Flyers at Sabres
The Philadelphia Flyers are starting to pick up the pieces after a disastrous stretch put their bid for a second straight postseason berth in peril while the Buffalo Sabres are mired in a tough run of their own. The Flyers and Sabres look to close their respective gaps toward the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference at the other's expense on Tuesday when the clubs meet at KeyBank Center in Western New York.
Philadelphia has answered a dismal 2-6-1 stretch by collecting five of a possible six points in its last three games to move within three points of the eighth-place New York Islanders. Buffalo, which squandered a three-goal lead in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Flyers on Oct. 25, did so again on Sunday as it fell for the sixth time in seven outings (1-4-2) with a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh. The sputtering Sabres also have blown third-period leads in three of their last five games, with the frustration reaching a boiling point for second-year forward Jack Eichel. "It's the tale of every game we've played in the last few, so nothing changes," said Eichel, who scored against the Penguins to extend his career-high point streak to 10 games (three goals, 10 assists).
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CSN-Philadelphia, NHL.TV
ABOUT THE FLYERS (30-26-8): Steve Mason has stepped up since being benched in favor of Michal Neuvirth for the majority of February, turning aside 94 of 97 shots - including a 22-save performance in a 2-1 overtime loss to Washington on Saturday. "It's an important stretch here, and you have to bring your best," said the 28-year-old Mason, who stopped all eight shots he faced in relief of Neuvirth in an October win over the Sabres and yielded three goals in a 4-1 setback in Buffalo on Jan. 10. Brayden Schenn skewered the Sabres with two goals and an assist this season, but saw his six-game point streak come to an end versus the Capitals on Saturday.
ABOUT THE SABRES (27-27-12): Ryan O'Reilly has scored in three straight contests to highlight his current four-game point streak (three goals, three assists) and set up three tallies in two meetings with Philadelphia this season. The 26-year-old's team-leading 44 points are one better than All-Star Kyle Okposo, who has been ruled out for Tuesday's tilt and is considered week-to-week with a rib injury. Fellow forward Sam Reinhart has a goal and two assists in his last three games overall and has the same total in two contests versus the Flyers this season.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia is 0-for-10 on the power play in its last two games overall, but scorched Buffalo this season by converting on four of its six opportunities with the man advantage.
2. Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen has recorded one of his team-leading 35 assists in each game versus the Flyers in 2016-17.
3. Buffalo D Dmitry Kulikov sustained an upper-body injury on Saturday and will miss his 40th game of the season versus Philadelphia.