Flyers shut out Sabres again, sweep two-game set
Hart makes 28 saves for Philadelphia; Vigneault gets 700th win
By
Heather Engel
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist, and Joel Farabee had two assists for the Flyers (11-4-3), who also defeated the Sabres 3-0 here Saturday.
"This weekend was huge for us, we played really well," Hart said. "Outshot Buffalo both games, almost 80 shots in two games for us (77), so that's a huge step in the right direction, getting more pucks on net. I thought we played really well both games and we just got to continue this Tuesday against [the] Pittsburgh [Penguins]."
It was Philadelphia coach Alain Vigneault's 700th win coaching in the NHL. He is the ninth coach in NHL history to reach the milestone and the second to earn at least some of those wins with the Flyers, joining Ken Hitchcock.
"I've been very privileged. I've worked for great organizations, just look at who I've worked with and who I'm working with now," Vigneault said. "I've worked with some great [general managers], some guys that really had my back and worked with me. Those GMs gave me some real good teams, and I was very fortunate to be able to pick my staff and have some good staffs; I've had some great coaches that I've worked with. You put all things together and you get to the number that I got a couple games ago, 1,300 (games), and, because I had some good teams I was able to get the 700 (wins). Working on that one thing that I don't have yet (Stanley Cup championship), and I'm going to continue to work real hard for that."
Jonas Johansson made 35 saves for the Sabres (6-10-3), who have lost three straight (0-2-1).
"Very embarrassed," Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said. "This is not acceptable. It [stinks]. It's the worst.
"It all comes down to competing. Work for each other, be a good teammate. Right now, we have nothing to lose. … Someone has to step up and make a hit, make a play, I don't know. We have to find something. But it all comes down to work for each other and we have to start competing."
Jack Eichel had three shots and was minus-1 in 22:18 after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury.
"It just seems like we're off. It doesn't seem like we're on the same page," Eichel said. "In a division like this where the checking is as tight as it is (MassMutal East Division), it doesn't allow for that. So we're playing very disciplined defensive teams that have great structure to their game. Offense is tough to come by. When you're not executing, it's even harder.
"We've just got to dig deep. I don't have a cliche answer for you. I don't know. I'm trying to process this all myself, you know? It's tough. I mean, if we had answers, I think we would be spitting them out. I don't know. We're trying to figure it out as well.
"It's a really good group of guys in there and we've stuck together. But it's, yeah, it's definitely been tough so far, the last whatever little bit. We obviously haven't performed the way we wanted to."
Sean Couturier outworked Eichel on a rebound in front of the net and scored 22 seconds into the second period to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. He has 10 points (five goals, five assists) during a six-game point streak.
"As a unit when we're out there, we're playing some responsible hockey and we're jumping on loose pucks," Couturier said of his line with van Riemsdyk and Farabee. "When we don't have the puck, we were on the right side of the puck. We're hard to play against right now, and that leads to our offense most of the time."
Michael Raffl made it 2-0 at 1:37 of the second when he deflected Robert Hagg's shot from the blue line, and van Riemsdyk redirected Farabee's point shot to extend the lead to 3-0 at 15:23.
"I think all three of us are pretty smart players," Couturier said. "I think all three of us, we just complement each other. When one guy needs to forecheck, he does it and the other guys back him up. Right now, it's clicking, and hopefully we can keep this rolling for a while."
NOTES: Vigneault is 700-460-108 with 35 ties in 18 seasons with the Flyers, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens. ... It's the first time in Flyers history that they have had three consecutive shutouts against a team. They also defeated the Sabres 3-0 on Jan. 19. … Buffalo was shut out in consecutive games for the first time since March 12-14, 2019.
