The Philadelphia Flyers bounced back with a 3-0 shutout win over the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
After giving up six goals last night, the Flyers played a more physical & defensive 1st period tonight. Outhitting the Sabres 11-3 & getting four huge saves in tight by Brian Elliott to keep the game scoreless. Both Elliott & Sabres Carter Hutton stopping all 11-shots they faced.
The Flyers would control the first half of the 2nd period. Outshooting the Sabres 8-3 over the first 10-minutes of the 2nd period and almost getting the game’s first goal. Carter Hutton would rob James van Riemsdyk, who had a wide-open net. But, Hutton would make the highlight reel save.
Brian Elliott would then keep the game tied for the Flyers. After a careless & weak penalty by Jake Voracek, the Sabres would outshoot the Flyers 10-0 over the next 7:16. Including robbing Taylor Hall in tight twice.
Travis Konecny would score on the Flyers first shot after the Sabres pressure. Nolan Patrick would win a board battle and drop the puck for Oskar Lindblom. Lindblom would then send a cross-ice pass perfectly off the boards to Konecny. Konecny would undress Carter Hutton and beat him five-hole for his league-leading 4th goal of the season.
The Flyers would continue their great defensive game in the 3rd period. Brian Elliott would start the period stopping all 9-shots he faced in the first 10-minutes. The Flyers would give Elliott great support by blocking 5-shots as well.
With 6:17 left, Jake Voracek would get his 1st on the season & give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. Kevin Hayes would setup Voracek perfectly on the 2v1 for the goal.
Kevin Hayes would then ice the game with a 200-foot empty net goal with 1:42 left.
Brian Elliott would stop all 40 shots to earn the shutout and his first win of the season.
Loose Pucks…
– Just when you thought the Flyers couldn’t lose any more players to injuries, they lost two more. Phil Myers would leave during the 1st period & not return. Myers was injured by a hit that looked very similar to the hit that injured Sean Couturier. Morgan Frost would leave during the 2nd period & not return. Frost was injured on a hit behind the net that seemed looked harmless. But, Frost left holding his left arm. Both will have MRIs tomorrow per Alain Vigneault.
– After an “embarrassing” performance described by head coach Alain Vigneault, the Flyers played their best defensive game so far this season. The Flyers played much better at even strength & were smarter with their decisions with the puck.
– In their first game together, the Flyers new top defense pair, Ivan Provorov & Travis Sanheim, had a debut to remember. With Phil Myers missing the final two periods, head coach Alain Vigneault relied on Provorov & Sanheim to shutdown the Sabres. Provorov finished with 27:02TOI (18:47 over final two periods) +2, 3-shots, 3-hits, & 5-blocks. Sanheim finished with 25:13TOI (18:11 over final two periods) +1, 1-shot, 4-hits, & 1-block.
– The one constant over the Flyers success last season was their ability to bounce back. Over the final 27-games, the Flyers did not lose back-to-back games. After the Flyers worst lost under head coach Alain Vigneault last night, the Flyers bounced back, just like last season, with a dominating 3-0 win.
– When Kevin Hayes scores, the Flyers win. Since signing with the Flyers last offseason, the Flyers are 24-0-1 in games when Hayes scores.
Result : Flyers 3 – Sabres 0 , WIN
Record : 3 – 1 – 0
Next Game : 1/21 Boston Bruins, Boston MA, 7:00pm
Photo Credit : Drew Hallowell – Getty Images
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