Main storyline: The Buffalo Sabres (16-37-4) were able to grab a point in a shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. On Thursday, their short road trip will conclude with a visit to Philadelphia to play the Flyers (24-23-10) at the Wells Fargo Center.
Season series: Thursday’s game is the third and final tilt between the Sabres and Flyers. Philadelphia has won the first two games this season, the first coming January 17 in a 4-3 win at the First Niagara Center. The second of those games came just this past Sunday in Buffalo with the Flyers winning that game 2-1.
Where they stand: The gap between the 30th place Sabres and 29th place Oilers is increasing, as Buffalo has dropped eight points behind Edmonton for the race to the bottom. For the Flyers, it has been a rough season, but recently went 6-0-3 in a nine-game stretch before Tuesday. The Flyers currently sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division, and seven points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Recent performance: Tuesday night was a goaltending battle between Michal Neuvirth and Cory Schneider in New Jersey. Neuvirth stopped 34 shots on 35 shots faced against the Devils, while Cory Schneider stopped 24 of 25 shots the Sabres threw his way. The Devils got out to an early lead thanks to a Patrik Elias deflection that beat Neuvirth. After a scoreless second, Tyler Ennis tied the game early in the third period. After no goals in overtime, the Devils stepped up in the shootout and put two behind Neuvirth to grab the win. For the Flyers, the team’s nine-game point streak was snapped on Tuesday night with a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at home. The Flyers fell behind early in the first, but came back to tie the game in the second period 2-2. In the third period, Columbus’ Matt Calvert got the Blue Jackets back on top, and they would add two more goals to put the icing on the cake.
Buffalo notes: Even with the Sabres loss on Tuesday, many on the team felt that they played a good game, but just could not get it done in the shootout. The Sabres continue to struggle in most statistical departments in the league, having the worst goals per game average, goals against average, powerplay, penalty kill, and the list goes on and on. The Sabres will have a tough test with the fourth best powerplay in the NHL on Thursday. The key for the Sabres will be to stay out of the box against the Flyers. Josh Gorges and Patrick Kaleta are the only two Sabres that are out, Kaleta is out 4-6 weeks while Josh Gorges’ injury could be season ending. Neuvirth is back in net for Buffalo for the third straight game.
Opponent notes: It was a nice nine-game point streak for the Flyers to get them back into playoff contention just seven points out of the final wild card spot in the East. Tuesday was a tough pill to swallow for the Flyers with a poor third period performance on home-ice against the Blue Jackets. The Flyers are one of the most lethal team when they have the man advantage. But when the Flyers go to the box, it becomes a struggle as the team is the second worst penalty kill in the league. The Flyers are without defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who has been skating with the team in recent weeks, but remains out due recovery from a blood clot. Steve Mason is also out with a knee injury, and will not return to action for some time. Ray Emery will get th start in net for the Flyers for the second straight time against the Sabres.
Conclusion: The start time for the game has been moved from 7pm to 8pm due to a ceremony honoring former Flyers defenseman Eric Desjardins. The game can be seen on MSG Network.