Flyers-Sabres: Game 23 Preview

Kevin Durso

March 9 2021

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers got a much-needed day off the ice following back-to-back losses over the weekend in Pittsburgh and on home ice against Washington. Their time with the Capitals is far from over this week, but they do get a bit of a break in the series by facing a team they had their way with a weekend ago.

The Buffalo Sabres make a visit to Philadelphia on Tuesday night as the Flyers look to put a 1-3-0 week behind them. The Sabres struggles have only continued since the Flyers met them last weekend, as they enter the game on seven-game losing streak.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Buffalo Sabres	GP	G	A	P
James van Riemsdyk	22	10	16	26	Jack Eichel	21	2	16	18
Joel Farabee	21	11	9	20	Sam Reinhart	21	9	8	17
Claude Giroux	20	3	14	17	Victor Olofsson	23	7	10	17
Kevin Hayes	22	8	9	17	Taylor Hall	23	2	12	14
Jake Voracek	19	3	12	15	Rasmus Dahlin	23	1	9	10

Claude Giroux played a huge role in the comeback win over the Penguins on Thursday, but has been relatively quiet in the last two games as the team has struggled to match the energy of the opposition. On Tuesday, he needs to step up and help lead his team back to the win column against an inferior team.

The Sabres are going through some struggles, but one player they could look to is Sam Reinhart. Reinhart had a very strong game in Philadelphia in January and leads the team in goals with nine.

The Flyers are going back to Carter Hart in goal. Hart made 24 saves in the loss on Sunday to Washington and gets right back out there against Buffalo, a team he faced just over a week ago, recording a 28-save shutout.

Jonas Johansson was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate, indicating he will get the start. Johansson also faced the Flyers on Feb. 28, making 35 saves in the loss. Johansson has appeared in just four games this season, two of them coming against the Flyers.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Michael Raffl (injury), Morgan Frost (injury), Erik Gustafsson (healthy), Andy Andreoff (healthy), Carsen Twarynski (healthy)

Sabres Scratches: Jack Eichel (injury), Linus Ullmark (injury), William Borgen (injury), Colin Miller (healthy), Tage Thompson (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Michael Raffl remains out with an injury. Other than that, the only other change is that Erik Gustafsson will come out of the lineup and Robert Hagg will go back in.
Sabres: Jack Eichel is out of the lineup with an upper-body injury. It appears Colin Miller is coming out as a healthy scratch as well.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (22nd), Sabres (3rd)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th), Sabres (9th)
Recent History vs. Sabres
- Jan. 18, 2021 – Sabres 6, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- Jan. 19, 2021 – Flyers 3, Sabres 0 (at PHI)
- Feb. 27, 2021 – Flyers 3, Sabres 0 (at BUF)
- Feb. 28, 2021 – Flyers 3, Sabres 0 (at BUF)
Flyers Leaders vs. Sabres
- Claude Giroux – 42 GP, 10 G, 29 A, 39 P
- Travis Konecny – 13 GP, 4 G, 6 A, 10 P
- Jake Voracek – 35 GP, 5 G, 21 A, 26 P
- Sean Couturier – 25 GP, 6 G, 12 A, 18 P
- Carter Hart – 4 GP, 3-1-0, 1.73 GAA, .943 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Erik Gustafsson needs one assist to reach 100 in his career.
- Travis Konecny needs three points to reach 200 for his career.
- Ivan Provorov needs three assists to reach 100 for his career.