Flyers Score 6, Roll Past Sabres

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It's not often that the Flyers put up high-scoring games. On Tuesday, they matched a season high.

Six even-strength goals powered the Flyers to a big win over the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 6-2 on Tuesday night.

The Flyers started the game with a lot of energy and that turned into several early scoring chances. One of those chances beat Robin Lehner.

A point shot by Radko Gudas was deflected in the slot by Matt Read and past Lehner at 4:34 to give the Flyers the lead.

The Flyers nearly added to the lead on their first power play of the game with under eight minutes left in the period, taking four shots on the man-advantage. Soon after the penalty expired, Brayden Schenn went to the box for hooking and the Sabres power play, tied for the top spot in the NHL, didn't waste any time cashing in.

Evander Kane fired a shot from the right circle through a screened Steve Mason to tie the game just 15 seconds into the power play. Rasmus Ristolainen and Jack Eichel assisted on the goal. Eichel's assist extended his points streak to 11 games.

The Flyers failed to capitalize on two more power plays in the period, and after 20 minutes, the game was knotted at one. The Flyers held the advantage in shots, 16-10.

The second period started much like the first for the Flyers. At 4:58, they grabbed the lead again. Off a turnover, Gudas fired a laser over the shoulder of Lehner to give the Flyers the lead with his fourth goal of the season.

The lead was short-lived again, as another Buffalo power play produced another quick goal. This time, Jack Eichel needed just three seconds of man-advantage time to beat Mason. His turnaround shot hit off Andrew MacDonald and changed direction, avoiding Mason to even the score at two at 7:14.

The Flyers went back to the penalty kill and managed to kill off a too-many-men penalty. The momentum of that kill led to another goal. Jordan Weal came up with a turnover in the Flyers zone and started the rush the other way. He got the payoff, as Jake Voracek's centering pass hit Weal's skate and went in for his second goal of the season.

Late in the period, the Flyers struck again. With Weal doing great work on the forecheck, a point shot by Michael Del Zotto was stopped by Lehner, hit a Sabres defenseman and bounced perfectly to the stick of Claude Giroux in front of the net. He buried it for his 13th goal of the season, snapping a 12-game goalless drought.

The Flyers carried the two-goal lead to the third and piled on from there.

First a Michael Del Zotto shot hit Chris VandeVelde and went in to give the Flyers a 5-2 lead at 2:45. Less than three minutes later at 5:21, Travis Konecny joined the party with a goal of his own, roofing a shot over Lehner to make it 6-2.

Eichel did score again, this time at even strength, with 5:10 remaining to cut the lead back down to three.

Mason quietly had a good game, making 31 saves in the win. The Flyers were outshot by the Sabres in the game, 34-30.

Gudas had three points, adding two assists to his goal. Konecny, Couturier, Del Zotto and Weal each had two-point games.

The Flyers gained a big two points in the standings as well. Toronto defeated Detroit to keep pace and remain two points ahead of the Flyers. The Islanders also won in Edmonton, keeping the margin for the Flyers at three and retaining the final wildcard spot. The Flyers did leapfrog the Florida Panthers, who lost to the Rangers on Tuesday, and the idle Tampa Bay Lightning into the standings, leaving just Toronto and New York ahead of them for the final wildcard spot.

The Flyers are back on the ice on Thursday night, continuing a four-game road trip in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Matt Read (8) (Radko Gudas, Nick Cousins) 4:34
• BUF Evander Kane (24) PP (Rasmus Ristolainen, Jack Eichel) 15:25

2nd Period

• PHI Gudas (4) (Sean Couturier) 4:58
• BUF Eichel (17) (Ryan O'Reilly) 7:14
• PHI Jordan Weal (2) (Jake Voracek, Couturier) 13:48
• PHI Claude Giroux (13) (Michael Del Zotto, Weal) 18:02

3rd Period

• PHI Chris VandeVelde (6) (Del Zotto, Travis Konecny) 2:45
• PHI Konecny (8) (Gudas) 5:21
• BUF Eichel (18) (Kane, Cody Franson) 14:50

Game Statistics