The Buffalo Sabres put together a complete 60-minute effort on Wednesday night and were rewarded in a major way. Again hosting the Flyers, the blue and gold took down Philadelphia by a score of 6-1 at KeyBank Center.
The winless streak came to a firm halt at 18 games, as Buffalo dominated from start-to-finish.
For the third consecutive game, the Sabres struck first blood against their opponent.
At the halfway point of the opening period, a Sam Reinhart shot looked to be flying wide of the Flyers' net. However, it found its way in behind goalie Brian Elliott after bounding off defenseman Justin Braun. Reinhart's 13th goal of the season gave Buffalo the 1-0 edge.
It was quickly 2-0 Sabres just two-and-a-half minutes later, courtesy of veteran forward Curtis Lazar. After blocking a shot, Riley Sheahan got loose for a partial breakaway. He was chased down and shied away before getting a shot off, but the savvy veteran was able to dish the puck off to Lazar in the slot for the tally.
Philadelphia got on the scoreboard 3:50 into the middle frame, when defenseman Ivan Provorov's shot deflected off Buffalo defenseman Brandon Montour and into the net. It was Provorov's sixth goal of the season on the Flyers' eighth shot of the second period.
The run of shots reached 11-0 Philadelphia in the stanza before a Colin Miller point shot reached Elliott with about nine minutes gone.
Buffalo's second shot of the period resulted in a goal, coming off the stick of Steven Fogarty. It was the forward's first goal in the National Hockey League after registering his first NHL point on Monday with an assist. Helping on the goal were Rasmus Ristolainen and Jacob Bryson.
Fogarty doubled down on his memorable night, this time with a nifty pass for an assist on Casey Mittelstadt's second goal of the 2020-21 campaign. The Sabres' advantage grew to 4-1 on this scoring play, and Brian Elliott's night in goal for the Flyers was over.
The third period belonged to Buffalo and Montour.
The 20 minutes on the clock were all that separated the blue and gold from putting to bed their 18-game winless streak, and they did just that by adding to their three-goal lead. In fact, the advantage grew to five by the time the buzzer sounded, as Montour chipped in a pair of short-handed goals while killing a Tage Thompson minor penalty to make it a 6-1 contest. That score stood as the eventual final.
The win was also the first in the career of interim head coach Don Granato, who moved to 1-5-1 since taking over for Ralph Krueger.
Buffalo's victory moved their record to 7-23-5 through 35 games in the 2020-21 season.
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GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 9:32 - Sam Reinhart (13) (Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen); 11:59 - Curtis Lazar (5) (Riley Sheahan)
PHI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 9:42 - Steven Fogarty (1) (Rasmus Ristolainen, Jacob Bryson); 15:39 - Casey Mittelstadt (2) (Steven Fogarty, Jacob Bryson)
PHI: 3:50 - Ivan Provorov (6) (Sean Couturier, Jakub Voracek)
Third Period:
BUF: 14:53 - Brandon Montour (3) SH-ENG (Unassisted); 15:30 - Brandon Montour (4) SHG (Kyle Okposo)
PHI: NONE
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
PHI: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 0:54 - Tage Thompson (High-sticking - 2 min.); 16:51 - Henri Jokiharju (Delay of game, puck over glass - 2 min.)
PHI: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 13:38 - Tage Thompson (Tripping - 2 min.)
PHI: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Steven Fogarty - BUF
2.) Brandon Montour - BUF
3.) Jacob Bryson - BUF
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What's Next:
It's right back on the saddle for the blue and gold Thursday night, as their homestand continues against the New York Rangers. Puck drops at KeyBank Center is set for 7 p.m. ET with the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show with Schopp and the Bulldog starting at 6 p.m. ET on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.