Flyers 5, Sabres 2
Sabres fall flat, Flyers take advantage
It's something that hasn't been said often this season, but there was no debate this time. From the crease on out, the Buffalo Sabres were the inferior team.
The Philadelphia Flyers halted the feel-good vibe sweeping Sabreland by delivering a one-sided performance Friday night. They were better at every position and skated out of HSBC Arena with a 5-2 victory.
"They executed better. They competed harder. They were the better team," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "I can't find any argument against that. They made better plays, had better support.
"It's disappointing. ... I'm not going to try to mask it at all. It wasn't a good night for us. It wasn't a good night for most of the team."
The loss was just the third in regulation for the 9-3-1 Sabres, who have to forget about it in a hurry. They flew to Boston immediately following the game and face the Bruins tonight in TD Banknorth Garden.
They certainly are hoping for a better effort in Beantown. Friday's game was not up to the early standards the Sabres have set. Even in their previous losses to the Atlanta Thrashers and New York Islanders, the Sabres had several fine moments to which they could cling.
Things crashed against the Flyers, who won their fifth straight over Buffalo during the past two seasons.
"We weren't there from the beginning," Sabres defenseman Henrik Tallinder said. "It's our building. We should come with a lot of aggressiveness, a lot of jump. But it didn't seem like we were doing that."
The Flyers, the NHL's top-scoring team, kept the league's most active shooters silent for long stretches. The Sabres regularly record double-digit shot totals in a period, but they did so only during the third while trying to erase a three-goal deficit. Ray Emery was there when they came, making 28 saves.
Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller made 32, including breakaways and odd-man chances. But Miller, who entered the night leading the league in save percentage and was second in goals- against average, allowed a pair of shaky goals that gave the Flyers the three-goal advantage.
James van Riemsdyk started the run, putting Philly up, 3-1, with 5:05 to go in the second period. Miller attempted to block the winger's pass through the crease, but instead it hit the netminder's leg and went through the wickets.
With 2:34 gone in the final period, the 18,525 in attendance groaned as Miller was beaten again. Darroll Powe lofted a slow knuckler toward the net, and the puck wobbled under Miller's arm when he went to glove it.
Four of the Flyers' goals came from role players and blue-liners. They had been relying on their top two lines for the majority of their scoring, but they only contributed one.
"Their third and fourth lines were doing the job for them," Ruff said. "It just seemed like our top two lines were struggling."
The Sabres got a power-play goal from Derek Roy in the second period and brief gasp of life from Tyler Myers in the third. The rookie defenseman's shot was tipped into the net by Flyers blue-liner Braydon Coburn with 9:26 to go, pulling the Sabres within two.
They got no closer, and Daniel Carcillo closed the game with an empty-net tally in the final minute.
"We kind of shied away from the physical game a little bit," Sabres left wing Clarke MacArthur said. "Obviously, we missed a lot of chances again."
The Sabres held the league's best power play to an 0-for-4 night, but the other stats slanted toward Philly. The Flyers outhit Buffalo, 18-9. They won faceoffs by a 31-27 margin.
"They're a good team," Myers said, "and they were the better team."
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