After putting up over 50 shots in last night’s game, the Buffalo Sabres return home to face the Philadelphia Flyers for the second time in four days.
It’s one of nine games on tap for the NHL this evening, and marks the second of three meetings between the teams this season. After tonight, they won’t see each other again until mid-February.
Last time the teams faced off, the Buffalo Sabres came out on top to capture their third win of the season, a 4-3 overtime victory over the Flyers.
It was also the team’s first road win of the season, but they’ll now return home before heading to Brooklyn to face the New York Islanders on Sunday at Barclays Center.
Tyler Ennis, Jake McCabe, Jamie McGinn and Zemgus Girgensons all scored for the Sabres in the last meeting with the Flyers. Chad Johnson had 30 saves. Meanwhile, Chris VandeVelde and Brayden Schenn (2) scored for the Flyers.
The Sabres managed to put up 40 shots on goal.
Thursday night, the Sabres put up 53 shots. Shooting is one place where the Sabres certainly aren’t struggling this season. Who else can recall games last year where the team struggled to put up even 15 shots in a game?
Look at it this way: through the first ten games of the 2015-2016 NHL season, the Buffalo Sabres have registered 336 shots on goal, averaging 33.6 shots per game. Last season through ten games, the Sabres had registered only 218 shots, an average of 21.8 shots per game.
They’ve registered at least 25 shots in every game this season, notching 30+ shots in six games. Last season in the first ten, they registered 25+ shots in four games, breaching the 30-shot mark just once. Three of those games saw less than 20 shots (12, 15, 10).
To say that’s an improvement would be a vast understatement.
Without further ado, here are the updated Fan Chatter standings. These are updated to include both Tuesday’s and Thursday’s game.
And here are today’s Fan Chatter picks!
1. We’ll ask the same question as last time: how many penalty minutes will there be in tonight’s Sabres/Flyers game? Most answers on Tuesday were VASTLY overestimated (rightfully so, due to the general animosity between the two teams). 10 points if you’re correct.
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2. Jack Eichel still has yet to register an NHL assist. Will he get one tonight? Five points if you’re right.
3. How many shots will Flyers captain Claude Giroux put up? Ten points for this one.
4. Guess how many shots the Buffalo Sabres will register in tonight’s game. We’ll give you that many points if you get it correct.
5. How many total hits will the Buffalo Sabres have in tonight’s game? Fifteen points for the right answer.
6. Your bonus question: What will Ryan O’Reilly‘s faceoff win percentage be in tonight’s game?
Make your picks ahead of tonight’s 7 p.m. puck drop between the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers at First Niagara Center!
Next: O'Reilly Awaits Court Date
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