Main storyline: The Buffalo Sabres will complete their three game homestand tonight as they host the Philadelphia Flyers for the first time this season.
Season series: The two teams have yet to meet this season, so tonight marks the first of three contests. The Flyers took it last year, winning all three games against Buffalo, including a 5-2 victory last April, the most recent meeting.
Where they stand: The Flyers are seeing exactly how tough playing in the Metropolitan Division is this season. Philadelphia is fifth in the division with 41 points, but are 18 points behind the Islanders for first place. The Sabres have fallen to 29th in the league and only are ahead of Edmonton by two points. Ottawa is the next closest team in the Atlantic Division and they have 44 points with two games in hand.
Recent performance: It’s been tough to watch for Buffalo, who are coming off an embarrassing 7-0 defeat to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. The Flyers have been having a rough time lately as well. They’ve been shutout in their past two games, losing 1-0 to the Capitals and 4-0 to the Canucks earlier this week. Prior to that, they went 3-1 on their four game homestand.
Buffalo notes: The Sabres have lost the last nine games, and have been outscored 39-9 in that span. After a blowout loss on Thursday, Ted Nolan said those types of game will happen.
“With the situation we’ve got going here, when you’re on a rebuild, there’s going to be nights like that,” Nolan sad. “And everything that could go wrong went wrong. We had a meeting specifically to talk about those types of things. But in the situation we’re in right now, there’s going to be some nights like this unfortunately. And through nights like this you’ll find the real character of certain guys and who you’re going to go forward with building your team properly with.”
Opponent notes: Although about half the season remains, the Flyers are starting to slip away from a potential playoff spot. They are 11 points behind the Rangers for the final spot, but haven’t been able to win consistently. Now, they’re scoring has disappeared as of late.
Conclusion: It’s the first of three meetings this season. The Flyers are in town as the Sabres complete their homestand tonight at the First Niagara Center. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be seen on MSG.