Philadelphia Flyers vs. Buffalo Sabres: On The Hunt For Buffalo

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter

Looking for their sixth straight win, the Philadelphia Flyers will be on the hunt for Buffalo tonight at the Wachovia Center.

Looking at the numbers you gotta think the Flyers will in tough in this one, but, having come off a 5-2 in Buffalo just eight days ago, the Flyers have to like their chances.

Make no mistake about it though, the Buffalo Sabres, who have a record of 11-4-1, are a good team with a very stingy defense that is ranked third overall in the NHL giving up just 2.19 goals per game.

Offensively, the Sabres have struggled to light the lamp and sit sixteenth overall, averaging just 2.69 goals per game. Thomas Vanek has gotten off to a slow start with just five goals and four assists through 14.

For the Sabres to be successful, they will have to play a team game, which, for the most part, has been the key to every Sabres victory. The Sabres boast three players (Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Tim Connoly) with four goals apiece and another three (Vanek, Clarke Macarthur, Drew Stafford) with five, underlining the Sabres balanced attack.

With a record of 11-2-1 with two shutouts, goaltender Ryan Miller has been exceptional. His 1.75 GAA and .940 SV percent rank him first amongst all NHL goalies, as does his 11 wins. If he wasn’t considered a threat to be Team USA’s starting goaltender at the 2010 Olympic’s in Vancouver before, he certainly is on the radar now.

As for the Flyers, everything is clicking right now and, having won five games in a row, are one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now.

The Flyers confidence is at an all-time high, especially goaltender Ray Emery’s who is coming off a rather satisfying 5-1 win over his former team, the Ottawa Senators, on  Thursday night.

One of the key reasons for the Flyers success is their number ranked power play, which at a 27.9 percent success rate, is as hot as they come. Scott Hartnell leads the Flyers with five power play goals on the season and Mike Richards has four thus far.

Daniel Briere scored two goals against the Senators in his first game back from injury and rookie forward James Van Riemsdyk has looked solid of late and his four goals, 15 points and plus/minus rating of plus seven has many NHL writers considering him for the Calder Trophy.

Defensively the Flyers have been very good as well, giving up just 2.47 goals per game. and have given up just six goals in their last four games. The Flyers boast one of the Leagues most impressive defensive lineups in the League, maybe the best Flyers defense ever?

Flyers defensemen Chris Pronger and Matt Carle have combined for an impressive plus/minus rating of +27 and, with five goals and 28 points between them, have demonstrated their ability to ‘get it done’ in all areas of the game.

It will be a tough match tonight, the Sabres always come to play, but, in the end, I suspect there will be another check mark in the “W” column for the Flyers come Sunday morning.

Until next time,

Peace!