Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Earlier in the 2023-24 season, the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers played a home-and-home series that didn’t go well for the home teams.
On Nov. 1 in Philadelphia, Buffalo came away with a 5-2 win. That game was 2-2 going into the third period, but the Sabres got goals from Owen Power, Tage Thompson and Brandon Biro to win it.
The Flyers outshot the Sabres, 20-4, in the third period, but Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made all 20 saves as part of a 38-save performance.
Two nights later in Buffalo, the Sabres had their typical first period, falling behind 3-0. It was 4-0 after two periods, and ended up a 5-1 loss with Henri Jokiharju scoring in the third period.
Luukkonen was also in net for this game, and made 14 saves on 19 shots.
Buffalo has won two of its last three games, and three out of its last five contests. In their two wins, the Sabres have scored 11 goals.
Tage Thompson has nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in his last 12 games. JJ Peterka has eight goals and three assists for 11 points in 11 games, while Alex Tuch has three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 11 games.
It seems like Luukkonen is settling back into his groove after a few really rough games. He stopped 24-of-26 shots in a 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.
Jordan Greenway won’t play on Friday, but he will practice on Saturday.
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The most points the Sabres can get this year is 89. There’s one more playoff spot available in the Eastern Conference, and the Flyers and New York Islanders have 83 points, the Caps and Detroit Red Wings have 82 and the Pittsburgh Penguins have 81.
Philadelphia has lost five games in-a-row, and eight out its last 10 contests. The Flyers have won just 11-out-of-31 games.
The Flyers have given up 23 goals in their last five games.
Ivan Fedotov will get his first NHL start for the Flyers. He did play his first NHL game on April 1 in relief of Samuel Ersson during a 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders. He played 38:09 and made 19 saves on 21 shots faced.
The 27-year-old Russian played 49 games in the KHL this season. He was a seventh-round pick of the Flyers in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Flyers captain Sean Couturier is now injured and didn’t come on the trip to Buffalo. He played in six games with no points after head coach John Tortorella made him a healthy scratch for two games.
Former Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson has had a rough start with his new team. In 12 games with the Flyers, he has no points and is minus-11.
Another former Sabres defenseman, Rasmus Ristolainen has missed 23 games with an upper-body injury.
Travis Konecny is Philadelphia’s leading scorer with 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points in 70 games. Owen Tippet has 27 goals.
Join the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET when you’ll hear from Don Granato, Tuch and Jack Quinn.
