The Philadelphia Flyers are in kind of a funky situation right now. They are too far gone to make the playoffs, minus some incredible miraculous run and series of disasters for every other team ahead of them. At the same time, they have played too well to have a reasonable shot at getting the top draft pick.
The Flyers have lost four games in a row. Their last game saw Ivan Barbashev lead the way to a Vegas victory; their first game in a seven game homestand. Next up are the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are on the outside looking in, when it comes to the playoffs. A win against the Flyers will help their chances but a Philly victory will make their efforts that much harder.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 25-31-11 (61 points, 7th in Metro)
The last time these two teams met, the Flyers shut down the Sabres 4-0 with Samuel Ersson in the net. Zack MacEwen, Joel Farabee, Noah Cates, and Wade Allison provided the offensive punch for the Flyers.
March has not been kind to the Flyers. Goals have been as scarce as toilet paper in the spring of 2020. The team has scored nine total goals across six games. That’s not good. That’s also taking into consideration they scored three goals against Vegas earlier this week. Their defense isn’t horrific, but they can’t keep allowing other teams to tee off with 30+ shots a night on the goalies. Likewise, they are starting to put shots on net. They just need a way to get them to go in.
Projected Lineup
Joel Farabee — Kevin Hayes — Owen Tippett
Scott Laughton — Noah Cates — Tyson Foerster
James van Riemsdyk — Morgan Frost — Brendan Lemieux
Nicolas Deslauriers — Tanner Laczynski –Wade Allison
Ivan Provorov — Cam York
Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler — Tony DeAngelo
Carter Hart
Buffalo Sabres
Record: 33-28-5 (71 points, 5th in Atlantic)
This team is like the Flyers in many respects. Buffalo is a young team that is on the rise, provided they can keep it together. They have some young, dynamic talent, but at the same time, they are not quite all there yet. They have some growing up to do. They have the fifth best power play in the league but the second worst penalty kill.
Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner, and Alex Tuch are the leading forwards for this team. Ramus Dahlin is a beast on defense and provides the sort of offense/defense skills we wish to see in Tony DeAngelo and Rasmus Ristolainen.
The Sabres have been inconsistent as of late. They are running out of time if they want to make the playoffs. What is in their favor is that they have played a game or two less than some of the teams above them.
Projected Lineup
Jeff Skinner — Tage Thompson — Alex Tuch
Victor Olofsson — Dylan Cozens — Jack Quinn
Casey Mittelstadt — Peyton Krebs — Jordan Greenway
Zemgus Girgensons — Vinnie Hinostroza — Kyle Okposo
Rasmus Dahlin — Jacob Bryson
Owen Power — Henri Jokiharju
Riley Stillman — Ilya Lyubushkin
Craig Anderson
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: FuboTV
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