Flyers at Sabres
THE STORY: The Philadelphia Flyers put their faith in Claude Giroux long before the season began. The team ruffled some feathers by jettisoning former captain Mike Richards to Tinseltown and Jeff Carter to the Buckeye State, and ultimately made the promising 23-year-old Giroux the face of the franchise. The franchise isn't the only one embracing Giroux, who was also named the City of Brotherly Love's professional athlete of the year by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association. Giroux has certainly been on a roll by collecting 15 goals and 32 points in 25 games this season to claim his spot among the NHL leaders. "To be honest, I try not to think about it, but it's a great honor to be up there," Giroux said. "It's not just me up there. It's (Jaromir Jagr), it's (Scott Hartnell). The whole team's playing well right now." The Flyers will vie for their third win in a row and fifth in six tries when they travel to western New York to face the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. Philadelphia has made itself at home on the road this season with a 9-3-1 mark. The Sabres, who begin a five-game homestand, are only 5-8-1 in Buffalo this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Versus, TSN2
ABOUT THE FLYERS (15-7-3): Left wing James van Riemsdyk is expected to return after a four-game absence with an upper body injury. He collected a goal and an assist in Philadelphia's 3-2 victory over the Sabres on Nov. 2. Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov seems to have put his illness behind him. After sitting out for more than a week, the prized off-season acquisition won back-to-back starts against his former teams. Bryzgalov turned aside 29 shots to pick up the win against the Sabres last month.
ABOUT THE SABRES (14-11-1): Buffalo received a boost from the return of former Vezina Trophy winner Ryan Miller and snapped a two-game losing skid with a 3-2 triumph over the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Miller received a rude awakening upon his return from Jordin Tootoo, who crashed the net during the second period. Miller, who had been sidelined with a concussion, took issue with the action and started punching Tootoo, who ultimately received a two-game suspension. Captain Jason Pominville has collected points in 10 of his last 13 games.
OVERTIME:
1. Philadelphia has netted five power-play goals in its last two games to improve to a 20.0-percent conversion rate on the season.
2. Signed to a massive six-year, $27 million contract in the off-season, right wing Ville Leino is finally starting to pay dividends for the Sabres. The 28-year-old Finn has recorded three assists in his last two games. He was held off the scoresheet last month versus his former team.