GDT: #53: Sabres at Flyers, Thursday, February 11, 2016, 7:00 pm ET

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (23-20-9, 12-8-6 home ) vs. BUFFALO SABRES (21-27-6, 12-11-3 away )​

BROADCAST INFORMATION​

• Television: MSG-B, BELL TV, CSN-PH, NHL.TV
• Radio: http://flyers.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/radioplayer?id=2015020810&team=PHI
• Streams: Posting and soliciting links to illegal streams is prohibited. Do not post or inquire about such streams.

GAME PREVIEW, NOTES and STATISTICS​

• Preview: http://flyers.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2015020810 and http://flyers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=805213
• NHL Stats: http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm
• Flyers' Stats: http://flyers.nhl.com/club/stats.htm
• Sabres' Stats: http://sabres.nhl.com/club/stats.htm

Team Stats​

Team | GP | Record | Home | Away | L10 | G/G | GA/G | PP%| PK% | PIM/G | S/G | S/A | FO%
Sabres| 54 |21-27-6 |9-16-3| 12-11-3 |4-4-2 |2.30 |2.70 |21.1 |81.2 |7.8 |29.5 |30.9 |50.0
Flyers| 52 |23-20-9 |12-8-6 |11-12-3| 4-5-1| 2.35 |2.64 |18.0 |78.6 |12.8 |30.3 |32.2 |50.0

TEAMS' WEBSITES​

• Flyers' Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/philadelphiaflyers
• Flyers' Twitter: https://twitter.com/NHLFlyers
• Flyers' Website: http://flyers.nhl.com/index.html
• Sabres' Website: http://sabres.nhl.com/

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS​

FLYERS' ROSTER
Forwards

No. | Player | Pos. | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Age | Place of Birth
78 | Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | L |6' 0"|198|Mar 6, 1985| 30| Le Blanc-Mesnil, FRA
52 | Nick Cousins | C| 5' 10" | 169 |Jul 20, 1993 | 22| Belleville, ON, Canada
14 |Sean Couturier | C |6' 3" |197 |Dec 7, 1992 |23| Phoenix, AZ, USA
89 |Sam Gagner |C |5' 11" |202 |Aug 10, 1989 |26| London, ON, CAN
28 | Claude Giroux "C"| C| 5' 11" |172 |Jan 12, 1988 |28| Hearst, ON, CAN
21 | Scott Laughton |C |6' 1"| 177| May 30, 1994| 21| Oakville, ON, CAN
12 | Michael Raffl | L |6' 0" |195| Dec 1, 1988 |27| Villach, AUT
24 | Matt Read | R |5' 10" |185| Jun 14, 1986| 29 |Ilderton, ON, CAN
10| Brayden Schenn | C |6' 1" |190| Aug 22, 1991| 24 |Saskatoon, SK, CAN
17 | Wayne Simmonds "A" | R| 6' 2" |183|Aug 26, 1988 |27|Scarborough, ON, CAN
20 | R.J. Umberger |C |6' 2"| 214 |May 3, 1982 |33| Pittsburgh, PA, USA
76 | Chris VandeVelde | C |6' 2" |190| Mar 15, 1987 |28| Moorhead, MN, USA
93 |Jakub Voracek | R |6' 2" |214 |Aug 15, 1989 |26| Kladno, CZE
19 |Jordan Weal | C |5' 10" |179| Apr 15, 1992 |23| North Vancouver, BC, CAN
25 |Ryan White |C |6' 0"| 201| Mar 17, 1988| 27 |Brandon, MB, CAN

Defensemen

No. | Player | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Age | Place of Birth
15| Michael Del Zotto| 6' 0" |195 |Jun 24, 1990 |25 |Stouffville, ON, CAN
53| Shayne Gostisbehere | 5' 11" |160 |Apr 20, 1993 |22| Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
3 |Radko Gudas |6' 0" |204 |Jun 5, 1990| 25| Prague, CZE
23| Brandon Manning | 6' 1"| 195 |Jun 4, 1990| 25 |Prince George, BC, CAN
82| Evgeny Medvedev | 6' 3"| 198| Aug 27, 1982| 33 |Chelyabinsk, RUS
55| Nick Schultz | 6' 1" |203| Aug 25, 1982| 33 |Strasbourg, SK, CAN
32| Mark Streit "A" | 5' 11" |191 |Dec 11, 1977 |38| Bern, CHE

Goalies

No. | Player | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Age | Place of Birth
35 |Steve Mason | 6' 4" |217 |May 29, 1988 |27 |Oakville, ON, CAN
30 | Michal Neuvirth| 6' 1" |209 |Mar 23, 1988 |27| Ústí nad Labem, CZE

