Philadelphia Flyers: Flyers Dominate Sabres in Buffalo 6-3

Mar 7, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov (9) and goalie Steve Mason (35) make a save as Buffalo Sabres right wing Justin Bailey (56) gets knocked to the ice during the third period at KeyBank Center. Flyers beat the Sabres 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /

The Philadelphia Flyers earned an important 6-3 win in Buffalo on Tuesday to bounce back after Saturday’s 2-1 overtime defeat against Washington.

Dave Hakstol‘s bunch needed a win to gain some momentum in their Eastern Conference playoff chase, while Buffalo were also looking to gain ground as well. A point separated the two sides before puck-drop, knowing a win could see Philadelphia leapfrog the Sabres or the hosts extending their lead.

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Matt Read opened the scoring after four minutes as his redirection gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead. It was the winger’s eighth goal of the season, while Radko Gudas and Nick Cousins were credited with the assists. Evander Kane‘s 24th goal of the season leveled things for Buffalo with 4:35 remaining in the opening period as the score stood at 1-1 in the first intermission.

Gudas’ fourth goal of the season put the Flyers back in front early in the second period, before Jack Eichel‘s 17th goal of the season made it 2-2. It was also Buffalo’s second power-play tally of the game. The turning point of the game came with 6:12 remaining in the second stanza as a nice build-up by Philadelphia was finished off thanks to a deflected goal off of Jordan Weal. Claude Giroux‘s 13th goal of the season, and his first in his last 13, late in the period made it 4-2 to the visitors.

Chris VandeVelde extended the Flyers lead to 5-2 early in the third period, before Travis Konecny added an insurance tally less than three minutes later for a 6-2 advantage. Eichel netted his second goal of the game with 5:10 remaining to make it 6-3, which would be the closest Buffalo came to a comeback.

Goaltender Steve Mason was sharp, making 31 saves in the win. Robin Lehner made 24 saves in the defeat for Buffalo.

Following the win, Flyers coach Dave Hakstol told CSN Philly that his group his playing hard together as they fight for a playoff berth. “We’re playing hard together, and when you get good results that’s a way to build that confidence.”

Following their loss at league-leaders Washington on Saturday, this was a good result for the ‘Orange and Black’ as they continue their road-trip. Any time you can shake off a defeat with six goals offensively, it will definitely grow your confidence as a unit.

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Hakstol’s men travel to another playoff hopeful, Toronto on Thursday before heading to Boston on Saturday. A good string of results against fellow Eastern Conference contenders could help the Flyers chances at the end of the regular season draws near.

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