(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 |
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.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+
Radio: 93.3 WMMR