As the Buffalo Sabres ended their series with the Islanders on Sunday and dropped three straight 5-2 decisions on Long Island, they entered last night’s matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers looking to end their seven-game slide. Entering this matchup with a 1-3 record against the Flyers this year, the Sabres were in dire need of a win to create momentum within the locker room. While it took until the shootout, the Sabres fell to the Flyers, 5-4 for their eighth straight loss.
Although the Sabres have only won two games since returning to play, they started the game strong. Despite the Flyers opening the scoring just under two minutes into the game, and their trend of trailing early continued, Buffalo responded fast. Sam Reinhart scored two of his team’s three unanswered goals in the opening period, resulting in a two-goal lead after twenty minutes of play.
Their early struggles saw Philadelphia replace Carter Hart for Brian Elliot in goal to start the second, and they responded as Kevin Hayes scored early in the period to bring his team within one. However, after being helped off the ice at the end of the first period, Brandon Montour scored his first goal of the year at the 6:20 mark to continue Buffalo’s strong night of offense, especially at even strength.
While the power play’s recent struggles continued in this game, the penalty kill unit kept the opposition in check throughout, until a questionable penalty call against Jeff Skinner put the Flyers on the power-play late in the third. Shayne Gostisbehere would take advantage to even the score on their fourth attempt with the man advantage as just over five minutes remained in regulation and would force the game into extra time.
After earning a career-high 40 saves in Sunday’s loss to the Islanders, Jonas Johansson got the nod in goal once again, stopping 29 of 33 shots faced. As the game went into OT, both teams had multiple chances to win, and the Flyers had opportunities to close the game out, but Johansson and Montour made stops that kept the game tied and forced a shootout.
Although Philadelphia won, it was a better performance by the Sabres compared to recent games. If they continue playing to this level, they are capable of winning hockey games at a more consistent rate in the future. Despite Johansson’s best efforts and the Sabres scoring four goals, the shots on goal finished in Philadelphia’s favor 33-20, and being outscored 4-1 after the first period were factors in the loss for Buffalo.
After a long road trip, the Sabres will return home for their first contest of the year against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop is set for 7 pm on Thursday, as Buffalo looks to use this performance as motivation to end this losing streak as they begin a three-game homestand.