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Quick Hits: Sabres 6 - Flyers 1; Phantoms 4 -Hershey 1; York Signed, Marsh

March 31, 2021, 11:31 PM ET [642 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Quick Hits: March 31, 2021

1) Same story, different night for the Philadelphia Flyers. Two nights after they had to rally back from a 3-0 deficit in the third period to earn a 4-3 overtime win over the NHL cellar-dwelling Buffalo Sabres, they sustained a 6-1 loss. Buffalo ended its 18-game winless streak. The Flyers finished March with a 6-10-1 record. They also set a pair of unwanted new single-month franchise records: most goals allowed (75) and worst team GAA (4.41), eclipsing the 66 goals they allowed in 15 games and 4.40 team goals against in January 1993.

First period even-strength goals by Sam Reinhart (13th of the season) and Curtis Lazar (5th) built a 2-0 lead for Buffalo. Ivan Provorov (6th) got one back for the Flyers in the middle stanza only for Steven Fogarty (1st NHL goal) to restore a two-goal margin and then Casey Mittelstadt (2nd) made it a 4-1 lead. In the third period, Brandon Montour (3rd and 4th) scored a pair of shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill; one empty-net and one on a rebound.

Flyers starter Brian Elliott went 35:29, stopping 12 of 16 shots before giving way to Alex Lyon in relief. Making his first NHL appearance of the 2020-21 season, Lyon saw eight shots, stopping seven. Linus Ullmark earned the win for Buffalo. He stopped 31 of 32 shots.

The team activated Connor Bunnaman and Carsen Twarynski from the Taxi Squad and rested Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom. Head coach Alain Vigneault indicated that both Lindblom and Patrick are physically worn down at present. The team will have an off-day on Thursday, a practice on Friday (their first back-to-back open nights on the schedule in over a month) and then begin a five-in-seven stretch on Sunday against the Islanders.

For a more in-depth look at where things went off-track again for the Flyers in Wednesday's game, see the Postgame 5 on the Flyers' official website.

2) Things went much better on Wednesday for the first-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms (11-3-2) than for the parent club, as Scott Gordon's team skated to a 4-1 victory at the PPL Center over the archrival Hershey Bears (11-5-2) in a game that was nationally televised on NHL Network. Gordon earned his 400th AHL coaching win.

Flyers 2020 first-round pick Tyson Foerster figured in all four goals for Lehigh Valley, scoring the club's first and third goals of the first period, earning a first-period assist and then setting up a late-empty net goal. Foerster, who missed time due to a fractured shinbone suffered in his AHL debut, now has four goals and nine points across his first 11 games in the league.

The Phantoms lost a would-be Zayde Wisdom power play goal in the first period, as the referee was out of position to see that goalie Zach Fucale never covered the puck. Wisdom had a wide-open slam dunk but the play was blown dead just as he was claiming the puck at the doorstep.

Foerster made it 1-0 at 12:45 of the first period on a nasty snap shot from the left circle. The Phantoms scored again 26 seconds after play resumed as Foerster won a puck battle and Derrick Pouliot (3rd goal of the season) fired home a shot from the deep slot that deflected into the net off a Bears' defender; had it not deflected, a wide open Max Willman was at the net for a potential tip-in of his own. At 16:03 with the Phantoms on the power play, the long rebound of Wade Allison shot went to Foerster and he wasted no time firing it into the net.

Zane McIntyre (27 saves on 28 shots) carried a shutout into the third period before a Kody Clark power play goal (7th) got Hershey on the board. With Fucale pulled for an extra attacker late in the game, Foerster fed Ryan Fitzgerald (9th) for an empty net goal in the final 17 seconds.

Max Willman, Garrett Wilson and Cal O'Reilly all notched one assist apiece on this night, in addition to Allison. The Phantoms return to action on Saturday, hosting the WB/S Penguins.

3) Shortly before the start of the Flyers-Sabres game on Wednesday, the Flyers announced that 2019 first-round pick Cam York has decided to end his collegiate career at Michigan after two seasons and signed an entry-level contract with the organization. He is slated to start out in Lehigh Valley. Earlier this season, York captained Team USA to a gold medal at the 2020-21 World Junior Championship.

4) Happy birthday wishes go out to Flyers Alumni Association president, Flyers director of community development, Flyers Warriors head coach and 1,000-plus game NHL veteran defenseman Brad Marsh. Marshy was born in London, Ontario, on March 31, 1958.
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