The Philadelphia Flyers ended a 2-game losing streak Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Beating the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 in a shootout.
After a shaky first shift, the Flyers top line would take over. James van Riemsdyk, Sean Couturier, & Joel Farabee would win a couple board battles in the Sabres zone on their first shift. Which would lead to the the opening goal.
Sean Couturier would win a board battle & get the puck to Joel Farabee. Who would fire a pass across the ice to James van Riemsdyk. Who would beat Jonas Johansson high for the goal just 1:56 into the game.
But, the Flyers defensive woes would continue & the Sabres would score three-goals over the next 15-minutes of play.
Sam Reinhart would get his first on the night. Reinhart would beat Carter Hart high over the glove from the left dot after a perfect feed from Taylor Hall in the corner.
Riley Sheahan would give the Sabres the lead just over 5-minutes later. Sheahan would ram home a rebound after Eric Staal walked in alone from the corner. Staal would be poke-checked by Carter hart. But, the puck would deflect off of Kevin Hayes’s leg & right to Sheahan for the goal.
Then, 12:06 after his 1st goal, Sam Reinhart would get his second on the night & 1st period. Taylor Hall would once again find Reinhart. This time in the high slot for the goal. Travis Konecny stood in-front of Reinhart & did not play the puck or Reinhart. Who would beat Carter Hart once again high over the glove.
Alain Vigneault’s message during the 1st intermission was well received by the Flyers. Who would cut the Sabres lead in half 2:58 into the 2nd period.
Scott Laughton would make a nice through-the-legs move to get around a Sabres defender & would fire a pass cross-ice to Kevin Hayes. Who would go bar-down and beat Jonas Johansson.
But, the Flyers would give it back three minutes later.
After a long shift, Oskar Lindblom, Claude Giroux, & Jake Voracek would get pinned in their own zone & Buffalo would make them pay. Brandon Montour’s shot would elevate off of Shayne Gostisbehere’s stick & beat Brian Elliott high over the blocker.
Just like Sunday’s game vs the Capitals, it would be another 2nd period slew of penalties. However, tonight, it would lead to a Flyers goal.
Claude Giroux would cut the lead in half just 5-seconds after the Flyers third power-play expired. Jake Voracek would somehow thread the needle to Giroux from behind the net. Who would deflect it by Jonas Johansson for the goal.
The Flyers would completely control the 3rd period with extended offensive zone time & a great forecheck. And, with 5:46 left in the game, they would be rewarded on the power-play.
Shayne Gostisbehere would wire home a point shot to tie the game. Gostisbehere would be fed by Sean Couturier. Who won another board battle.
But, a late Flyers penalty stalled their chances of winning in regulation. Which a big Ivan Provorov block with 10-seconds left on the penalty kill kept the game tied.
In overtime, it would be the Sabres who would stall. Controlling the puck for a stretch of over 2-minutes where they would take the puck in & pull it right back out of the Flyers zone.
After no goals in overtime, the Flyers would win in a shootout. Sean Couturier & Nolan Patrick would both score as Brian Elliott stopped both Sabres attempts.
Carter Hart stopped 5 of the 8 shots he faced in the 1st period. In relief of Hart, Brian Elliott stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced, including both shootout attempts, to earn the win.
Loose Pucks…
– Claude Giroux’s goal with 4:55 left in the 2nd period cut the Sabres lead to one & set-up a big comeback for the Flyers in the 3rd period. It was Giroux’s 3rd goal in his last 4-games. Since returning from the covid list, Giroux has 3-goals & 4-assists in 8-games.
– “Its shitty right now, I’m not myself,” goalie Carter Hart said after being pulled after allowing 3-goals on 8-shots in the 1st period. Two of the three goals were not Hart’s fault. But, right now, Hart seems to be dealing with some confidence issues. Which is just growing pains, especially with Hart being only 22-years-old.
– The Flyers power-play got the all important tying goal tonight. After a stretch of 2-goals in their last 29-opportunities, the power-play changed the game for the Flyers. Ending a stretch of no-goals in their last 10-attempts.
– With Sam Reinhart’s 1st goal at the 15:27 of the 1st period, the Flyers shutout streak over the Sabres ended. The Flyers held the Sabres scoreless for a total of 185:44 over their past five meetings. Which set a new record for the Flyers for longest shutout streak against one team.
Result : Flyers 5 – Sabres 4 , WIN (shootout)
Record : 13 – 7 – 3
Next Game : 3/11 Washington Capitals, Philadelphia PA, 7:00pm
Photo Credit : Tim Nwachukwu – Getty Images
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