The Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers resume their back to back weekend set Sunday Afternoon, with Buffalo looking to end the weekend on a positive note. The Flyers came out Saturday afternoon and simply took control of the game, notching a 3-0 shutout victory on the heels of a good performance from goaltender Brian Elliott.
With Carter Hart being announced as Philadelphia’s starter for today’s game, Buffalo is hoping they can channel some of the offense they created last time they faced Hart. Buffalo chased Hart from the net, putting four goals behind him in a 6-1 victory on January 18th. Sam Reinhart bagged a pair of goals, while Jack Eichel and Taylor Hall recorded three assists each.
Expected Lines:
Buffalo Sabres
Olofsson-Lazar/Eichel*-Reinhart
Hall-Staal-Cozens
Rieder-Eakin-Okposo
Skinner-Mittelstadt-Sheahan
Dahlin – Montour
Irwin-Ristolainen
Davidson-Jokiharju
Johansson
*Eichel — game time decision
Philadelphia Flyers
Van Riemsdyk-Couturier-Farabee
Giroux-Hayes-Patrick
Raffl-Bunnaman-Aube-Kubel
Morin-Andreoff-Twarynski
Provorov-Gostisbehere
Sanheim-Myers
Hagg-Gustafsson
Hart (Confirmed)
News and Notes:
-The Flyers announced goaltender Carter Hart will get the start this afternoon. Hart has struggled so far this season, recording a 3.68 GAA and a .891 SV%. Buffalo needs their offensive stars to have a breakout game, if there’s any hope left for a miracle playoff berth.
-Brandon Davidson and Matt Irwin will take the place of Jacob Bryson and Colin Miller on defense.
-Buffalo has not fared overly well when it comes to back to back sets so far in 2021. They currently hold a record of 2-4-0 in the first game, and 1-4-0 in the second game. Those numbers need to see a dramatic improvement, if they plan on making a push up the East Division standings.
-Jack Eichel is a game-time decision per Coach Krueger after suffering a minor, lower-body injury last week. Eichel has two goals and 14 points in 16 games this season.
-The Athletic Minnesota writer Michael Russo mentioned the Wild may place goaltender Alex Stalock on waivers today, as he works his way back from an upper body injury. With Sabres G Linus Ullmark out for the foreseeable future, it will be interesting to see if Buffalo puts a claim on Stalock, if he reaches waivers.
Stalock officially on Waivers, per Elliotte Freidman:
Prediction:
The Sabres need to find a way to make up some ground in the East Division, and fast. If they still have any hope of competing for a playoff spot this season, they’ll have to string together a bunch of wins, and can start that today versus Philadelphia.
Look for Buffalo to rely heavily on their League-best powerplay Sunday afternoon, as it seems to be the catalyst in having any successful results lately. Victor Olofsson will notch yet another powerplay goal, and the Sabres will come out of the weekend series versus the Flyers with a split, taking this contest 2-1.
