Flyers visit the Sabres in second of back-to-back

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Flyers' Morgan Frost
Flyers’ Morgan Frost (Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre)

After a thrashing from the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, the Philadelphia Flyers will be back in action tonight, traveling to take on the Buffalo Sabres for the first time this season.

The Flyers ‘self-destructed’ against the Maple Leafs. Falling 6-2, they were outplayed from the get-go but managed to gain some steam at points. Toronto took advantage of a depleted defense, hampered by a poor performance by Tony DeAngelo.

Against the Sabres, Philadelphia faces another test tonight.

Buffalo Sabres (20-15-2)

Buffalo is a hot topic this season. Four points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, players like Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson are taking the NHL by storm. The Sabres are amidst a strong turnaround season, chasing a playoff berth.

Thompson (31G, 25A) is having an electric season. He turned into an elite forward in the NHL, ranking third in goals scored and fifth in overall points. He is 6’6″ and 220lbs; an unstoppable force for opposing defenses.

Dahlin (+16, 65BLK, 28GV, 56.6%CF) is a star on the blue line. He registered five points (2G, 3A) versus the Minnesota Wild. In terms of points production, Dahlin is an elite defenseman. His 44 points (12G, 32A) ranks third of NHL defensemen.

Here’s the tentative lineup for Buffalo, per WGR 550:

Skinner-Thompson-Tuch
Peterka-Cozens-Quinn
Mittelstadt-Jost-Olofsson
Girgensons-Krebs-Okposo

Dahlin-Samuelsson
Power-Clague
Bryson-Lyubushkin

Anderson
(Luukkonen)

Philadelphia Flyers (15-18-7)

The Flyers aren’t bursting like the Sabres; but their young talent is beginning to find an edge.

Returning home, Morgan Frost (8G, 11A) tallied four assists versus the Arizona Coyotes. Last night, he lost his mojo along with a couple of turnovers versus Toronto. During the four-game win streak, Frost looked like he began to find his confidence. Working through mistakes, John Tortorella is putting Frost into more scenarios to make a difference:

“Okay, it’s not going your way, find a way to make a difference here in the third period. This is part of the process for some of our guys that have to go through it. I kept on throwing him out there.”

John Tortorella; 1/8/2023

Cam York (+8, 18BLK, 4GV, 52.7%CF) continues to develop along the Flyers’ blue line. He didn’t contribute on the powerplay versus the Maple Leafs, but attempted three shots from the point to go along with two hits. Before last night, York had a three-game assist streak. Since recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, York tallied eight points (1G, 7A) in thirteen games.

Samuel Ersson (3-0-0, 2.9GAA, 90.5%SV) will likely start. Carter Hart allowed six goals last night in an overall difficult loss. Tortorella didn’t consider pulling the netminder and Hart didn’t elect to speak with the media following the contest.

Here’s the tentative lineup for Philadelphia:

van Riemsdyk-Frost-Tippett
Farabee-Cates, N-Konecny
Hayes-Laughton-Allison
Deslauriers-Brown-MacEwen

Provorov-York
Sanheim-DeAngelo
Seeler-Ristolainen

Ersson
(Hart)

Place Your Bets

Buffalo Sabres moneyline (-245)
Philadelphia Flyers moneyline (+198)
Tage Thompson goal scorer (-114)
Morgan Frost over 0.5 power play points (+470)

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Game Information

You can watch the Philadelphia Flyers take on the Buffalo Sabres on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The radio broadcast is available on 97.5 the Fanatic and Flyers Radio 24/7. The puck drops at the KeyBank Center at 7pm.

(Photo Credit/Alex McIntyre)