5 Takeaways: Flyers’ Defense Didn’t Show Up Against Buffalo

The Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres met on a Saturday evening at the Wells Fargo Center. It was Steve Coates night, and the fans were energized. Then the game turned into a slog for a long while.

The pace picked up. The Flyers, coming off a game in which they had a franchise-low 11 shots in Ottawa, fired a season-high 42 shots.

But it didn’t matter,

Buffalo 6, Flyers 3.

Alex Tuch had his second career hat trick, with the last goal coming late in the game while the Sabres were shorthanded.

Buffalo moved to within four points of Florida for the final wild-card spot. The Sabres have two games in hand.

The Flyers, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention, had their season-best, seven-game point streak (5-0-2) snapped.

Here are my five takeaways:

1. The Flyers’ penalty kill was working.

Until the third period, the Flyers had little momentum. They got some energy, however, off their second successful penalty kill. On a Flyers’ set play, Noah Cates drew back the faceoff to the right circle, and Travis Konecny, who was back in action, got his 28th goal of the season at 5:11 of the third period. That cut the Buffalo lead to 5-3 before Tuch iced it.

Konecny (minus-2) came off the injured list and played his first game since Feb. 20. He finished with 11 shot attempts, including five on goal.

“I felt pretty good. Our staff does a great job getting you into the best game-day shape as possible,” Konecny said.

2. Morgan Frost continues his solid play.

Frost, continuing his solid play, took a loose puck and deposited it high on Sabres’ goalie Ukka-Pekka-Luukkonen. That gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead with 3:22 left in the first period.

Associate coach Brad Shaw directed the Flyers for the second straight game. John Tortorella watched from the press level.

“He’s maybe a touch less intense than Torts,” Frost said. “In general, the message is the same.”

Frost finished with two goals on the night, giving him 18 for the season. He has been one of the Flyers’ best all-around players in the season’s second half

His second goal with 3:26 left in the second got the Flyers within 5-2.

Frosty stays hot. #BUFvsPHI | @_morganfrost_10 pic.twitter.com/Jo5iXV7BrR

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 1, 2023

Make it four goals in three games for Frosty. #BUFvsPHI | @_morganfrost_10 pic.twitter.com/61apBeRydr

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 2, 2023

3. Flyers’ defense was way too loose.

Jordan Greenway gave the Sabres a 3-1 lead at 2:40 of the second period. Then 1:06 later, Jeff Skinner’s goal made it 4-1. Tuch made it 5-1 with his second goal of the game.

“Too many critical errors, especially with that stretch in the second period,” Frost said. “Just mental mistakes and giving up odd-man rushes.”

The Flyers weren’t engaged on defense at all. They were too loose. The Sabres are one of the league’s best offensive teams, and the Flyers paid the price.

4. Buffalo seized the momentum.

Mattias Samuelsson, a South Jersey native, had a nice breakout pass to Peyton Krebs, who made a cross-ice feed to Kyle Okposo and he buried it at 19:50 of the first period. It was a deflating moment for the Philadelphia Flyers. It was 1-1 after one. It started a streak of five straight Sabres goals.

The Flyers have to overcome situations like that next season.

5. Flyers’ didn’t play well in front of Felix Sandstrom.

It was obvious early that Sandstrom wasn’t going to have the best support in front of him. The final score might look ugly, but he isn’t the reason this game was lopsided toward the Sabres.