Philadelphia Flyers Desperate For Points, Change
By Tim Redinger
Today the Buffalo Sabres face off against an opponent they have not seen so far this season, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sabres are on one of the worst losing streaks in the history of the franchise, with the losses piling up to nine, and the team not having won since the calendar turned to 2015.
The last time the Sabres won was their only victory in the last 30 days – the first game out of the Christmas Break against the New York Islanders. Tonight’s opponent hasn’t had much luck either, coming into First Niagara Center tonight the Philadelphia Flyers are on a two game losing streak themselves. What the opponents have done lately have not mattered much before facing off against the Sabres. The Minnesota Wild limped into Buffalo before scoring a touchdown against the Sabres, to include the extra point.
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The Flyers sit thirteen points outside of the playoff bubble, and will need a miracle of sorts to get back into that conversation.
The Sabres and Flyers have been a rivalry in the past, so two down trodden teams could be in for a fist fight tonight to try and get something started. What is interesting is this author doesn’t feel that their is a rivalry between the two teams. Have the Buffalo Sabres become that irrelevant that no ones considers them in the rivalry picture anymore?
Instead of trying to figure out things for this year, it seems the Philadelphia Flyers are looking towards the future, giving Lehigh goaltender Rob Zepp an extended tryout to step in as the clubs backup goaltender of the future. Ray Emery’s days could be numbered in Philly as the fan-base is not happy with the level of win on the current roster. While minor roster changes are being made in Buffalo a the losing continues, Philadelphia is looking at replacing payers mid-season.
Why is Zepp wearing the highest jersey number in the history of the franchise? I use to be a traditionalist when it came to jersey numbers, the Sabres have rolled out so many high jersey sweaters that I am immune to seeing those type numbers on sweaters anymore. Zepp could be the starter against the Sabres tonight, in favor of Ray Emery in the absence of Steve Mason; who can’t seem to stay healthy this year.
Sabres fans are familiar with Ray Emery, who could finally be seeing the end of his career in the NHL. In his tenth NHL season and his second stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, Emery is having his worst season since joining the league. All time his numbers are impressive, 135 wins in 256 NHL contests, but being behind a bad Flyers team doesn’t seem to be helping the 32 year old goaltender.
The outcome of the Flyers vs Sabres game tonight won’t just end one of the teams losing streaks, it will also end a goal scoring drought for one of the teams, or both. The Philadelphia Flyers haven’t scored a goal since Monday night when they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3. Their last two games have been shutout losses. The Sabres have only scored one goal in their last two contests.