Philadelphia 5, Buffalo 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, March 17, 2023
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Francis Charron, Garrett Rank
Linesmen:
Steve Barton, CJ Murray
Attendance:
18051
By Field Level Media
Owen Tippett scored three goals to lift the host Philadelphia Flyers to a dominant 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
Joel Farabee and James van Riemsdyk each added one goal for the Flyers (25-32-11, 61 points), who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Kevin Hayes and Tony DeAngelo each had two assists for the Flyers. Goaltender Carter Hart made 36 saves.
Victor Olofsson scored two goals for the Sabres (33-29-6, 72 points), who lost their second straight. Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson stopped 17 shots.
The Sabres entered the night six points behind the New York Islanders for the second wild-card spot. Buffalo is attempting to snap an 11-year streak of missing the playoffs.
Buffalo came out aggressive in the third period and closed within 4-1 when Olofsson scored on the power play at 2:27.
The Flyers responded to go back ahead by four goals when Tippett notched his first career hat trick at 5:33 for a 5-1 lead. Tippett scored on the backhand and the hats came pouring down on the ice from the stands.
Olofsson's second power-play goal came with just 0.4 seconds remaining with the game already decided.
Tippett skated in all alone and fired a backhand shot at 12:36 of the first period, which was stopped by Anderson. Just 23 seconds later, Buffalo's Jordan Greenway had a terrific scoring chance, but his backhand shot was stopped by Hart.
The Flyers went ahead 1-0 at 15:10 when Tippett ripped a wrist shot on the power play into the upper corner of the net.
Philadelphia took a 2-0 advantage at 3:53 of the second period when Farabee connected.
Tippett's second goal, coming at 13:14 for his 20th of the season, gave the Flyers a 3-0 advantage.
Philadelphia kept the pressure on and took a 4-0 lead at 18:21 following van Riemsdyk's tap-in.
The Sabres appeared to express their frustration as several players became entangled with the Flyers by the boards with 50.5 seconds remaining. Riley Stillman and Zemgus Girgensons were noticeably upset.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Buffalo |
|
Philadelphia |
Victor Olofsson 2 |
Points |
Owen Tippett 3 |
Victor Olofsson 2 |
Goals |
Owen Tippett 3 |
Casey Mittelstadt 2 |
Assists |
Tony DeAngelo 2 |
Victor Olofsson 2 |
Power Play Goals |
Owen Tippett 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Craig Anderson .773 |
Save Percentage |
Carter Hart .947 |
Craig Anderson 17 |
Saves |
Carter Hart 36 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Buffalo
|
38 |
2 |
2-4 |
0-1 |
6 |
21 |
Philadelphia
|
22 |
5 |
1-1 |
2-4 |
22 |
22 |
Upcoming Games
-
Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Flyers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .386 after a loss.
-
Buffalo will play their next game at home against Boston. The Sabres have a W/L % of .576 after a win and .400 after a loss.