3rd period synopsis
At 3:05, Ryan Miller comes out to flag down a heavy Matt Carle shot from the point.
Scottie Upshall, who has shown good jump all gam, speeds past the D and fires a long range shot on net at the 4:12 mark.
So far in the third period, the refs have swallowed the whistles. Both teams have gotten away with some grabs and takedowns.
The Flyers third line strings together a pair of outstanding shifts midway through the period. The latter one ultimately drew a Toni Lydman hooking penalty at 12:42.
Flyers 4 - Sabres 3: Mike Knuble gets open on the doorstep, takes a centering feed from Simon Gagne and beats Miller for his 20th of the season at 13:51. Mike Richards gets the other assist.
Flyers 5 - Sabres 3: Richards seals the game with a blocked shot and empty netter at 19:18.
Flyers 6 - Sabres 3: Darroll Powe adds another empty netter at 19:50.
Shots were 14-14 (42-36 Buffalo for the game).
2nd period synopsis
The Flyers kill off the carryover Scott Hartnell penalty. Lots of active sticks in the passing lanes.
Flyers 1 - Sabres 1: Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek moves over the middle to take a pass from Derek Roy. His shot goes off Martin Biron's glove into the net at 3:16. The goal, Spacek's 5th of the season, was assisted by Roy and Toni Lydman. Martin Biron should have had that one.
Flyers 2 - Sabres 1: The Flyers end one of their most dominating shifts of the season with a big goal. After pressing the attack for a solid minute and generating several chances, Braydon Coburn pinches in, takes a feed from Simon Gagne and buries his 6th goal of the season from the slot at 8:57. Mike Richards draws the secondary assist.
Flyers 2 - Sabres 2: Darroll Powe goes off for hooking at 10:13. With a delayed hooking call on Andrew Alberts about to be called in the waning seconds, Spacek buried a shot upstairs over Biron for a powerplay goal at 12:11. Assists to Paul Gaustad and Clarke MacArthur. Buffalo goes right back to the powerplay.
Flyers 3 - Sabres 2: With Alberts still in the box, the Flyers strike for their league-leading 15th shorthanded goal of the season. Richards joins Kimmo Timonen on a counterattack, takes a pass and slides his 21st goal of the season (and sixth shorthander) past Miller at 14:03.
Richards gets a goaltender interference penalty in the crease at 18:42. The sellout crowd boos heavily. The Sabres turn it into another goal.
Flyers 3 - Sabres 3: Drew Stafford slides the puck along the goal line. Biron can't find the handle and Derek Roy stuffs it in at 19:29. Tim Connolly gets the other assist.
Shots were 19-9 Buffalo (28-22 Sabres through two periods). Faceoffs were 13-for-24 Flyers with Mike Richards going a perfect 7-for-7 to run his game total to 14-for-16 through two periods.
1st period synopsis
Martin Biron loses his stick in a scramble around the net in the opening minute. Seconds later, Scottie Upshall breaks out the other way and fires a long range shot that almost handcuffs Ryan Miller.
At the 1:20 mark, Claude Giroux creates a powerplay for the Flyers. Daniel Paille goes off for hooking. The Flyers generate nothing of significance.
Matt Carle makes a strong move pinching in from the point and firing a perfect cross ice pass to Joffrey Lupul for a scoring chance from the right slot. Miller makes the toughest save of the game so far. Shots are 6-1 Flyers through the first six minutes of play.
Simon Gagne can't finish off a point blank chance driving to the right post. He puts the puck into Miller's pads as the goalie quickly gets over.
At 11:23, Claude Giroux makes a slick behind-the-back pass to Kimmo Timonen on the rush. Another great scoring chance, but no goal.
Flyers 1 - Sabres 0: Mike Richards pulls the puck off the right side boards and passes the puck to Arron Asham near the hashmarks. At 12:42, Asham's shot goes off Glen Metropolit and Craig Rivet into the net. Metropolit is credited with his 4th goal of the season. Assists to Asham and Richards.
The Flyers put a couple of solid two-way shifts together following the opening goal.
At the 17:42 mark, Biron gloves a puck in the crease before trouble ensues.
The Sabres press the attack in the final minute of the period. Scott Hartnell takes a roughing penalty at 19:18.
Shots were 13-9 Flyers, chances were 7-4 Flyers. Philly won 13 of 19 faceoffs. Buffalo had 9 giveaways to 6 by Philly. The Sabres blocked 11 shots to 9 by the Flyers.
Preview (7:00 AM, EST)
The Flyers (30-16-9) have had three days off since their convincing road victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday. The team will look to duplicate the effort displayed in that game when it returns home to the Wachovia Center tonight to take on the Buffalo Sabres (30-22-6).
With eight-point gaps separating the Flyers both from the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey Devils and ninth place (i.e., missing the playoffs) in the Eastern Conference, it's imperative that the Flyers make their move to ensure they at least retain their current fourth-seeded position.
The eighth-place Sabres are a team that frequently gives the Flyers fits. Buffalo has won five of its last six road games in Philly. The Sabres have been up-and-down as of late, but they've sandwiched a huge win over San Jose and a 4-1 road win in Toronto around a lackluster home shutout loss to Carolina.
The Flyers have picked up their five-on-five play as of late. That's been a welcomed development, because the powerplay (which carried the team for months) hasn't been clicking of late and the team hasn't even had all that many man-advantage opportunities in a lot of games. Philly has slipped from second in the NHL to fourth overall in powerplay efficiency. The Sabres rank 10th in the NHL in that categories. The teams are tied with each other for sixth overall in penalty killing success.
Martin Biron will be back in goal tonight to take on his ex-teammates. He'll be opposed, as usual, by Ryan Miller.
Flyers players to watch
On the eve of the trade deadline last year, the Flyers were mired in a horrible post-All Star tailspin. Things looked bleak when Philly quickly fell behind in a road tilt in Buffalo.
A dramatic goal by Jeff Carter got the Flyers back on the right track. Carter also scored twice against Buffalo in the clubs' first meeting this season. Tonight would be a good night for him to break out of a recent mini-slump that has seen him score just twice in his last seven games. Carter has three multiple-goal games since New Years but he's also been held without a goal in 14 of the 18 games played since the calendar turned to 2009.
In addition to Carter, it will be interesting to see if rookie Claude Giroux continues his excellent recent play. Giroux was outstanding in both the Islanders and Rangers games over the weekend.
Sabres players to watch
With leading scorer Thomas Vanek sidelined by a broken jaw, the Sabres will need other players to spark the offense. Leading assist man Derek Roy has just five points (1 G, 4 A) in his last 10 games.
Of late, Drew Stafford has been the Buffalo player carrying the load offensively. He has eight goals in his last 11 games, including a pair of tallies in Tuesday's 4-1 win in Toronto.
Flyers lines (Subject to change)
Gagne - Richards - Knuble
Hartnell - Carter - Lupul
Upshall - Giroux - Powe
Cote - Metropolit - Asham
Timonen - Parent
Coburn - Carle
Jones - Alberts
Biron
[Niittymaki]
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