UPDATE 12:30 PM
Carter Hart will get the start in goal, per Alain Vigneault. Michael Raffl remains out with a hand injury but no fracture was found. He officially remains day-to-day. The Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes lines will remain the same as on Sunday but there are potential "moving parts" elsewhere in the lineup.
Jack Eichel (upper-body injury) is unavailable to play tonight, per the Sabres.
Lineups will updated after pregame warmups.
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GAME 23: FLYERS vs. SABRES
Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (12-7-3) are home on Tuesday to take on Ralph Krueger's Buffalo Sabres (6-14-3) at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on NBCSP.
The Flyers are 3-1-0 against the Sabres with shutout victories (3-0, 3-0, 3-0) in each of the last three meetings after the Sabres skated to a 6-1 blowout win in Philadelphia on Jan. 18.
Flyers Outlook
Since the Flyers recorded consecutive 3-0 wins behind Brian Elliott and Carter Hart a week ago in Buffalo, the team has lost three of its last four games. On Sunday, the Flyers lost at home to the Washington Capitals. 4-3. As a result, the Flyers dropped below the East Division playoff cutoff in terms of points (they remain in playoff position in points percentage).
The Flyers controlled the first period but only scored a single goal. Washington pushed back in the second period and the Flyers were forced to chase the game in the third. Philly wasn't lacking for scoring chances but the team was unable to bury them and, as in the recent games in Pittsburgh, Flyers' breakdowns proved very costly.
Joel Farabee (11th goal of the season) got the Flyers on the board first in the opening period. Goals by Alex Ovechkin (8th) and one by Dmitry Orlov (2nd) in the final 16 seconds of the middle frame put the Capitals ahead, 2-1. Nick Jensen added an insurance goal (1st) early in the third period. Carter Hart stopped 24 of 27 shots in a losing cause. Ilya Samsonov earned the win with 36 saves on 37 shots.
Phil Myers returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing one game due to an upper-body injury sustained in Pittsburgh last Thursday. Michael Raffl (hand) did not play on Sunday. Connor Bunnaman played wing in his place.
The Flyers had an off-day on Monday. The team will have a morning skate today. Lineups will be updated.
Through the end of January, the Flyers had played 10 games. They were 7-2-1 in that span, averaging 3.50 goals per game (outscoring their mistakes, essentially) against a 3.00 team goals against average. They were 8-for-31 on the power play (25.8 percent), 28-for-37 on the PK (75.7 percent), and 51.4 percent on faceoffs. The team averaged just 23.6 shots per game while allowing an average of 33.7 shots on goal per game.
Since that time, the Flyers have played 12 games. The team is 5-5-2 over that span. The club has averaged 3.00 goals per game against a 3.08 team goals against average. The power play is 6-for-47 (12.8 percent), while PK is just 24-for-35 (68.6 percent). The team has won 55.1 percent of its faceoffs. The team has averaged 30.4 shots on goal per game and allowed an average of 29.3 shots per game.
Sabres Outlook
Since the back-to-back home shutout losses to the Flyers, wins have remained elusive for the Sabres. The team dropped a 3-2 decision to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden last Tuesday, followed by three straight 5-2 road losses to the New York Islanders on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Buffalo leading scorer Jack Eichel (2g, 16a in 21 GP) has posted 13 points over the last 11 games (he missed two in that span) against the Flyers, including seven goals. Taylor Hall has 27 points (10g, 17a) in 24 career games. Veteran center Eric Staal has posted 12 points (4g, 8a) over his most recent 13 road games in Philadelphia, dating back to Feb. 2, 2013 per Sabres PR.
Not much has gone right for the Sabres this season. However, the Flyers would do well to stay out of the penalty box and avoid putting their struggling PK to work against the Sabres' third-ranked power play (19-for-64, 29.7 percent).
Projected lineups
FLYERS
25 James van Riemsdyk - 14 Sean Couturier - 86 Joel Farabee 21 Scott Laughton - 13 Kevin Hayes - 11 Travis Konecny 23 Oskar Lindblom - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jake Voracek xxxxx - 19 Nolan Patrick- 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
9 Ivan Provorov - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere 6 Travis Sanheim - 61 Justin Braun 8 Robert Hà¤gg - 5 Phil Myers/56 Erik Gustafsson
37 Brian Elliott [79 Carter Hart]
PP1: Giroux, Couturier, JVR, Farabee, Gostisbehere. PP2: Voracek, Hayes, Patrick, Konecny, Provorov.
Scratches: 12 Michael Raffl (hand).
Injured reserve: 48 Morgan Frost (shoulder surgery).
COVID-19 protocol: None.
SABRES
4 Taylor Hall - 24 Dylan Cozens - 23 Sam Reinhart 68 Victor Olofsson - 12 Eric Staal - xxxxxxx 13 Tobias Rieder - 20 Cody Eakin - 21 Kyle Okposo 53 Jeff Skinner - 27 Curtis Lazar - 38 Riley Sheahan …‹
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 10 Henri Jokiharju - 33 Colin Miller 78 Jacob Bryson - 62 Brandon Montour …‹
40 Carter Hutton 34 Jonas Johansson…‹
PP1: Reinhart, xxxx, Hall, Olofsson, Dahlin. PP2: Cozens, Staal, Skinner, Miller, Ristolainen.
Scratches: 9 JacK Eichel (upper body), 37 Casey Mittelstadt (healthy), 44 Matt Irwin (healthy), 72 Tage Thompson (healthy).
IR:19 Jake McCabe (right knee), 28 Zemgus Girgensons (hamstring surgery).
COVID-19 protocol: None.