(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The week that will essentially determine the Flyers season starts on Tuesday night with a trip to Buffalo.
The Flyers are in the midst of a four-game road trip, all against potential playoff teams. After taking Washington to the brink in overtime, the Orange and Black are looking to rebound against the Sabres, a team just two points behind them in the standings. The Flyers are three points out of the final wildcard spot as play begins on Tuesday night.
The opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Sabres Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Jake Voracek | 64 | 17 | 35 | 52 | Ryan O'Reilly | 56 | 16 | 28 | 44 |
| Claude Giroux | 64 | 12 | 33 | 45 | Jack Eichel | 45 | 16 | 26 | 42 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 64 | 27 | 17 | 44 | Sam Reinhart | 64 | 15 | 26 | 41 |
| Brayden Schenn | 61 | 19 | 23 | 42 | Rasmus Ristolainen | 66 | 4 | 35 | 39 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 61 | 8 | 27 | 35 | Evander Kane | 54 | 23 | 12 | 35 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 17 Wayne Simmonds | 15 Jack Eichel |
| Last 5 Games: 2 G, 0 A, 2 P, +1 | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 5 A, 8 P, +2 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 35 Steve Mason | 40 Robin Lehner |
| 18-17-7, 2.75 GAA, .906 SV% | 18-18-8, 2.59 GAA, .922 SV% |
Even in defeat, give Steve Mason credit. He did everything he could to try to help the Flyers escape with two points in Washington. A third straight strong performance lands him between the pipes again on Tuesday.
Robin Lehner returns to the Sabres net after sitting out Sunday's game in Pittsburgh. Lehner has just one win in his last five starts, losing twice in overtime and twice in regulation. This is also his first start against the Flyers this season after Anders Nilsson got the call in the first two meetings between the two. Lehner allowed five goals on 28 shots in his last game against the Flyers on Feb. 11, 2016.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Dale Weise, Roman Lyubimov, Nick Schultz, Michael Raffl
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 40 Jordan Weal | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 10 Brayden Schenn | 51 Valtteri Filppula | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 25 Nick Cousins | 14 Sean Couturier | 24 Matt Read |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 11 Travis Konecny |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 23 Brandon Manning | |
| 15 Michael Del Zotto | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| Goalie | ||
| 35 Steve Mason |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-11th, 10th on road), Sabres (T-1st, 3rd at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (13th, 19th on road), Sabres (29th, T-23rd at home)
- Recent History vs. Sabres
- Oct. 25, 2016 - The Flyers rallied for a 4-3 shootout win over the Sabres in Philadelphia. Buffalo took a 3-0 lead in the second period on an even-strength goal by Tyler Ennis and two power-play goals by Matt Moulson. But in the third, the Flyers rallied back. Travis Konecny scored his first NHL goal on the power play at 4:30 of the third. With 2:56 to play, Brayden Schenn struck on the power play to cut the lead to one. With 1:51 to play and back on the power play, Mark Streit scored out of a scramble in front to tie the game. Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek each scored in the shootout to seal the win for the Flyers. Steve Mason ended up with the win in relief of Michal Neuvirth.
- Jan. 10, 2017 – The Sabres rolled to a 4-1 win over the Flyers in Buffalo. After a scoreless first period, Buffalo poured it on in the second. Sam Reinhart scored on the power play at 5:15 to open the scoring. William Carrier made it 2-0 at 8:39. With the Flyers starting to push back late in the period, Evander Kane essentially put the dagger in things with a goal with nine seconds remaining in the period to make it 3-0. Brayden Schenn scored on the power play with 2:07 left in regulation and Marcus Foligno iced things with an empty-net goal in the closing seconds.
- Flyers leaders vs. Sabres
- Claude Giroux – 29 games, 4 goals, 22 assists, 26 points
- Valtteri Filppula - 23 games, 4 goals, 12 assists, 16 points
- Nick Cousins - 2 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points
- Steve Mason - 10 games, 5-4-1, 2.46 GAA, .911 Sv%
- Milestone Watch
- Matt Read needs two assists to reach 100 in his career.
Where to Watch
TV: CSN/NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
