By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
For the most part, the Flyers have handled their end of business on a five-game homestand that featured games against very difficult opponents. Their most difficult win of four on that homestand may have come against the worst team in the Eastern Conference, the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres returned the favor to the Flyers on Friday night, falling 4-2 in a sloppy and frustrating effort in Buffalo.
Let's jump right in to our Postgame Review.
Postgame Points
- No Controversy Here – Let's start here. When the Buffalo Sabres scored the first goal of the game at the 3:59 mark of the third period, it was a save that should have been made. But to that point, Brian Elliott was the reason it was even a game at all, so the blame certainly doesn't fall on him in this game.
Elliott was tremendous in this game, the two goals allowed aside. The Sabres finished the game with 37 shots and Elliott had 33 saves. The majority were tough saves. The Flyers did their goalie no favors and he gave them a chance to win. That was really all you could ask for there.
- Time for a Break - It is safe to wonder if Elliott needs a break sometime soon. Elliott's performance on Friday didn't indicate a break was needed, but in a back-to-back situation with Buffalo being the lesser of the two teams that were on the schedule, this would have been the opportunity to give Alex Lyon a game.
Granted, the way the team performed, it was probably for the best that Lyon didn't see the ice. But facing 35 shots in the front end of a back-to-back doesn't sound like a recipe for success to throw your goalie out for an 11th straight start. But throwing Lyon out against Columbus isn't the way to let a kid make his NHL debut.
It's a tricky dilemma, but the Flyers almost have to go with Elliott again just to try to salvage something out of their last game before the Christmas break.
- Turnovers - This was as sloppy a game the Flyers have played all season. There were far too many turnovers and the overall lack of skating was even more alarming.
The Flyers looked like the team that has spent the majority of the season at the bottom of the standings in the East. In theory, they have to an extent.
But for a team that had been playing better and trending in the right direction, this was an alarming game. From start to finish, this was sloppy. This was unorganized. This was a pitiful performance. And on a night when your goalie is standing on his head to give you points in the standings, that doesn't cut it.
- Don't Downplay It – I don't know if you can call it playing down to the opponent. It seemed like more of a coincidence that the Flyers were playing their worst game in the last eight or so against the East's worst team in the standings.
Here's what I took issue with. This is a game that you have to know is there for the taking. And there was no urgency until it was far too late.
Let's be real about this result. Jack Eichel gets the game-winning goal and two goals in the game by scoring into an empty net. The Flyers probably didn't deserve a goal with their level of play. It could have easily been their seventh shutout loss of the year.
Here's the problem with that scenario. To this point, the Flyers have been shut out six times by five goalies: Jonathan Quick, Pekka Rinne, Corey Crawford, Devan Dubnyk and Tuukka Rask. Those are all elite goalies capable of throwing one at any time. To add Robin Lehner to that list would have been embarrassing, at least without trying to make it a game.
The Flyers finally pushed back late, and to their credit had the margin at one twice. But to start trying to push back with three minutes left in the game doesn't make up for the first 57 minutes. And the Flyers had chances. They had power plays. They had a 5-on-3 with the game still at 1-0.
Overall, 1-for-5 on the man advantage and finally throwing some shots on goal late in the game isn't the approach and the team ultimately failed to adjust during the intermissions.
Slow starts have become somewhat normal on this stretch of games. But the second period was utter dominance by the Sabres and in the third, the Sabres got the tallies when it counted.
- Christmas in Columbus - Of course, after a game like this, there are worse things than coming back the following night to play a game and try to put this one behind you quick.
That said, it doesn't get much better than playing against the Columbus Blue Jackets. That's a dangerous team that make a repeat performance of Friday's game an embarrassment.
The Flyers have spent December digging out of a hole and they have done a pretty good job of playing consistent and giving themselves a chance to win games. Realistically, they had a chance again on Friday. Saturday's game has to at least produce some form of points in the standings. But the Flyers can really make a statement with this game and bounce back from this effort instead of letting it define the back-to-back as they head into an extended break.
Quotable
"They competed a little bit harder than us and I think it showed out there. They probably deserved to win." – Flyers goalie Brian Elliott
Play of the Game
Brian Elliott's series of four tough saves in the second period was his most impressive display of the night.
By the Numbers
The charts below really tell the story. The Flyers were badly outplayed as the game went on, particularly in the second and third periods to the tune of a 29-18 Sabres advantage in shot attempts.
The heat map tells an even bigger picture. The Sabres crowded Elliott for much of the night and peppered him with point-blank chances. The Flyers didn't really test Lehner much from in tight.
