The Philadelphia Flyers will look to snap a four-game losing streak when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
The Flyers (24-32-11, 59 points) fell 5-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday to open a season-high seven-game homestand.
Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler and Morgan Frost scored for the short-handed Flyers, who continue to play without the likes of Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Ryan Ellis and Travis Konecny.
“Lot of good things offensively, but we just don’t get shots to the net,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “Throughout most of the game, we had some breakdowns here and there. I didn’t mind a lot of the game. We just have to keep on going. The effort’s there.”
Goaltender Felix Sandstrom made 28 saves in place of starter Carter Hart, who missed the game because of the flu. It’s unclear if Hart will be able to return to face the Sabres.
The Flyers fell behind 4-1 before rallying within one before an empty-net goal sealed their fate.
Seeler’s spectacular goal closed the Flyers within 4-2 as he skated between three Golden Knights and flipped the puck over goaltender Jonathan Quick’s glove.
But the result was still the same — another loss.
“Without a doubt, that was definitely a nice one,” Seeler said of his goal. “Not the result we wanted. No quit in this group. We played really well.”
Tony DeAngelo returned from a two-game suspension and played well with two shots on goal.
The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play and are mired in a 3-for-40 skid.
The Sabres will look to rebound following a maddening 5-4 shootout loss to the host Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
Buffalo (33-28-6, 72 points), which has dropped five of six, remain in playoff contention. The Sabres trail the New York Islanders by six points for the second wild card spot but have three games in hand.
“We got out of here with one point, and that’s a big, big deal to get a point,” Buffalo coach Don Granato said. “But very disappointing that we feel that with more focus, which should have been there, we would have had the two.”
JJ Peterka, Ilya Lyubushkin, Tyson Jost and Zemgus Girgensons each scored one goal while Peyton Krebs had two assists.
Jost’s goal gave the Sabres a 3-1 lead late in the first period.
Unfortunately, it slipped away with a frustrating shootout defeat.
“We were just playing to our identity, playing the way we know how and being patient, but also playing with quickness and five in the picture,” Jost said of jumping out to a two-goal lead. “We like the way we started. Obviously, it stings right now, so it’s a tough one. There’s definitely positives. It’s just tough to kind of find (them) right now.”
The Sabres are attempting to snap an 11-year stretch of missing the postseason so this road matchup is crucial against the Flyers.
“Down the stretch, every point matters, so it’s huge and everyone realizes this in the locker room,” Jost said. “We care so much and want it and that’s good to see and we’ve just got to keep pushing and focus on the next game and keep putting together wins here.”
–Field Level Media
