| Per. | Time | EV | Goal | Assist | Assist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14:22 |  Sean Couturier (4) | Travis Sanheim (5) | --- | |
| 2 | 14:33 | Shayne Gostisbehere (2) | Riemsdyk (14) | Sean Couturier (6) | |
| 2 | 18:54 | Scott Laughton (5) | Oskar Lindblom (3) | Jakub Voracek (10) |
After disappointing news broke this morning stating that starting goaltender Linus Ullmark would be out with an injury for at least a month and that captain Jack Eichel would not play today, things did not get much better for the Sabres as they get shutout 3-0 by the Flyers.
Hutton on Ullmark's injury: "It sucks", says he has been the team's best player. #Sabres
— Brian Koziol (@BrianWGR) February 27, 2021
Flyers goaltender Brian Elliot improved his career record against Buffalo to 15-2-2 and also notched his 2nd shutout of the season against the Sabres. With only 23 shots faced, Elliot’s job was made easy this afternoon. On the other end of the ice, Carter Hutton was serviceable as he made 36 saves on 39 shots. Ultimately, it didn’t matter as the Sabres scoring woes continue to be their Achilles heel.
The scoring got started for Philadelphia 14 minutes into the game as Sean Couturier threw a puck on net that unfortunately for Buffalo, was deflected by Brandon Montour right in front of Carter Hutton and into the back of the net. They would go on to take advantage of two breakaway opportunities in the 2nd frame and make it 3-0. The rest is history.
Staal: "For whatever reason, we are peddling really hard uphill. When you're struggling with confidence and offensively, a lot of guys are guilty of doing too much and not executing on the smaller details. Swimming hard but not all in the right direction together." #Sabres
— Brian Koziol (@BrianWGR) February 27, 2021
Rasmus Ristolainen and Tobias Rieder both looked decent as they came back into the lineup after dealing with COVID-19 and an upper body injury, respectively. Jeff Skinner was also back in the lineup coming off 3 games in a row of being benched. His scoring drought and misuse on ice continue to frustrate Sabres fans.
After the game, coach Ralph Krueger was asked how difficult it is to deal with his team’s lack of success. His response, keeping things small picture and getting ready for tomorrow’s rematch against Philadelphia.
As far as getting his team energized and motivated for tomorrow’s game, it looks like we might see some changes in the lineup. Krueger also hopes to have Eichel back.
Ralph Krueger said the Sabres are in need of some “new energy.” Plans to make some lineup changes tomorrow against the Flyers.
Sounds like there may be some promotions from Rochester.
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) February 27, 2021
Puck drop is at 3:00 pm tomorrow at Key Bank Center. The 10-4-3 Flyers look to make it 3 consecutive wins against Buffalo who continue to slide down the standings and are now 6-9-3.