5 THINGS: Flyers vs. Sabres
John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (29-32-13) are home on Saturday evening to take on Don Granato's Buffalo Sabres (35-31-7)
GAME NOTES
Prior to the start of the game, the Flyers will honor Steve Coates, who is retiring after 43 years of broadcasting for the team. Fans are requested to be in their seats by 6:30 p.m. EDT.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the third and final meeting of the season between the Eastern Conference clubs, and the second game in Philadelphia. The Fyers are 2--0-0 against the Sabres to date this season. On Jan. 9, rookie goalie Sam Ersson backstopped the Flyers to a 4-0 win in Buffalo. On March 17 in Philadelphia, an Owen TIppett hat trick sparked the Flyers to a 5-2 victory.
The Flyers bring a seven-game point streak (5-0-2) into tonight's match. On Thursday in Ottawa, despite generating a mere 11 shots on goal for the game (a single-game low in franchise history), the Flyers pushed back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period to force overtime. However, the Senators prevailed over the Flyers, 5-4 in sudden death.
The Sabres are playing their second game of a back-to-back set. On Friday at home against the New York Rangers, rookie goalie Devon Levi had a stellar NHL debut with 31 saves as the Sabres earned a 3-2 overtime win. Veteran forward Jeff Skinner notched the winning goal for Buffalo.
Here are five things to watch in tonight's game.
1.Third straight start for Sandström
Felix Sandström may not have an impressive-looking stat line in Thursday's game against Ottawa (five goals against in 46 shots) but the 26-year-old Swedish netminder's play was a primary reason why the Flyers even got one point from the game. Unfortunately, the game ended with a Sandström turnover behind the net directly onto the stick of Alex DeBrincat, who stepped out and scored the game-winning goal.
Sandström is likely to make his third straight start for the Flyers in tonight's game against Buffalo. For the season, Sandström is 2-10-3 with a 3.48 GAA and .887 save percentage.
Flyers No. 1 goalie Carter Hart has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury. He is officially day-to-day. Hart was last on the ice for Tuesday's morning skate prior to the Flyers' 3-2 home win against the Montreal Canadiens. That morning, Hart sustained his current injury and Sandström was pressed into starting duty. For the season, Hart is 21-21-10 with a 2.90 GAA, .909 save percentage and two shutouts.
On Friday, with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms playing three games in three nights, the Flyers sent prospect goalie Sam Ersson to the Phantoms. Ersson stopped 17 of 19 shots -- one goal being a back-door tap-in he had no chance of stopping and the other a 5-on-3 power play goal -- in a 4-2 home victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
If Hart is able to at least dress as the backup goalie tonight in Philadelphia, Ersson will stay with the Phantoms and likely get the start this evening against the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack. However, if Hart isn't available, Ersson will return to Philadelphia to back up Sandström. In his NHL appearances this season, Ersson is 6-1-0 with a 3.-07 GAA, .898 save percentage and one shutout.
2. Farabee finding the net vs. Sabres
Little did Flyers left winger Joel Farabee or anyone else suspect when he scored a first-period goal against the Sabres in Buffalo (amid a stretch of three goals and seven points in six games) that he wouldn't score again until the next time the team played Buffalo.
On March 17, Farabee finally broke a 26-game goal drought (0g, 4a) as he slam-dunked a rebound goal at 3:53 of the second period in the Flyers' 5-2 win over the Sabres at the Wells Fargo Center.
With the weight of the goal drought off his shoulders, Farabee rattled off a four-game goal streak and five-game point streak (4g, 3a, seven points). He did not get on the scoresheet on Tuesday against Montreal or Thursday in Ottawa.
Meanwhile, linemate Tippett has posted points in three straight games (2g, 1a) heading into tonight's game. Center Morgan Frost has six points in the last five games (3g, 3a).
3. Situational play
As we noted the last time the Flyers played the Sabres, Buffalo is a team that scores a lot of goals (3.55 goals per game average, 3rd-most in the NHL) but also yields a lot of goals (3.65 team GAA, ranked 26th). The Flyers enter tonight's game ranked 29th offensively (2.70 GPG) and 20th in GAA (3.27).
At five-on-five, the Flyers are minus-11 as a team (138 GF/ 149 GA). The Sabres are minus-12 (171 GF. 183 GA).
For the first time in any road game this season, the Flyers tallied a pair of power play goals (2-for-2) in Thursday's game in Ottawa. Overall, the Flyers rank 31st on the power play (33-for-203, 16.3 percent) with an 18.9 percent mark at home and 13.4 percent on the road. The Flyers have given up eight opposing shorthanded goals this season.
The Buffalo penalty kill ranks 30th in the NHL this season at 72.8 percent. The Sabres have scored eight shorthanded goals. The Sabres' power play is formidable, however, connecting on 59 of 243 opportunities (24.3 percent, ranked 7th). The Flyers penalty kill ranks 26th at 74,8 percent. Philly has tallied 11 shorthanded goals this season, while Buffalo has yielded seven.
Specific to the month of March, the Flyers scored at a 3.08 GPG clip and carried a team 3.15 GAA. The power play was 20 percent but the PK was only 69.8 percent. In March, the Sabres scored at just a 2.73 GPG pace and had a 4.20 team GAA. The power play was 19.6 percent and the penalty kill was 75.7 percent.
4. Flyers line play
Last game in Ottawa, the Flyers reverted their lineup to dressing 12 forwards. However, fourth-line center Tanner Laczynski (7:08 TOI, seven shifts, minus-one) scarcely played. If the Flyers return to going 11F/7D, veteran defenseman Justin Braun will dress for the game.
If Hart cannot dress for the game, the Fyers will use an emergency recall on Ersson. The Flyers will hold a 10:30 a.m. EDT morning skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees.
Potential starting lineup (based on Thursday's lines, subject to change):
86 Joel Farabee - 48 Morgan Frost - 74 Owen Tippett
21 Scott Laughton - 49 Noah Cates - 57 Wade Allison
25 James van Riemsdyk - 13 Kevin Hayes - 22 Brendan Lemieux
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 58 Tanner Laczynski - 20 Kieffer Bellows
9 Ivan Provorov - 45 Cam York
6 Travis Sanheim - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
24 Nick Seeler - 77 Tony DeAngelo
32 Felix Sandström
79 Carter Hart or 33 Samuel Ersson
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Buffalo Sabres
Levi's strong NHL debut and Friday's overtime win against the Rangers kept alive Buffalo's faint hopes at an Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Sabres are currently five points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the lower wildcard seed in the East. Buffalo holds one game in hand but has a tiebreaker disadvantage (28 regulation wins to 27). The Sabres would also have to leapfrog the Florida Panthers to get into the playoffs.
Top line center Tage Thompson (44 goals, 89 points) was unavailable to play in Friday's game due to an upper-body injury. He is officially day-to-day. Thompson's availability to play against the Flyers is unknown as of this writing. The Sabres will not hold a morning skate today.
Potential lineup (Friday's lineup, subject to change)
53 Jeff Skinner - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 89 Alex Tuch
77 JJ Peterka - 24 Dylan Cozens - 22 Jack Quinn
12 Jordan Greenway - 17 Tyson Jost - 72 Victor Olofsson
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 19 Peyton Krebs - 21 Kyle Okposo
23 Mattias Samuelsson - 26 Rasmus Dahlin
25 Owen Power - 10 Henri Jokiharju
78 Jacob Bryson - 46 Ilya Lyubushkin
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
27 Devon Levi
