Interim head coach Brad Shaw's Philadelphia Flyers (29-36-9) are some on Saturday afternoon to host Lindy Ruff's Buffalo Sabres (30-35-6). Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Prior to the game, the Flyers will honor the retiring Bob "the Hound" Kelly for his 50-plus years of service to the organization. Back on May 27, 1975, Kelly scored the Stanley Cup winning goal for the Flyers against the Sabres.
Saturday's game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
The Flyers snapped a five-game winless skid on Thursday as they skated to a 6-4 home victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Shaw's official debut as interim Flyers head coach. Shaw previously ran the bench on a handful of occasions during John Tortorella's tenure as head coach.
The Sabres enter Saturday's game coming off a 7-3 home victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Buffalo is 6-4-0 over its last 10 games. The Sabres have posted a 19-14-3 record at home this season but are just 11-21-3 on the road.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Saturday plus an x-factor heading into the game.
1. Couturier point streak
Flyers captain Sean Couturier brings a five-game point streak into Saturday's tilt. During that span, Couturier has compiled eight points (four goals, four assists) including a pair of tallies on Thursday against Montreal.
Couturier's line with rookie Matvei Michkov (now on left wing) and Travis Konecny has been a threat to score on a large portion of their shifts over the Flyers' last four games. Even when things went poorly for the team as a whole in the games in Chicago and Toronto, the emerging chemistry of the Michkov-Couturier-Konecny line was one of the bright spots for the Flyers.
3. Sanheim shouldering heavy workload
Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim celebrates his 29th birthday on Saturday. Now a veteran leader on the Flyers blueline, Sanheim is being heavily relied upon by Shaw to absorb extended minutes with ex-Sabre Rasmus Ristolainen sidelined with an upper body injury.
Against Montreal, Sanheim logged 30:28 of ice time and was plus-three for the night in Shaw's interim coaching debut. At some point of the game, he was paired with each of the other four defensemen who played in the game, seeing time for partial or full shifts on either side of makeshift blueline duos. Primarily, however, Sanheim was with fellow veteran Nick Seeler on the right defense side.
For the season, Sanheim has averaged 24:31 of ice time. Offensively, he's been credited with 28 points (7g, 21a). He's had some offensive success against Buffalo in his career, posting 18 points (3g, 15a) in 25 meetings.
3. York returns to the lineup
Flyers defenseman Cam York was benched for the final 50 minutes of the game in Toronto and, for what Shaw deemed to be a disciplinary reason, sat on the bench for the entirety of Thursday's game. York will return to the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon.
For the season, York has averaged 21:01 of ice time and chipped in 15 points (4g, 11a) in 58 games played. Customarily, York plays the left side of a pairing with Sanheim.
4. Tippett success vs. Sabres
Streak-scoring Flyers winger Owen Tippett (19g, 18a, 37 points) has been mired in an offensive slump in recent weeks: arguably the deepest slump of his Flyers career. Over the last 10 games, he has just one point (0g, 1a). In the 14 games dating back to March 1 in Winnipeg, "Tipp" has posted two points (1g, 1a).
However, games against the Sabres have been fruitful for the player ever since coming to Philadelphia. Tippett has scored five goals in 10 career matches against Buffalo, including a hat trick (March 17, 2023).
