Flyers-Sabres: Game 35 Preview

(Kate Frese/SB Nation) 

The Philadelphia Flyers begin a back-to-back before the holiday break with a trap game against the lowly Sabres in Buffalo tonight.

By Dan Heaning, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

The Philadelphia Flyers have two more games before the holiday break. Tonight's contest against the Buffalo Sabres from the Keybank Arena at 7 p.m. is the low-hanging fruit in the team's back-to-back situation.

The lowly Sabres are the worst team in the Eastern Conference and just four points ahead of the Arizona Coyotes for dead last in the NHL. Head coach Phil Housley hasn't been able to increase the offensive output of Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly and Evander Kane despite the three leading the team in points.

The Flyers beat these Sabres in Philadelphia eight days ago. However, the game was a lot closer than what the standings would imply. If Philadelphia gift wraps a goal like Brian Elliott did for O'Reilly, Buffalo does have the skill to make the Flyers pay.

This is the game the Flyers will need to capture before getting some time off. Their next contest is against the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of the East's best teams, and should prove to be more of a challenge than tonight's tilt.

Team Leaders

Brian Elliott appears to be coming back to Earth after two weeks of stellar play. Now would be a good time to rest the goaltender, but with Michal Neuvirth's health still an issue and Alex Lyon the only other option, it may behoove the team to ride Moose into the break. After posting save percentages of .923 or over in five of his last six games, Elliott hasn't seen .900 in two games. Fortunately, Elliott is seeing the worst offensive team in the league tonight so if there's no better team for him to face in order to get his game right.

Despite the Buffalo Sabres woeful season, Robin Lehner has put together a decent season. Of late, Lehner has been great. The Sabres goalie has posted save percentages of .923 and higher in six of his seven games in December. However, season-wise Lehner has not been stellar by any stretch. His save percentage, goals allowed percentage and goals saved above average denote his average play. With a defense as bad as Buffalo's, reaching the average echelon is something of an accomplishment. With 12 Quality Starts and three Really Bad Starts, don't expect Lehner to give the game away early. If Lehner continues his sound play in the net, the Flyers may be facing another close game against the Sabres.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Taylor Leier has an upper-body injury and it is unknown if he'll play tonight. Brandon Manning has a hand injury and is expected to miss three to four weeks, Michal Neuvirth is out one to two weeks with a leg injury.

Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Mark Alt (healthy)