(WGR 550) - Ralph Krueger said Thursday morning that it feels right to bring Carter Hutton back in, so Linus Ullmark gets a rest against the Flyers.
Ullmark had started five straight games and went 3-1-1, but Hutton is 4-1-0 against Philadelphia with a 2.36 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. Hutton has lost his last nine games after starting the season 6-0-0. In his last start, Hutton gave up six goals in an overtime loss in Vancouver.
Despite losing in Toronto on Tuesday, the Sabres are still in second place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the Leafs and Montreal, and two points in front of Tampa Bay and Florida. The Sabres have points in 10 of 13 games.
A big reason for Buffalo's surge has been Jack Eichel. The captain is trying to tie a Sabres record of points in 18 straight games. Gil Perreault set that record in 1971. Eichel is second in league goal scoring with 24 goals and fifth in points with 50.
Eichel has two points in four straight games and in the 17-game streak, he's had multi-point games nine times.
Victor Olofsson had two assists against the Leafs and has 22 points in his last 20 games. Their other linemate, Sam Reinhart, has picked up eight points in seven games.
Despite getting goals mostly from the Eichel and the Johan Larsson lines, Buffalo leads the league with 48 goals in 13 games. Minnesota and Colorado are next in that time period with 42. That's 3.69 goals per-game for the Sabres. Check back after the game as I break this down even more for you.
Philadelphia is fifth in the Metropolitan Division and hold down the second wild card spot with 41 points. The Flyers went out on the road and lost three straight to Colorado, Minnesota and Winnipeg before coming home to beat Anaheim 4-1.
Carter Hart will start in net. He's 11-7-3 with a 2.40 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. Hart has played five games in a row, allowing 11 goals. In the game against the Jets, he only played 20 minutes and surrendered one goal.
Travis Konecny is the Flyers' leading scorer with 29 points in 31 games. Claude Giroux only has 24 points in 34 games, and James van Riemsdyk has eight goals and 17 points in 34 games.
In their last 18 games against Buffalo, Philadelphia is 12-4-2. The Flyers haven't lost at home in regulation to the Sabres since 2011. Overall, the Flyers have been excellent at home, going 11-2-4. They're 5-1-0 in their last six in Philly.
Join Schopp and the Bulldog for the pregame starting at 6:00.
