The Philadelphia Flyers took on the Buffalo Sabres at Key Bank Arena Thursday night in their third game of a four-game road trip. Sam Ersson got the start in net, and there were no changes to the lineup. They’d yet again allow the first goal but responded quickly after. After dominating the Sabres in the first period, the Flyers fell apart in the second and third. The orange and black’s point streak ended and they dropped to 17-10-6 on the season.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play just 18 seconds into the game as Rasmus Dahlin was called for hooking. They didn’t capitalize on their first opportunity, but they missed on a few shots just wide, and Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon had to make a big save on Sean Couturier.
Jack Quinn gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at the 7:40 mark of the first period. He deflected Mattias Samuelsson’s shot from the blue line past the glove of Ersson. Samuelsson and Zach Benson tallied assists.
Noah Cates tied the game up at one for the Flyers at the 8:38 mark of the first. Bobby Brink fed him with a backhanded pass from the left circle, and Cates put a snapshot past the glove of Lyon from the slot. Brink received the only assist.
The Sabres got their first power play at the 19:23 mark of the first period as Travis Konecny got called for hooking. Ersson came up with a huge save on Benson before the first period ended, and the Flyers did a nice job of clearing the puck down the ice when given the chance.
Alex Tuch was called for tripping at the 4:52 mark of the second period. This gave the Flyers their second power play. They spent the majority of the time in the offensive zone but couldn’t get any pucks past Lyon. Lyon did, however, have to make big saves on multiple Flyers.
The Sabres got their second power play at the 7:42 mark of the second as Rasmus Ristolainen got called for cross-checking. The Flyers were able to clear the puck down the ice multiple times, and Ersson made two easy saves. Josh Doan fanned on a shot in the slot as well.
The Flyers took a 2-1 lead at the 11:01 mark of the second period courtesy of Cam York. He took a pass from Trevor Zegras, who was at the point, and put a wrist shot over the glove of Lyon from the right circle. Zegras and Brink picked up assists.
Matvei Michkov got called for tripping at the 11:18 mark of the second, which gave the Sabres their third power play. The Sabres didn’t record any shots on net, and the Flyers got into shooting lanes to block shots.
Tage Thompson tied the game up at two for the Sabres at the 16:54 mark of the second period. Dahlin made a between-the-legs backwards pass to the slot, and Thompson put a wrist shot off the far post and in past Ersson. Dahlin was given the only assist.
The Sabres took a 3-2 lead at the 19:30 mark of the second thanks to Noah Ostlund. He took a pass from Owen Power and put a wrist shot past the glove of Ersson from the high slot. Assists went to Power and Tuch.
Brink was called for high-sticking at the 10:02 mark of the third period. This gave the Sabres their fourth power play. They’d capitalize as Benson found Josh Norris all alone at the right circle, and he put a wrist shot past Ersson. Benson received the lone assist. This gave the Sabres a 4-2 lead.
Konecny got the Flyers within one at the 14:28 mark of the third. Andrae, from the blue line, made a pass to Konecny, who was in the slot, and he put a wrist shot past the blocker of Lyon. Andrae and Jamie Drysdale were given assists. 4-3 Sabres.
The Sabres went on their fifth power play at the 15:19 mark of the third period when Zegras got called for hooking. Ersson made a few saves on Norris and Doan, and the Flyers did a nice job of blocking shots and clearing the puck.
The Flyers received their third power play at the 17:41 mark of the third as Samuelsson was called for delay of game (puck over glass). The Sabres didn’t give the Flyers anything to work with as they blocked most of the shot attempts. They’d pull Ersson with 1:34 left in the period while still on the power play, but couldn’t capitalize.
Just after the power play expired, Ryan McLeod scored an empty-netter to give the Sabres a 5-3 lead. He took a pass from Samuelsson and put a wrist shot into the empty net. Samuelsson was given the only assist.
Flyers went zero for three on the power play but killed off four of the five Sabres’ man advantages.
Ersson saved 23 of 27 shots, giving him a .852 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Quinn (7) Assists: Samuelsson (8), Benson (12)
Cates (8) Assists: Brink (7)
2nd Period:
York (2) Assists: Zegras (20), Brink (8)
Thompson (17) Assists: Dahlin (23)
Ostlund (5) Assists: Power (6), Tuch (18)
3rd Period:
Norris (3) (Power Play) Assists: Benson (13)
Konecny (10) Assists: Drysdale (12), Andrae (8)
McLeod (6) (Empty Net) Assists: Samuelsson (9)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Saturday, Dec. 20, in New York against the Rangers.
About Author
