The Buffalo Sabres will look to put Thursday evening’s disappointing loss to the Montreal Canadiens behind them as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday afternoon. The First Niagara Center will be the scene as the two teams try to shake off crucial losses and snap their respective losing streaks as they each hang on to the smallest glimmer of hope in reaching the playoffs.
The Sabres are coming off one of their most lopsided losses of the season when they fell to Montreal by a 5-1 margin in their last outing. The loss was Buffalo’s second in a row after posting three consecutive wins and dropped the team six points behind the eighth place Rangers for the final playoff spot. Not only was the loss devastating in the playoff picture, the team will have to overcome the loss of defenseman Tyler Myers who is lost for the season after breaking a bone in his leg during Thursday’s game.
The Philadelphia Flyers are in a similar situation as the Sabres. Philly is hanging on themselves as they try to reach the final playoff spot, but coming off a tough loss to the Ottawa Senators 3-1 Thursday night, the team is looking up at a host of other teams in much better positions. Much like the Sabres, the Flyers are also struggling to put the puck in the net. During their current three game losing streak, Philadelphia has only managed three total goals and the team has had to rely on Jakub Voracek, Simon Gagne, and Claude Giroux for most of their offense. However, a familiar face to Sabre fans should give the Flyers a tremendous boost Saturday as Danny Brier makes his return to the Philadelphia lineup. Brier has been sidelined for almost a month with a concussion and his return should give the Flyers immediate offensive help.
One major key to look for in Saturday’s matinee will be the effectiveness of each clubs special teams. The Sabres have struggled all season while on the power play and are still in the basement in the league standing. The Flyers on the other hand have been quite effective in both the power play and penalty killing with both rankings in the top ten in the league.
Saturday’s contest marks the third meeting between the two clubs this season. Each team has used its home ice advantage to capture victories, with Buffalo taking a 5-2 win early in the season and Philly returning the favor with a 3-2 win last month.
The game is scheduled for a 3:05 puck drop and can be seen on MSG.