Postgame Report | Sabres close out road trip with loss to Flyers

PHILADELPHIA - Victor Olofsson felt he had something to prove after missing the last two games as a healthy scratch.
Drawing back into the lineup on Friday night, Olofsson scored two goals, but the Buffalo Sabres fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 at Wells Fargo Center.
"It was obviously tough; you never want to be out of the lineup," Olofsson said. "You've just got to keep working. I worked really hard those two or three days off. I was just excited to get back in."

Olofsson now has 26 tallies on the year. The two-goal performance marked his seventh multi-goal game of the season after he scored just one goal in his previous 17 games.
"He's a scorer, and when you feel the back of the net twice, that's a very, very good feeling," said Sabres coach Don Granato when asked if he felt Friday could light an offensive fire for the Swedish goal scorer.
Olofsson's injection into the lineup was among a handful of lineup changes Granato made ahead of the game with the Flyers. Vinnie Hinostroza also found his way back into the lineup while Tyson Jost and JJ Peterka were healthy scratches alongside Kale Clague.
"Behind the scenes, the decision is we can't keep guys out too long at this time that are capable guys and you want to keep guys fresh, so obviously they came in and they were fresh," Granato said. "They had energy all the way through, and you could see comparatively the rest of the group didn't have that type of energy."

The Flyers scored three second-period goals to skate away with a precious two points that could prove invaluable with the Sabres in the thick of a heated playoff race. Buffalo is still in the hunt, but the experience is not lost on the team's veterans.
"It's just about playing your game and trying to stick to your game plan," Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said. "It just seemed like we cracked. When you're in this position, we know that you need to get wins."
Despite being down 4-0 entering the third period, Olofsson's power-play goal to open the period gave the Sabres a glimmer of hope and Okposo was well aware of what the third-highest scoring team was capable of.
"We're one of the highest scoring teams in the league.," Okposo said. "Can we score four in a period? Absolutely."
With 14 games remaining, there is still time for the Sabres to make a run up the Eastern Conference standings, but the clock is slowly ticking down.
"We've got to get hot," Okposo said. "We've got to go on a run without compromising our foundation in what we're building. We're not going to have guys going off on their own page. We need to stick together; we need to play together."
Owen Tippett recorded a hat trick for the Flyers. Joel Farabee and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Philadelphia.
Craig Anderson started in goal for the Sabres and stopped 17 of 22 shots. Flyers goalie Carter Hart made 35 saves.

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How it happened

FIRST PERIOD
Anderson had to be sharp right away, facing a handful of chances from the Flyers early on. The veteran netminder turned away a chance from Kevin Hayes on a 3-on-1 just 5:41 into the game.
Later in the period, Scott Laughton missed the net with a backhander and Tippett broke free on a breakaway on the very same shift. The Flyers eventually found the back of the net on the power play when Tippett scored his first goal with 4:50 remaining.
The Sabres got a chance on the power play earlier in the period when Nicolas Deslauriers went off for cross-checking at 7:37, but couldn't convert despite firing four shots on Hart.
Buffalo held an 8-6 edge in shots after the first 20 minutes.
SECOND PERIOD
The Sabres faced more offensive pressure from the Flyers in the first 10 minutes of the second period.
The Flyers extended their lead to 2-0 when Farabee scored 3:53 into the period. Farabee tried to feed Tyson Foerster for a 2-on-1 with a saucer pass over defenseman Riley Stillman, but the puck banked off the end boards and back onto Farabee's stick on the doorstep.
Tippett scored his second goal of the game with 6:46 to play in the period to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead and then van Riemsdyk scored to extend the lead to 4-0 with 1:39 remaining.
THIRD PERIOD
The Sabres cut the deficit to 4-1 when Olofsson scored on the power play 2:27 into the period. But the Flyers responded quickly when Tippett scored his third goal on a breakaway at 5:53.
Olofsson added his second on the power play with 0.4 seconds remaining to close out the scoring.

What we learned

1.Olofsson skated on the second line with Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn. Hinostroza lined up alongside Casey Mittelstadt and Jordan Greenway.
Granato said he felt his team needed a jolt of energy as the three-game road trip ended.
"Those guys, absolutely, had energy tonight that other guys didn't have and that was clear and evident," Granato said.
2. The pregame changes weren't the only ones Granato made to the lineup. The Sabres saw more changes to begin the third period as Dylan Cozens centered Alex Tuch and Jordan Greenway.
Granato was looking for a way to give some of his top guys, particularly Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner and Tuch, a spark.
"Our top guys didn't look like themselves," Granato said. "They were outstanding in Toronto. Tonight, they weren't themselves. Obviously, in the third period we're trying to move around and maybe see some different combinations because of the situation, but they looked tired."
3. Staring in the face of a 4-0 deficit to begin the final period, Okposo wanted his team to rise to the challenge and not throw in the towel. His message was to find a way to seize the moment and get back into the game, which he credits leading to Olofsson's goal.
"Obviously guys care in here, that's not a question if guys care or not," Okposo said. "We might still lose a game but we have to lay everything that we have. It was a tough bounce to give up that fifth one. When you're in that position you have to do whatever you can to win the game."

Up next

The Sabres return home for a three-game homestand beginning with a Sunday matinee against the Boston Bruins at KeyBank Center. Puck drop is 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on MSG and WGR 550.
Buffalo hosts Nashville on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before welcoming the Devils to town on Friday, March 24.
Tickets for all remaining home games are on sale now.