FLYERS' POSSIBLE LINEUP
Lines

Left Wing | Center | Right Wing
93 - Jakub Voracek | 28 - Claude Giroux |17 - Wayne Simmonds
12 - Michael Raffl |52 - Nick Cousins| 10 - Brayden Schenn
76 - Chris VandeVelde | 78 - Pierre-Édouard Bellemare |25 - Ryan White
89 - Sam Gagner |19 - Jordan Weal| 20 - R.J. Umberger

Pairings

Name | Name
15 - Michael Del Zotto | 53 - Shayne Gostisbehere
55 - Nick Schultz | 32 - Mark Streit
23 - Brandon Manning |3 - Radko Gudas

Goalies

Name | Name
35 - Steve Mason (expected starter) | 30 - Michal Neuvirth

FLYERS' INJURIES and SCRATCHES

Player | Status | Description
Sean Couturier | out four weeks from Feb. 5 | lower body, possibly right foot
Scott Laughton | available | could be a healthy scratch
Evgeny Medvedev| available | could be a healthy scratch
Matt Read | available | could be a healthy scratch

FLYERS' POWER PLAY UNITS

Unit | Name | Name | Name | Name | Name
No. 1| Brayden Schenn | Wayne Simmonds |Claude Giroux | Jakub Voracek |Shayne Gostisbehere
No. 2|Jordan Weal/Matt Read | Sam Gagner| Michael Raffl | Mark Streit| Michael Del Zotto

BUFFALO SABRES​

SABRES' POSSIBLE LINEUP (lines are not as listed)
Lines

Left Wing | Center | Right Wing
88 - Jamie McGinn | 90 - Ryan O'Reilly | 23 - Sam Reinhart
82 - Marcus Foligno | 15 - Jack Eichel |26 - Matt Moulson
9 - Evander Kane |56 - Justin Bailey | 12 - Brian Gionta
44 - Nicolas Deslauriers | 43 - Daniel Catenacci | 17 - David Legwand

Pairings

Name | Name
4 - Josh Gorges| 55 - Rasmus Ristolainen
29 - Jake McCabe|47 - Zach Bogosian
46 - Cody Franson |3 - Mark Pysyk

Goalies

Name | Name
31 - Chad Johnson | 40 - Robin Lehner (starter)

SABRES' INJURIES and SCRATCHES

Player | Status | Description
Carlo Colaiacovo | available | could be a healthy scratch
Tyler Ennis | injured reserve; will not play | speculated as a concussion
Johan Larsson | doubtful | injured during morning skate Feb. 9
Zemgus Girgensons |injured reserve; will not play| lower body
Cody McCormick | injured reserve; will not play| blood clots in his calf
Mike Weber| available | could be a healthy scratch

SABRES' POWER PLAY UNITS

Unit | Name | Name | Name | Name | Name
No. 1 |Jamie McGinn | Ryan O'Reilly | Sam Reinhart |Jack Eichel | Rasmus Ristolainen
No. 2| Evander Kane | Brian Gionta |Matt Moulson | Cody Franson | Zach Bogosian

SABRES' ROSTER

No. | Player | Pos. | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Age | Place of Birth
56 | Justin Bailey | R |6' 3" |210 |Jul 1, 1995| 20 |Buffalo, NY, USA
43 |Daniel Catenacci | C |5' 9" |191 |Mar 9, 1993| 22 |Richmond Hill, ON, CAN
44| Nicolas Deslauriers | L |6' 1" |212 |Feb 22, 1991 |24| LaSalle, QC, CAN
15| Jack Eichel | C| 6' 2" |201| Oct 28, 1996 |19 |North Chelmsford, MA, USA
63| Tyler Ennis | C| 5' 9" |160| Oct 6, 1989 |26| Edmonton, AB, CAN
82| Marcus Foligno | L |6' 3" |226 |Aug 10, 1991 |24| Buffalo, NY, USA
12| Brian Gionta "C" | R |5' 7" |178 |Jan 18, 1979| 37| Rochester, NY, USA
28| Zemgus Girgensons | C |6' 1" |203 |Jan 5, 1994| 22| Riga, LVA
9 |Evander Kane | L |6' 2" |204 |Aug 2, 1991 |24 |Vancouver, BC, CAN
22| Johan Larsson | L |5' 11" |200 |Jul 25, 1992 |23| Lau, SWE
17| David Legwand | C |6' 2" |207 |Aug 17, 1980| 35 |Detroit, MI, USA
8 |Cody McCormick | C |6' 2" |228 |Apr 18, 1983 |32| London, ON, CAN
88 | Jamie McGinn | L |6' 1" |205 |Aug 5, 1988| 27| Fergus, ON, CAN
26| Matt Moulson | L| 6' 1" |212| Nov 1, 1983| 32| North York, ON, CAN
90 | Ryan O'Reilly "A" | C |6' 1" |210| Feb 7, 1991 |24 |Clinton, ON, CAN
23 | Sam Reinhart |C |6' 1" |189 |Nov 6, 1995 |20| North Vancouver, BC, CAN

