Flyers fall flat against Sabres
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Evander Kane had a goal and assist, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 on Friday night for just their fourth win in the last 20 games.
Jack Eichel added two empty-netters, helping Buffalo hold on after Philadelphia scored twice in the final 2:10. Ryan O’Reilly also scored for the Sabres, who had dropped three in a row and five of six.
Robin Lehner stopped 33 shots. He was working on his second shutout of the season before Michael Raffl scored a power-play goal to cut Buffalo’s lead to 2-1.
Shayne Gostisbehere scored for Philadelphia on a one-timer with 32 seconds left, but Eichel sealed the win by scoring with 1 second remaining.
Brian Elliott stopped the first 30 shots he faced, including Kane’s penalty shot 3:42 into the game, and finished with 33 saves in his 400th career game.
All six goals were scored in the third, with O’Reilly opening the scoring 3:59 into the period.
Kane set up O’Reilly’s goal by dropping a blind pass from the end boards into the left circle. O’Reilly got to the puck first and drove below the goal line before snapping a shot that sneaked in past Elliott, who was hugging the post. It was O’Reilly’s ninth goal, but just his second in 16 games.
Kane then scored his team-leading 15th goal, deflecting in Josh Gorges’ shot from the left point with 8:52 remaining.
The Flyers finished 1 of 5 on the power play, but failed to generate a shot during 40 seconds of 5-on-3 play early in the third period.
Scoring early continues to be an issue for Buffalo, which has produced a league-worst 15 first-period goals — eight fewer than a group of three teams tied for 30th.
The Sabres had their chances, including Kane’s penalty shot after being tripped up on a breakaway by Gostisbehere. Kane drove in up the right side and snapped a low shot that was gloved by Elliott.
Jonathan Huberdeau scored two goals, James Reimer made 29 saves and Florida beat Minnesota at home. Christian Fischer tied it with 1:01 left in regulation and Clayton Keller scored the game-winner in overtime as Phoenix came back to beat Washington at home.
Toronto Maple Leafs star center Auston Matthews has been dealing with concussion symptoms after colliding with a teammate in a game earlier this month. Matthews confirmed the nature of his injury after participating in his first practice in two weeks. He has missed six games since a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 9, when he took an accidental hit to the head from Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly.