With the Flyers fighting ardently for a playoff spot, one of the biggest thorns of their side has been their lack of consistency, and their willingness to play down to teams lesser than them. Those struggles have been well-documented for over a season now, and has essentially become routine.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Sabres Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 52 | 16 | 29 | 45 | Ryan O'Reilly | 54 | 17 | 28 | 45 |
| Jake Voracek | 52 | 8 | 34 | 42 | Jack Eichel | 54 | 16 | 20 | 36 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 52 | 19 | 16 | 35 | Rasmus Ristolainen | 54 | 8 | 25 | 33 |
| Brayden Schenn | 50 | 14 | 15 | 29 | Sam Reinhart | 51 | 16 | 8 | 24 |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 34 | 9 | 19 | 28 | Jamie McGinn | 54 | 11 | 12 | 23 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 90 Ryan O'Reilly |
| Last 5 Games: 1 G, 5 A, 6 P, -2 | Last 5 Games: 0 G, 5 A, 8 P, -5 |
Shayne Gostisbehere has established himself as one of the most prolific rookies in recent Flyers history, and he has the opportunity to make history in tonight's game. Recording a point would extend his points streak to 10 games, tying Mikael Renberg for the longest by a rookie in franchise history.
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 35 Steve Mason | 40 Robin Lehner |
| 12-14-7, 2.70 GAA, .915 SV% | 2-3-1, 2.65 GAA, .926 SV% |
Steve Mason gets the nod in goal yet again, for his sixth-consecutive start. Michal Neuvirth is still down with his lower-body injury (though he did return to practice on Wednesday), and Anthony Stolarz will not be making his first NHL start yet.
Robin Lehner originally entered the season with the Sabres' No. 1 job, but spent much of the season combating a high-ankle sprain sustained in the season opener. In the eight appearances he's made this season, though, he's looked steady.
Flyers Projected Lineup:
Scratches: Scott Laughton, Matt Read, Evgeny Medvedev, Michal Neuvirth, Sean Couturier
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 93 Jake Voracek | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 89 Sam Gagner | 52 Nick Cousins | 10 Brayden Schenn |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 25 Ryan White |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 19 Jordan Weal | 20 R.J. Umberger |
| Defense | ||
| 15 Michael Del Zotto | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
| 55 Nick Schultz | 32 Mark Streit | |
| 23 Brandon Manning | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| Goalie | ||
| 35 Steve Mason |
Dave Hakstol unrolled a significant change to the lineup for tonight's game, opting to re-insert Jordan Weal and R.J. Umberger on the fourth line over Matt Read and R.J. Umberger.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (19th, 26th at home), Sabres (6th, 3rd on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (23rd, 23rd at home), Sabres (14th, 24th on road)
- Recent History vs. Sabres:
- Oct. 30, 2015 — Mark Streit netted his third goal of the season with 3:26 on the clock, but it was all the Flyers could muster in a 3-1 loss to the Sabres. Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly and Nicolas Deslauriers all scored for the Sabres, while Linus Ullmark saved 27 of 28 pucks for his first-career NHL win.
- Oct. 27, 2015 — Brayden Schenn tied the game at 3 with 53.2 seconds on the clock for his second goal of the game, but Zemgus Girgensons buried the Flyers on a breakaway at 2:29 of the overtime period. Chris VandeVelde added his first goal of the season, while Tyler Ennis, Jamie McGinn and Jake McCabe scored for the Sabres. Steve Mason saved a spectacular 36 of 40 shots, while Chad Johnson stopped 30 pucks.
- Feb. 19, 2015 — Despite Ryan White's first goal as a Flyer, a Jakub Voracek power-play goal and extension of a Wayne Simmonds points streak, the Flyers fell 3-2 in a shootout. Deslauriers and Brian Gionta scored for the Sabres, while now-Flyer Michal Neuvirth saved 36 of 38 shots. Ray Emery made 30 saves on 32 shots between the Flyers' pipes.
- Milestone Watch:
- Mark Streit: 5 points to reach 400 for career
- Jake Voracek: 7 goals to reach 100 as a Flyer
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
