Flyers

Flyers-Sabres: Game 21 Preview

Kevin Durso Sports Editor

Published21 Nov 2018

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(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers ended a five-game homestand on a sour note. Despite a wild four-goal comeback in the final 10 minutes of regulation to force overtime, a 6-5 loss in overtime to Tampa Bay left them with a 2-2-1 record on the homestand after opening with two wins.

The Flyers now hit the road for the first of three games in four days, traveling to face the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are coming off a comeback win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, their sixth straight win. It has them in third place in the Atlantic Division standings, just two points out of first in the division.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Buffalo Sabres	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	20	7	17	24	Jack Eichel	21	5	19	24
Jake Voracek	20	5	12	17	Jeff Skinner	21	14	8	22
Sean Couturier	20	8	6	14	Jason Pominville	21	9	8	17
Wayne Simmonds	20	8	3	11	Sam Reinhart	21	2	12	14
Shayne Gostisbehere	20	3	8	11	Kyle Okposo	21	5	8	13

Player to Watch
9 Ivan Provorov	53 Jeff Skinner
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, +2	Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, +1

It hasn't been the greatest season for Ivan Provorov. Getting the No. 1 defenseman back to form is going to be critical for the Flyers success. The Sabres have several scoring threats and Provorov's defensive ability needs to be on point.

In addition to leading the Sabres with 14 goals this season, Jeff Skinner has 13 career goals against the Flyers. He's a scoring threat anywhere on the ice and the Flyers need to keep an eye on him throughout the game.

Goalie Matchup
34 Alex Lyon	40 Carter Hutton
0-0-0, -.– GAA, — SV%	9-6-1, 2.61 GAA, .917 SV%

Alex Lyon makes his first start of the season for the Flyers. Lyon made 11 appearances last season, posting a 4-2-1 record and 2.75 GAA. This is his first appearance against the Sabres in his career.

Carter Hutton has been between the pipes for most of the six-game winning streak for the Sabres. He will get another start on Wednesday night against the Flyers.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michael Raffl, Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Christian Folin, Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom	19 Nolan Patrick	93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk	40 Jordan Weal	17 Wayne Simmonds
22 Dale Weise	15 Jori Lehtera	21 Scott Laughton
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	8 Robert Hagg
47 Andrew MacDonald	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
6 Travis Sanheim	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
34 Alex Lyon

Lineup Notes

Jori Lehtera returns to the lineup in the fourth-line center role. Scott Laughton moves to right wing. Nicolas Aube-Kubel comes out of the lineup.

Sabres Projected Lineup

Injuries: Patrik Berglund, Marco Scandella, Scott Wilson

Scratches: Remi Elie

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
53 Jeff Skinner	9 Jack Eichel	29 Jason Pominville
43 Conor Sheary	37 Casey Mittelstadt	21 Kyle Okposo
72 Tage Thompson	17 Vladimir Sobotka	23 Sam Reinhart
71 Evan Rodrigues	28 Zemgus Girgensons	22 Johan Larsson
Defense
19 Jake McCabe	55 Rasmus Ristolainen
26 Rasmus Dahlin	4 Zach Bogosian
82 Nathan Beaulieu	8 Casey Nelson
Goalie
40 Carter Hutton

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (24th, 21st on road), Sabres (22nd, 11th at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, 29th on road), Sabres (6th, 8th at home)
Recent History vs. Sabres
- Dec. 14, 2017 – Flyers 2, Sabres 1 (at PHI)
- Dec. 22, 2017 – Sabres 4, Flyers 2 (at BUF)
- Jan. 7, 2018 – Flyers 4, Sabres 1 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Sabres
- Claude Giroux – 33 GP, 5 G, 25 A, 30 P
- Jake Voracek – 26 GP, 3 G, 16 A, 19 P
- James van Riemsdyk – 32 GP, 13 G, 6 A, 19 P
- Cal Pickard – 3 GP, 1-1-0, 1.40 GAA, .949 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs one assist to pass Brian Propp for 2nd all-time in Flyers history.
- James van Riemsdyk needs three points to reach 400 in his career.