Following their sluggish 4-1 loss to New Jersey on Thursday, the Flyers (4-3-2) will immediately take the ice again tonight, as they head to Buffalo to close out a three-game-in-four-night stretch.
The Flyers will continue their season series with the Sabres (3-7-0), which began Tuesday night. In a game that saw the Flyers play down to their opponent — sound familiar? — the Sabres won 4-3 in overtime, thanks to a Zemgus Girgensons breakaway.
Despite Brayden Schenn's two goals (one of which tied the game at 3 with 53.2 seconds to go), the Flyers failed to find their rhythm against the Sabres. Tyler Ennis and Jamie McGinn helped the Sabres jump out to an early 2-0 lead, and though the Flyers were able to tie it, they never could manage a lead. The Orange and Black were also outshot 40-33, the most that they've allowed so far.
Additionally, the Sabres will wrap up a three-in-four set, as they visited Pittsburgh last night. They lost 4-3, despite a season-high 53 shots on goal.
Vincent Lecavalier will return to the lineup for the Flyers, as Pierre-Edouard Bellemare continues to sit with a lower-body injury. Lecavalier assisted on Luke Schenn's goal against the Devils, his first of the season and the only goal the Flyers managed all night.
Michal Neuvirth will return between the Flyers' pipes as well, after being out with an upper-body injury sustained in Boston on Oct. 21. Neuvirth was activated off injured reserve on Thursday night, and will return to face the Sabres team that he went 6-19-3 with and posted a 2.96 GAA and .921 save percentage with in parts of two seasons.
Coach Dave Hakstol is expected to roll out the same lines as he did against the Devils, as well as the defensive pairings that he changed before the game. Nick Schultz is expected to play as well, despite being benched in the third period for all but two shifts.
In addition, tonight's game will be the start of a road trip for the Flyers that will also see them head to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg over the next nine days. It will also be the second of the three-game series between the Flyers and Sabres, with the final game being played on Feb. 11.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (23rd, 5th on road), Sabres (8th, 6th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (26th, 30th on road), Sabres (30th, 29th at home)
- Brayden Schenn, Luke Schenn and Johan Larsson were the only players in Tuesday's game with multiple points. Each scored two.
- Milestone Watch: Luke Schenn will play his 500th career game, while Jakub Voracek will play his 300th as a Flyer.
Flyers Projected Lineup [Updated]
Line 1: Matt Read-Claude Giroux-Wayne Simmonds
Line 2: Brayden Schenn-Scott Laughton-Jakub Voracek
Line 3: Sam Gagner-Michael Raffl-R.J. Umberger
Line 4: Vincent Lecavalier-Chris VandeVelde-Ryan White
D-Pair 1: Michael Del Zotto-Mark Streit
D-Pair 2: Nick Schultz-Luke Schenn
D-Pair 3: Radko Gudas-Evgeny Medvedev
Goalie: Michal Neuvirth
Scratches: Brandon Manning, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Sean Couturier
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
