The Philadelphia Flyers are up in Buffalo to take on the Sabres in the middle of a fairly lengthy point streak. The last time these two teams faced one another was just earlier this month and it resulted in a 5-2 lashing by the Flyers — could we see more of the same or with Buffalo in their new management era, will they put up more of a fight?
Puck drop: 7:30 p.m.
How to watch/listen:
📺: ESPN+/HULU
📻: 97.5 The Fanatic
Pregame reading
- Flyers got some very bad news on Wednesday, as Tyson Foerster required to have surgery on his arm and is now, instead of just a few months, will be gone for five — and that most likely means his season is done. [BSH]
- Rasmus Ristolainen made his return to the ice after his own lengthy injury-caused absence. So, now with another defenseman added to the mix, is it safe to say that someone like Egor Zamula is going to get pushed out of the roster? [BSH]
Pregame watching
By the numbers
Philadelphia Flyers – 17-9-6 (3rd in Metro)
Goals: Trevor Zegras (14)
Assists: Travis Konecny (20)
Points: Trevor Zegras (33)
Buffalo Sabres – 14-14-4 (8th in Atlantic)
Goals: Tage Thompson (16)
Assists: Rasmus Dahlin (22)
Points: Tage Thompson (29)
Projected lineups
Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Carl Grundstrom — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov — Noah Cates — Bobby Brink
Nic Deslauriers — Rodrigo Abols — Garnet Hathaway
Cam York — Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae — Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler — Rasmus Ristolainen
Sam Ersson
(Dan Vladar)
Tyson Kozak — Tage Thompson — Josh Doan
Noah Ostlund — Josh Norris — Alex Tuch
Zach Benson — Ryan McLeod — Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn — Josh Dunne — Jordan Greenway
Rasmus Dahlin — Mattias Samuelsson
Bowen Byram — Conor Timmins
Owen Power — Michael Kesselring
Alex Lyon
(Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen)
Storylines to watch
Pressure is on in Buffalo
This is the first game the Sabres are playing since they fired general manager Kevyn Adams and set on this new journey with Jarmo Kekäläinen in charge. That gives them a whole lot of pressure to start this era on the right foot and not show that they are still very much the same Sabres we have come to know as complete failures for the last 14 years.
Even though there’s no coaching change (yet), could we see some Buffalo players have more jump in their step? Could they really be trying to impress their new general manager so that they are seen as a vital piece and then don’t have to uproot their life in a couple months ahead of the trade deadline?
Flyers’ power play will face a tough matchup
For some reason, the Buffalo Sabres own the third-most successful penalty killing unit in the NHL right now. With an 84.9% success rate, only the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche have managed to keep opposing power plays at bay better than the Sabres have this season. That feels a little crazy, but they’ve found something that has worked.
But, the one bright spot that we can maybe see the Flyers take advantage of, is that while the Sabres have been able to kill off some penalties at a high rate, they certainly do allow a whole lot of chances. Buffalo has the fifth-highest mark in terms of shorthanded unblocked shot attempts per 60 — basically, teams are getting their shots off against the Sabres penalty kill but it’s just not resulting in a lot of goals right now. Could the Flyers be the team that breaks the levee and floods in some power-play goals tonight?
Can Grundstrom stay this hot?
Ever since being back in the lineup, and really ever since being recalled as Tyson Foerster’s replacement, Carl Grundstrom has been red-hot. The 28-year-old depth winger scored enough to earn a promotion up the lineup next to Sean Couturier before Tuesday’s game in Montreal, and then rewarded Rick Tocchet’s decision by scoring his third goal in five games.
It’s not going to last forever, but can Grundstrom really just keep on scoring consistently enough to not have the Flyers worry about the wide-open hole Foerster left in the lineup?