Flyers-Sabres: Lineups, Notes, Starting Goalies, How to Watch

The Buffalo Sabres, attempting to stay alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race, will try to avoid being swept by the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers (29-32-13) won the first two meetings, 4-0 and 5-2.

Buffalo (36-31-7) has eight games remaining and is five points behind Pittsburgh for the final playoff spot. The Sabres are on a 3-0-1 run and have a game in hand on the Penguins.

On Friday, the Sabres defeated the Rangers in overtime, 3-2. They are 4-7-1 in the back end of consecutive games.

The Philadelphia Flyers will get right winger Travis Konecny back n the lineup for the first time since Feb. 20. He leads the Flyers in goals (27) and points (52) despite missing 16 games because of an upper-body injury.

Buffalo’s top goal scorer, Tage Thompson (44 goals), has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury. Sabres coach Don Granato said there was a “slight” chance he would play Saturday.

Flyers’ expected lineup

Farabee-Cates-Tippett

JVR-Hayes-Konecny

Lemieux-Frost-Allison

Deslauriers-Laughton-Rotating RW

Defense

Provorov-York

Sanheim-Ristolainen

Seeler-DeAngelo

Braun

Goalie

Sandstrom (2-10-3, 3.48 GAA, .887 SP)

Sabres’ expected lineup

Skinner-Mittelstadt-Tuch

Peterka-Cozens-Quinn

Greenway-Jost-Olofsson

Girgensons-Krebs-Okposo

Defense

Samuelsson-Dahlin

Power-Jokiharju

Stillman-Lyubushkin

Goalie

Luukkonen (16-11-4, 3.63, .890)

Breakaways

The Flyers’ power play went 2 for 2 in Thursday’s 5-4 overtime loss in Ottawa and has inched to 31st (16.3% success rate) in the NHL. Buffalo has the seventh-best PP, clicking at 24.1%. … The Sabres are the NHL’s third-highest scoring team, averaging 3.55 goas per game. … Sandstrom will make his third straight start. … Buffalo has three players with 30-plus goals: Thompson (44), Jeff Skinner (32), and Alex Tuch (32). Tuch has 14 points (8-6) in his last 14 games…. Skinner has 34 points, including 17 goals, in 48 games against the Flyers.

The Flyers are on a season-high seven-game point streak (5-0-2). … James van Riemsdyk has 20 goals in 49 career games against the Sabres. … JVR has 298 career goals. … Sandstrom is 0-1 with a 4.11 GAA and .897 save percentage in his only career appearance vs. Buffalo. … Morgan Frost has eight points (3-5) over his last six games. … Philly has scored three-plus goals in 17 of their last 25 games. … On this day in 1973, Rick MacLeish became the first player in the Flyers’ history to reach the 50-goal mark in a season and the second to reach 100 points. … The Flyers lead the all-time series against the Sabres, 99-68-27. … Retiring broadcaster Steve Coates will be honored before and during the game.

How to watch, listen

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia at 7 p.m. Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic.

How to bet

FanDuel moneyline: Flyers minus-110, Sabres minus-110.

Pick: Sabres, 4-3, in a shootout.

Travis Konecny Returning; Sean Couturier Won’t Play This Season