The Buffalo Sabres traveled to Philadelphia Wednesday night in a game that saw Buffalo get the victory by a final score of 5-2.
The Sabres were able to come away with their second straight victory as the team continued to build off of an impressive win on Sunday against the Avalanche.
The Sabres offense didn’t have the greatest game, recording just 15 shots in the game.
Despite the low shot total, the unit was able to score five goals in the game which led to a big win on the road.
Sabres forward Brandon Biro, a call-up from their farm team the Rochester Americans, scored two goals in the contest, helping Buffalo emerge victorious in tonight’s contest.
Further, superstar Tage Thompson was able to record three points as well which further helped Buffalo win.
As for the defense, the unit played well outside of a few redirections that led to goals for Philadelphia.
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was given his second straight start and didn’t disappoint, making 38 save on 40 shots, most of which were big time stops that were key to Buffalo winning this one.
The Sabres special teams played well, as the penalty kill unit shut down all three power play opportunities for Philadelphia.
However, the power play unit again couldn’t convert, going 0/2 on the man advantage.
1st period
Philadelphia started off hot, getting a good chance right at the beginning of the game, and this chance would lead to a goal, as Sabres defensemen Henri Jokiharju redirected a pass across over the should of goaltender Luukkonen to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead just 55 seconds in.
Buffalo would quickly respond, generating good offensive pressure in the Philadelphia zone.
After a chance for the Flyers, Buffalo would take the puck back the other way on a 3-on-2 opportunity.
On this odd-man rush, Sabres forward J.J. Peterka would send a pass back for linemate Casey Mittelstadt, who ripped a shot over Flyers goaltender Carter Hart to tie the game at one.
Both teams would start to slow down after the opening minutes, before Sabres forward Jeff Skinner appeared to have given Buffalo a 2-1 lead after beating Carter Hart on a beautiful shot.
However, after a coaches challenge from Philadelphia, the goal was waived off due to Sabres J.J Peterka being offside, and the game remained tied.
Not even a minute after this, forward Brandon Biro dove to deflect a pass from teammate Tage Thompson into the net exactly halfway through the period, giving Buffalo a 2-1 lead.
On the goal, Flyers goaltender Carter Hart was injured, and after a few second conversation with the medical staff, went into the locker room to be evaluated.
Replacing Hart was backup goaltender Samuel Ersson, who last started against Anaheim in a 7-4 loss on Saturday night.
Neither side seemed to be able to generate much offense until late in the period, when Flyers forward Cam Atkinson took a shot that was redirected in front, past Luukkonen to tie the game at two with less than four minutes to play in the opening period.
After the fourth goal of the period, the two teams couldn’t pull away from each other and would remain tied heading into the first intermission.
2nd period
Entering the second period, each team had two goals, but after a slow start to the period, the offense on both sides started to fizzle out.
Buffalo played sloppy, committing a lot of giveaways that led to good chances for Philadelphia, but goaltender Luukkonen was able to come up with some key saves, keeping the game tied at two.
Sabres forward Peyton Krebs would then get penalized for tripping, but after 55 seconds on the penalty kill, the Flyers would also take a penalty as the teams would go to 4-on-4 play.
After the Sabres penalty was killed, they would go to the power play, but would be shut down and the game was still tied.
Buffalo would get another power play opportunity late, and after being shut down for the first minuet and a half, the two teams would go to the intermission locked at two.
3rd period
The Sabres started the third period on the man advantage, but couldn’t get anything going as Philadelphia killed its second penalty of the game.
Philadelphia would follow this up with two really good chances, but again Luukkonen was able to hold his ground.
Buffalo would then come back the other way with a 3-on-1 chance, and Tage Thomspon would send a pass across to defensemen Owen Power who rifled a shot past Ersson to give Buffalo a 3-2 lead.
Philadelphia would come back strong, trying to tie the game, but Luukkonen continued to impress, making countless saves to keep Buffalo in front.
The Flyers would get too aggressive, and Sabres forward Tage Thompson would intercept a pass in the Philadelphia zone, and beat Ersson to give Buffalo a 4-2 lead with just under seven minutes left in the game. Philadelphia would grow increasingly desperate after this goal, and would pull the goalie with just over three minutes left.
The Sabres defense was able to take possession of the puck and forward Casey Mittelstadt would find teammate Brandon Biro down the ice, who then tapped the puck into the empty net to give Buffalo a 5-2 lead.
Philadelphia couldn’t overcome the deficit and would fall to the Sabres 5-2 at home.
Takeaways
The Buffalo Sabres offense played well, despite hitting a rough stretch halfway through the contest. The team recorded five goals on just 15 shots in the victory.
The Sabres defense gave up just two goals, despite giving up multiple high-quality chances for Philadelphia.
This was in large part thanks to goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen who saved 38 shots in the contest.
Also noteworthy were forwards Tage Thompson, Brandon Biro, and Casey Mittelstadt who all recorded multi-point games in the victory.
Overall, the Buffalo Sabres were able to come away with their second consecutive win to improve to 5-5-0 on the season and will now look ahead to their rematch with Philadelphia Friday night at home.
