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The Philadelphia Flyers continued their six-game homestand Wednesday night with a matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. Sam Ersson got the start in net. Nicolas Deslauriers and Egor Zamula were inserted into the lineup, and Noah Juulsen became a healthy scratch. The Flyers managed to bounce back hugely after taking down the Sabres five to two. They scored three goals in 59 seconds after going down a goal early. Unfortunately, they lost Cam York to injury in the second. The orange and black improved to 15-8-3 on the season.
The Sabres got the game’s first power play at the 3:20 mark of the first period as Cam York got called for delay of game (puck over glass). They capitalized on the opportunity thanks to Jason Zucker. Josh Doan, from below the goal line, fed Zucker with a pass to the slot, and he put a snap shot through the legs of Ersson. Doan and Josh Norris tallied assists.
Matvei Michkov was called for interference at the 4:38 mark of the first, which gave the Sabres their second power play. Norris missed a shot just wide, and Ersson made a save on Doan. The game went to four-on-four as Tage Thompson got called for hooking at the 5:30 mark. The Flyers ultimately got a two-man advantage as Connor Timmins was called for cross-checking at the 6:46 mark.
Travis Konecny tied the game up at one on the power play after the two-man advantage ended. His wrist shot from the blue line went past the blocker of Sabres goaltender Colten Ellis. Ellis was heavily screened in front. Michkov and Travis Sanheim picked up assists.
The Sabres challenged the goal for goaltender interference and were wrong. This gave the Flyers their third power play. They’d capitalize once again as Trevor Zegras’ pass attempt went off the leg of Ryan McLeod and through the legs of Ellis. Sanheim and Konecny were given assists. This gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead.
The Flyers went up 3-1 at the 9:25 mark of the first period courtesy of Bobby Brink. Ellis made the initial save on Noah Cates but allowed a rebound. Brink collected the rebound and put a wrist shot into a wide-open net. Assists were given to Cates and Nikita Grebenkin.
Rodrigo Abols got called for tripping at the 17:19 mark of the first, which gave the Sabres their third power play. The Flyers did a great job of blocking shots and clearing the puck down the ice. Sanheim had a scoring chance while shorthanded, but Ellis made the save.
The Flyers went on their fourth power play at the 19:40 mark of the first period as Peyton Krebs was called for high-sticking. Ellis had to make a huge save on Cates from in tight, and the Sabres did a nice job of getting into shooting lanes to block shots.
Cates gave the Flyers a 4-1 lead at the 1:45 mark of the second period. This was just after the power play expired. Brink fed him with a pass in front of the net, and Cates put a snap shot past Ellis. Brink and Jamie Drysdale tallied assists.
The Sabres got their fourth power play at the 9:24 mark of the second as Deslauriers, Garnet Hathaway and Josh Dunne were all called for roughing. Ersson had to make three big saves and got lucky with the puck loose underneath him, but the whistle blew. Doan shot the puck wide, so it wouldn’t have counted.
Bowen Byram got the Sabres within two at the 11:48 mark of the second period. Alex Tuch slid the puck to the left circle, and Byram put a wrist shot over the glove of Ersson. Tuch and Jack Quinn picked up assists. 4-2 Flyers.
The Flyers went up 5-2 at the 12:43 mark of the second thanks to Owen Tippett. Michkov, from below the goal line, found Tippett in the low slot, and he batted the puck off the back of Ellis and into the net. Michkov and Sean Couturier were given assists.
Rasmus Dahlin was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct at the 16:50 mark of the second period. This gave the Flyers their fifth power play. They managed to record four shots on goal, and the Sabres had a chance while shorthanded, but they just couldn’t get anything past Ellis.
Sanheim got called for holding at the 2:46 mark of the third period, which gave the Sabres their fifth power play. Ersson only had to make one save, and the Flyers did their job of clearing the puck down the ice to waste time.
The Sabres went on their sixth power play at the 6:21 mark of the third as Michkov was called for tripping. The Flyers didn’t give the Sabres anything to work with as they got into shooting lanes and blocked a few shots. No shots on net were recorded.
Flyers went two for five on the power play and killed off five of the six Sabres’ man advantages.
Ersson saved 27 of 29 shots, giving him a .931 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Zucker (8) (Power Play) Assists: Doan (11), Norris (2)
Konecny (6) (Power Play) Assists: Michkov (7), Sanheim (8)
Zegras (10) (Power Play) Assists: Sanheim (9), Konecny (16)
Brink (7) Assists: Cates (9), Grebenkin (3)
2nd Period:
Cates (6) Assists: Brink (5), Drysdale (9)
Byram (6) Assists: Tuch (15), Quinn (9)
Tippett (9) Assists: Michkov (8), Couturier (12)
3rd Period:
No goals
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Flyers next game is Sunday, Dec 9, in Philadelphia against the Colorado Avalanche.
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