Flyers at Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are starting the new year in a much better manner than they ended the last, answering a 1-4-2 stretch to conclude 2016 with two wins in their last three outings. The Sabres look to continue their good fortune against the reeling Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday when the teams meet at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo responded to surrendering a late lead and getting booed off the ice in Thursday's 4-3 setback to Chicago by scoring three goals in the third period of Saturday's 4-3 triumph over Winnipeg. "I just like the fact they're not going to have quit in them," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma told the Buffalo News of a club that has erased two-goal or third-period deficits on six occasions since Dec. 1. "They're not going to stop trying, and they're not going to stop believing that they can come back." A three-goal, third-period lead wasn't safe in the Sabres' last meeting with Philadelphia, however, as Brayden Schenn scored on the power play in the Flyers' 4-3 shootout victory.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, MSG-B (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE FLYERS (21-15-6): Schenn overcame squandering a pair of golden opportunities to forge a tie with 17 seconds left in regulation of Sunday's 2-1 overtime loss to Columbus, dropping Philadelphia to a 2-5-3 mark since recording a 10-game winning streak. The 25-year-old Schenn has collected six points (three goals, three assists) in his last six games and eight goals in his last 13 contests heading into a return match with Buffalo, against which he has recorded seven tallies in 15 career encounters. Rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov set up a goal in each of his last two games and also had an assist in his first meeting with the Sabres.
ABOUT THE SABRES (15-15-9): Ryan O'Reilly added a goal and an assist on Saturday to increase his point total to four in two games since returning from an appendectomy. The 25-year-old has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in his last 10 contests overall and had an assist in his previous meeting with the Flyers to up that total to 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 11 career encounters. Fellow forward Matt Moulson, who tallied twice in his last outing with Philadelphia, has answered being held off the scoresheet in five straight games with four assists in his last five.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia is just 3-for-32 on the power play in the last 12 games.
2. The Sabres' 30th-ranked penalty kill has yielded a power-play goal in five of their last seven contests and permitted three to the Flyers in the first encounter.
3. Philadelphia rookie C Travis Konecny, who netted his first NHL goal versus Buffalo, has four points (two goals, two assists) and 12 shots on goal in his last five games.