At a Glance
- Dan Vladar exited with an undisclosed injury after the first period, leaving the Flyers down 2-0.
- The losing streak extended to a season-worst four games (0-3-1) with Buffalo outscoring Philadelphia 19-6 during the skid.
- Owen Tippett and Trevor Zegras scored for the Flyers, who fell to 22-15-8.
- Why it matters: Philadelphia’s playoff push hinges on Vladar’s health; backup Samuel Ersson is mired in the toughest stretch of his NHL career.
The Flyers watched another game-and potentially their starting goalie-slip away Wednesday night at KeyBank Center, where the Sabres dealt them a 5-2 defeat and a season-long fourth straight loss.
Key Sequence
Dan Vladar stopped five shots but allowed two goals in the opening period before departing with an undisclosed injury. Buffalo struck first when Cam York was penalized for cross-checking and Rasmus Dahlin scored on the ensuing power play just 14 seconds later. Mattias Samuelsson doubled the lead seven seconds after a neutral-zone turnover by Zegras.
“You can’t come back all the time,” coach Rick Tocchet said Tuesday. “I know we’ve had one of the better records coming back, but it’s too hard to play that way, we don’t have the team to do that, so we’ve got to buckle down.”
Injury Domino Effect
Samuel Ersson replaced Vladar to start the second period and finished with six saves on eight shots; Buffalo’s final marker was an empty-netter. The Flyers have been outscored 19-6 during the 0-3-1 slide and have trailed first in 31 of 45 contests this season.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen turned aside 20 of 22 Philadelphia shots, including a glove robbery on Nikita Grebenkin 6:05 into the match that preserved the Sabres’ momentum.
Lineup Changes
Jamie Drysdale returned after a three-game absence, replacing late scratch Rasmus Ristolainen (upper-body, day-to-day). The 31-year-old Ristolainen had only recently come back from a second triceps-tendon rupture. Bobby Brink sat out his fourth consecutive game with an upper-body issue, while rookie Denver Barkey was given a night to watch from the press box.
Head-to-Head Summary
Buffalo has now won 14 of its last 16, including two victories over the Flyers, who finished the regular-season series 1-2-0. The Sabres improved to 25-16-4 while Philadelphia stayed at 22-15-8.
Up Next
The Flyers visit the Penguins on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, broadcast on News Of Philadelphia.
