National Hockey League
Philadelphia 6, Buffalo 2
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 8, 2018
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Frederic L'Ecuyer, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 18283

Claude Giroux scored a short-handed goal early in the third period to break a tie and spark a four-goal flurry as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the host Buffalo Sabres 6-2 Saturday afternoon.

James van Riemsdyk, Ivan Provorov, Wayne Simmonds, Dale Weise and Travis Konecny also scored for the Flyers, who were opening a five-game trip. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz made 28 saves as Philadelphia won for just the third time in its past 10 games.

Jack Eichel scored both goals for Buffalo, which hasn't won in five games after a 10-game winning streak. Goalie Linus Ullmark, playing for the injured Carter Hutton, stopped 35 of 41 shots. Hutton was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury apparently suffered Monday in a 2-1 loss at Nashville.

The Flyers rallied from a 2-0 deficit after Eichel scored twice in the opening 12:02.

On the first, at 4:04, Eichel raced into the offensive zone on the right wing and blasted a shot from the top of the faceoff circle that clanged off the far post and went in.

Eichel scored again at 12:02, positioning himself just to the left of the net and tipping Lawrence Pilut's shot from the point past Stolarz.

Van Riemsdyk started the Philadelphia rally, scoring on a snap shot off a faceoff win by Giroux at 12:52 of the first. It was the first of Giroux's three assists.

Provorov tied the score at 10:10 of the second, taking a drop pass from Scott Laughton and blistering a one-timer from the top of the left faceoff circle inside the far post.

Giroux got what proved to be the winner on a short-handed, three-on-one break at 2:49 of the third. Giroux skated the puck into the offensive zone down the left wing, faked a cross-ice pass and wristed a shot from the faceoff circle into the top right corner of the net.

Simmonds, Weise and Konecny scored in a 2:50 span midway through the period.

The Flyers played without center Sean Couturier, who was listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Buffalo
Claude Giroux 4 Points Jack Eichel 2
Claude Giroux 1 Goals Jack Eichel 2
Claude Giroux 3 Assists Lawrence Pilut 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
Claude Giroux 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
Anthony Stolarz .933 Save Percentage Linus Ullmark .854
Anthony Stolarz 28 Saves Linus Ullmark 35
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 41 6 0-3 1-1 9 34
Buffalo 30 2 0-1 3-3 11 26
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Sabres have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .417 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Flyers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .533 after a loss.