalo Sabres have been turning up the heat on the bottom half of the Eastern Conference.
Buffalo currently sits in 6th place in the Eastern Conference but they are hot on the trail of the Detroit Red Wings, who sit in 5th place with 68 points. It should be noted that Detroit has two games in hand.
While winning certainly affects Buffalo’s 2022 first round draft slot, being able to roll into the offseason with a solid few final games should help the team grow heading into the 2022-23 season.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Victor Olofsson
Rasmus Asplund – Dylan Cozens – Kyle Okposo
Peyton Krebs – Casey Mittelstadt – Alex Tuch
Anders Bjork – Zemgus Girgensons – Vinnie Hinostrosa
Defense
Jacob Bryson – Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju
Will Butcher – Casey Fitzgerald
Starter: Craig Anderson
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards
James van Riemsdyk – Kevin Hayes – Owen Tippett
Oskar Lindblom – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee – Morgan Frost – Bobby Brink
Noah Cates – Nate Thompson – Zack MacEwen
Defense
Ivan Provorov – Egor Zamula
Travis Sanheim – Kevin Connauton
Keith Yandle – Ronnie Attard
Starter: Martin Jones