(Photo: Kate Frese)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor
An extended road trip in early November helped the Flyers get on a bit of a hot streak. Perhaps another one will have the same effect.
The Flyers hit the road for the first of five games by facing the Buffalo Sabres, with the recent memory that their last trip to Buffalo was not a successful one.
Game time is at 1 p.m.
Team Leaders
Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Buffalo Sabres | GP | G | A | P |
Claude Giroux | 26 | 10 | 22 | 32 | Jack Eichel | 29 | 7 | 27 | 34 |
Jake Voracek | 26 | 7 | 14 | 21 | Jeff Skinner | 29 | 20 | 9 | 29 |
Sean Couturier | 26 | 10 | 10 | 20 | Sam Reinhart | 29 | 8 | 16 | 24 |
Travis Konecny | 26 | 8 | 10 | 18 | Jason Pominville | 27 | 9 | 9 | 18 |
Wayne Simmonds | 25 | 9 | 4 | 13 | Rasmus Ristolainen | 29 | 3 | 14 | 17 |
Player to Watch | |
28 Claude Giroux | 53 Jeff Skinner |
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 5 A, 7 P, E | Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, +6 |
Goalie Matchup | |
41 Anthony Stolarz | 72 Linus Ullmark |
4 GP, 1-1-1, 3.19 GAA, .901 SV% | 9 GP, 5-0-3, 2.71 GAA, .921 SV% |
Anthony Stolarz figures to get another start, but with a back-to-back this weekend, nothing is certain. Stolarz was solid in Thursday's loss, keeping the Flyers in the game after allowing a weak goal early.
The Sabres announced that usual starter Carter Hutton is dealing with an injury, so Linus Ullmark gets the start in goal on Saturday. The Sabres have played well in front of Ullmark. He has a 5-0-3 record and 2.71 GAA.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Brian Elliott, Sean Couturier, Corban Knight
Scratches: Phil Varone, Christian Folin
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
25 James van Riemsdyk | 28 Claude Giroux | 11 Travis Konecny |
93 Jake Voracek | 19 Nolan Patrick | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
12 Michael Raffl | 21 Scott Laughton | 22 Dale Weise |
23 Oskar Lindblom | 15 Jori Lehtera | 40 Jordan Weal |
Defense | ||
9 Ivan Provorov | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
8 Robert Hagg | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
6 Travis Sanheim | 3 Radko Gudas | |
Goalie | ||
41 Anthony Stolarz |
Lineup Notes
Sean Couturier is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Jordan Weal comes back into the lineup. The rest of the lines are shuffled due to Couturier's injury.
Sabres Projected Lineup
Injuries: Jason Pominville, Conor Sheary, Marco Scandella, Scott Wilson, Jake McCabe, Casey Nelson
Scratches: Remi Elie, Matt Tennyson
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
53 Jeff Skinner | 9 Jack Eichel | 23 Sam Reinhart |
72 Tage Thompson | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 21 Kyle Okposo |
43 Conor Sheary | 71 Evan Rodrigues | 17 Vladimir Sobotka |
10 Patrik Berglund | 22 Johan Larsson | 28 Zemgus Girgensons |
Defense | ||
24 Lawrence Pilut | 55 Rasmus Ristolainen | |
26 Rasmus Dahlin | 4 Zach Bogosian | |
82 Nathan Beaulieu | 48 Matt Hunwick | |
Goalie | ||
72 Sergei Bobrovsky |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (28th, 25th on road), Sabres (20th, 12th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, 28th on road), Sabres (15th, 9th 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)
- Nov. 21, 2018 – Sabres 4, Flyers 2 (at BUF)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Sabres
- Claude Giroux – 34 GP, 6 G, 25 A, 31 P
- Jake Voracek – 27 GP, 3 G, 16 A, 19 P
- Sean Couturier – 20 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
- Milestone Watch
- James van Riemsdyk needs three points to reach 400 in his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic