GAME NOTES
QUICK STATS
Season Series: 4-1-0
All-Time Record: 186gp (96-63-20-7)
Leading Scorer:
PHI - 31 pts: James van Riemsdyk (13g-18a)
BUF - 21 pts: Sam Reinhart (12g-9a) & Victor Olofsson (9g-12a)
1. GOING FOR TWO
Coming off their 2-1 win vs. Rangers on Saturday, the Flyers are looking for back-to-back wins for the first time since they last played the Sabres on Feb. 27... The Flyers also embark on a four-game road trip where they have traded wins and losses every other game for the last month - also not recording back-to-back wins since the pair of games at Buffalo on Feb. 27-28... A win tonight and they will move within one point of the Boston Bruins for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.
2. GOING FOR ONE
The Sabres enter tonight's game on a 17-game winless skid, losing 15 of those games in regulation (0-15-2)... They have been without their captain, Jack Eichel, for the last 10 of those games... A loss tonight would tie the NHL record with the 2003-04 Penguins for longest streak in NHL history... Buffalo returns home after a four-game road trip, and has gone winless at home in their last 10 games (0-9-1) having not won on home ice since Jan. 30 (vs. NJD)... The Sabres are the least penalized team in the NHL, averaging just 6:16 of penalty time per-game and a total of 207 penalty minutes on 94 penalties - all the fewest in the NHL.
3. THIS IS THE SIXTH
Tonight is the sixth meeting of the seasons series with the Flyers winning the last four meetings, including a come from behind 5-4 shootout win on Mar. 9... The Flyers have also won eight of their last nine games against the Sabres, outscoring them 34-16... The team that has scored first has won each game in the series... Taylor Hall leads the Sabres with five points (all assists) in the five games of the series... Brian Elliott is a perfect 3-0-0 with a 0.92 GAA and .967 save percentage against the Sabres this year, and owns a lifetime mark of 16-2-2 (1.67 GAA and .943 save percentage) vs. Buffalo.
4. A TALE OF TWO SPECIAL TEAMS
The Flyers have scored half of their goals on the power play in their last three games (4 of 8), scoring at least one goal on the man advantage in each game, going 4-for-9 (44.4%)... The Sabres scored their first power-play goal in a 15-game span in their last outing (a 3-2 loss to Boston)... They are 1-for-31 in their last 16 games, while allowing 10 goals on 35 penalty kills in their last 10 games.
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH
FLYERS (C: #14 - Sean Couturier)
Sean Couturier leads the team with five points (2g-3a) in the season series and has two of the game-winning goals against the Sabres, while also recording the shootout winning goal in the Mar. 9 contest... He is also riding a three-game point streak (3g-2a).
SABRES (C: #23 - Sam Reinhart)
Reinhart leads the Sabres in goals (12) and has four of those goals playing against the Flyers, but he has just one goal in his last nine games... He has also missed just four games in his last four seasons appearing in 264 of 268 possible games.