Update 11:30 AM EST
So much for my thought that Sergei Bobrovsky would get the start tonight because the Flyers are playing Pittsburgh tomorrow night. Ilya Bryzgalov is in goal tonight. He just played back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.
Also, per Tim Panaccio and the Daily News' Frank Seravalli, it looks like Brayden Schenn (who was shaken up last game but returned to the ice and practiced yesterday after taking a maintenance day on Monday) will be out tonight. Max Talbot moves back up to the third line and Harry Zolnierczyk remains in the lineup.
PREVIEW 10:30 AM EST
Coming off back-to-back road wins to start the month of December, the Flyers (15-7-3) return to action tonight after a three-night layoff. They will travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres (14-11-1) in a nationally televised game on Versus. Start time is 7:30 p.m. EST.
The game is second of four meetings between the teams this season. This is the second and final game in Buffalo.
On Nov. 2, the Flyers built up an early 3-0 lead on goals by Sean Couturier, James van Riemsdyk and Scott Hartnell to chase Ryan Miller from the net after just 6:23. Philadelphia did a poor job of protecting the lead in the second and third periods, barely hanging on to win, 3-2. Ilya Bryzgalov played a strong bounceback game in goal following his disastrous relief appearance in the Flyers' 9-8 loss to Winnipeg. Buffalo agitator Patrick Kaleta was suspended four games for head butting Jakub Voracek during that game.
The Flyers enter this game with the NHL's best road record. After a substantial run of futility, they've had good success winning in Buffalo the last few years. The Flyers have posted an 8-1-2 mark -- including playoffs -- in the most recent 11 games between the clubs at the First Niagara Center (formerly HSBC Arena).
With the Flyers playing again tomorrow night -- taking on the Atlantic Division leading Pittsburgh Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center -- there is a chance that Sergei Bobrovsky will start in net tonight for the Flyers. He has played very well of late but is now a week-and-a-half removed from his last outing.
Philly's power play struggled horribly through the first three weeks of December but started to come around just before Thanksgiving and was red hot in the games in Anaheim and Phoenix over the weekend. As a result, the club has brought its season success percentage back up to the 20% benchmark. The Sabres, however, are generally a good penalty killing team (86.6 percent). Buffalo's power play checks in an ordinary 17% success rate while Philly's PK has run hot-and-cold this year and enters the game at 83.6 percent.
James van Riemsdyk (slight abdominal muscle tear) missed last week's games but is slated to return to the lineup tonight. Andrej Meszaros (bruised shoulder) returned to practiced yesterday and is also slated to play. Likewise, Brayden Schenn (upper body) and Danny Briere (illness) should both be in the lineup tonight.
Philly is still without Chris Pronger (LTIR, arthroscopic knee surgery) and Andreas Lilja (LTIR, high ankle sprain). Matt Walker is available on defense and Harry Zolnierczyk and Jody Shelley are the extra forwards.
Somewhat overshadowed by the Jordin Tootoo-Miller incident in the Sabres last game is the fact that Buffalo defeated the Nashville Predators, 3-2. The Sabres had lost five of their previous six games.
The Sabres have an extensive injury list of their own. Tyler Myers, Mike Weber and Brad Boyes are all on injured reserve, while both Paul Gaustad (likely out for tonight) and Jochen Hecht (expected to play) got hurt in the Nashville game. Pesky little Nathan Gerbe also got hurt into the last game (facial cuts) but is expected to play tonight, along with the returning Cody McCormick (concussion). Defenseman Jordan Leopold (upper body) is out.
Jason Pominville leads the Sabres in overall scoring this season (9 goals, 27 points). Thomas Vanek is the top goal-scorer with 12 tallies but has scored just once in the last 10 games and is pointless in Buffalo's last two. The struggles of ex-Flyer Ville Leino this season (2 goals, 9 points in 26 games) have been well publicized but he has looked to finally be settling in of late, with two helpers in the last game and points in three of the team's last four games.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
Hartnell - Giroux - Jagr
JVR - Briere - Simmonds
Read - Talbot - Voracek
Zolnierczyk - Couturier - Rinaldo
Timonen - Coburn
Carle — Mezaros/ Bourdon
Marshall/Bourdon — Meszaros
Bryzgalov
[Bobrovsky]
SABRES
Vanek - Hecht - Pominville
Ennis - Roy - Stafford
Leino - Adam - Kassian
Gerbe - McCormick - Ellis
Regehr - Sekera
Gragnani - Ehrhoff
Finley - McNabb
Miller
[Enroth]
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