PHILADELPHIA — In span of 2 minutes, 21 seconds, the Flyers’ dreams of extending their seven-game point streak were pulverized by the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
The visitors scored three goals in that time frame early in the second period to help them secure a 6-3 victory. The Sabres totaled four goals in the middle frame thanks to Alex Tuch (twice), Jordan Greenway, and Jeff Skinner. Tuch completed the hat trick in the third period on a short-handed goal. Despite the difference on the scoreboard, the Flyers outshot the Sabres, 42-29.
While the Flyers largely controlled the pace of play, posting 66 shot attempts to the Sabres’ 39, their defense was especially shaky in the second period. Goalie Felix Sandström finished the night with 23 saves.
The Flyers suffered their first regulation loss since March 13, having gone 5-0-2 from March 17-30. With the loss and the Florida Panthers’ 7-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Flyers have been eliminated from playoff contention.
Frost giveth, Frost taketh away
Going into Saturday’s game, center Morgan Frost had been heating up offensively, collecting three goals and five assists for eight points in the last six games. He continued to flash his offensive skill set in the first period as the Flyers peppered Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with 14 shots on goal (to the Sabres’ four) and generated a whopping 30 shot attempts total, per Natural Stat Trick. Frost broke through first, collecting a loose puck and scoring from the right circle while falling to his knees to put the Flyers up, 1-0.
But the Flyers failed to hold their lead going into the first intermission, and Frost was partially to blame. In the waning seconds of the first period, Frost sent a blind pass from the left circle to the front of the net, which was intercepted by Mattias Samuelsson. Frost attempted to cover Kyle Okposo while the Sabres broke out of their zone, but Frost got tangled up with the Sabres captain and fell in the neutral zone, creating an odd-man rush. Okposo received a pass from center Peyton Krebs and beat Felix Sandström high glove side to tie the game, 1-1, with 9.3 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
Second-period slide
The Sabres carried over momentum generated by their late first-period goal into the second period, and the Flyers struggled to collect themselves defensively. Just a minute and a half into the period on an odd-man rush, Sabres center Casey Mittelstadt dropped a pass off for Tuch. He scored to give the Sabres their first lead of the night. Nearly a minute later, Greenway cashed in on a rebound to extend the Sabres’ lead to 3-1.
Skinner joined in on the scoring parade roughly another minute later. Skinner’s initial shot off the rush was denied by Sandström, but Skinner collected his own rebound and beat Sandström five-hole as the Sabres took a 4-1 lead. The Flyers calmed down a bit following the three quick goals, but with four minutes remaining in the second period, Tuch wired a wrist shot with plenty of room past Sandström to give the Sabres a four-goal lead.
Frost continued to stick with it offensively, powering through the Sabres defense just 22 seconds after the Tuch goal and scoring his second of the night. But the Flyers never managed to dig themselves out of the hole created in the middle frame.
Konecny returns with a bang
Saturday night marked winger Travis Konecny’s first game back since Feb. 20, when he sustained an upper-body injury against the Calgary Flames. Konecny flaunted his signature zippiness and his ability to drive offense all night long. After racking up three shots in the first two periods, he broke through early in the third when center Noah Cates won an offensive-zone faceoff and dropped a pass right to Konecny. His shot beat Luukkonen to cut the Sabres’ lead to 5-3.
While Konecny finished the night with a goal, he was on the ice for three of the Sabres’. He racked up 21 minutes, 54 seconds of ice time.
What’s next
The Flyers play the Pittsburgh Penguins on the second night of their back-to-back on Sunday night on the road.
