Henri Jokiharju
The Flyers responded from Wednesday’s loss to the Sabres with a convincing win on Friday night to close the home-and-home.
The Sabres scored three goals in the third period as the Flyers could not finish on chances, ending the four-game homestand with a loss.
A failed coach’s challenge allowed for two quick power-play goals, then another late in the first period essentially already put the game out of reach, as the Flyers streak reached 11 games with a 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon.
Monday’s game was a battle royale of mediocrity. This was a game that probably played out exactly as it should have in both result and process. Yes, the Flyers are a better team than the Sabres. The standings certainly reflect that. But for 40 minutes, they weren’t close to that, so much so that they not only once again dug a hole to the worst team in the league, requiring another frantic third-period rally, but they also had to shorten the bench to do it.
After falling behind 3-0, the Flyers erased the deficit in the third period, then won the game 42 seconds into overtime on Ivan Provorov’s game-winner to claim two points against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
The Sabres struck for the game’s first goal late in the first, then added three goals in the second period to chase Carter Hart from the game, as the Flyers were routed, 6-1, at Wells Fargo Center on Monday night.
The United States came away with a 2-1 win over Russia in the first semi-final match to advance to Saturday’s Gold Medal Game. They will face Finland, who defeated Switzerland by a score of 6-1.