Defensemen

No. | Player | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Age | Place of Birth
47 | Zach Bogosian | 6' 3"| 219| Jul 15, 1990| 25| Massena, NY, USA
25 | Carlo Colaiacovo | 6' 1"| 202 |Jan 27, 1983| 33| Toronto, ON, CAN
46 | Cody Franson |6' 5" |234| Aug 8, 1987 |28 |Sicamous, BC, CAN
4 | Josh Gorges "A" | 6' 1"| 203 |Aug 14, 1984 |31| Kelowna, BC, CAN
29| Jake McCabe | 6' 0"| 214 |Oct 12, 1993| 22| Eau Claire, WI, USA
3 | Mark Pysyk |6' 1"| 200 |Jan 11, 1992| 24 |Sherwood Park, AB, CAN
55| Rasmus Ristolainen |6' 4"| 207| Oct 27, 1994 |21| Turku, FIN
6 | Mike Weber | 6' 2" |217 |Dec 16, 1987 |28| Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Goalies

No. | Player | Height | Weight | Date of Birth | Age | Place of Birth
31 | Chad Johnson | 6' 3"| 196| Jun 10, 1986 |29| Saskatoon, SK, CAN
40 | Robin Lehner | 6' 5"| 240 |Jul 24, 1991 |24| Gothenburg, SWE

FLYERS vs. SABRES SERIES HISTORY​

Regular Season Record

Opponent | W-L-T-OTL | Home | Away
Buffalo Sabres |83-59-20-7 | 49-20-12-5|34-39-8-2

Playoffs Record

Opponent | Series | W-L | Home | Away
Buffalo Sabres |6-3 | 29-21|19-8|10-13

Regular Season Streaks (unless noted)

Opponent | W-L-OTL | Home | Away
Buffalo Sabres| 0-1-2 in the last 3 |5-0-2 in the last 7| 3-1-0 in the last 4

FLYERS' UPCOMING SCHEDULE​

http://www.nhl.com/ice/schedulebyseason.htm?team=PHI

Date | Game | Time (ET) | Television (could change)
Sat Feb 13, 2016| New Jersey at Philadelphia |1:00 PM | MSG+, CSN-PH
Sun Feb 14, 2016 | Philadelphia at NY Rangers| 7:30 PM | NBCSN, SN
Tue Feb 16, 2016 | Philadelphia at New Jersey |7:00 PM | CSN-PH, MSG+
Fri Feb 19, 2016 | Philadelphia at Montréal | 7:30 PM |CSN-PH, RDS, SNE, NHLN-US
Sat Feb 20, 2016 | Philadelphia at Toronto | 7:00 PM|CSN-PH, CBC
Tue Feb 23, 2016 | Philadelphia at Carolina | 7:00 PM | TCN-PH, FS-SE

MEDIA COVERAGE​

Name | Link

Bucks County Courier Times​

| http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/flyers/

Wayne Fish's Twitter​

| https://twitter.com/waynefish1

Center Ice Philly​

| http://centericephilly.com/

Anthony Mingioni's Twitter​

| http://twitter.com/AnthonyMingioni

Comcast Sports Philadelphia​

| http://www.csnphilly.com/pages/flyers

Tim Panaccio's Twitter​

| https://twitter.com/tpanotchCSN

Courier-Post of South Jersey​

| http://www.courierpostonline.com/sports/flyers

Dave Isaac's Twitter​

| https://twitter.com/davegisaac

Delaware County Times​

| http://www.delcotimes.com/sports

Rob Parent's Twitter​

| http://twitter.com/reluctantSE

Flyerdelphia​

| http://www.flyerdelphia.com/

Twitter​

| https://twitter.com/Flyerdelphia

Fourth Period, The​

| http://www.thefourthperiod.com/Philadelphia/

David Strehle's Twitter​

| https://twitter.com/DStrehleTFP

HockeyBuzz.com ​

| http://www.hockeybuzz.com/team/Philadelphia-Flyers

Bill Meltzer's Twitter​

| http://twitter.com/billmeltzer

Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer​

| http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/flyers/

Blog​

| http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/flyers

Sam Carchidi's Twitter​

| http://twitter.com/broadstbull

Buffalo News ​

| http://www.buffalonews.com/section/SPORTS02?profileID=1104

Blog​

| http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/

Mike Harrington's Twitter​

| http://twitter.com/BNHarrington

John Vogl's Twitter​

| http://twitter.com/buffnewsvogl

Olean Times Herald ​

| http://www.oleantimesherald.com/sports/sabres/

Blog ​

| http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/

Bill Hoppe's Twitter​

| https://twitter.com/BillHoppeNHL

WGR Radio 550 AM​

| http://wgr550.com/Sabres/8767954

Brian Koziol's Twitter‏ ​

| https://twitter.com/BrianWGR

GAME DAY THREAD MUSIC​

"Where Have All the Good Times Gone" by Van Halen
​

Click to read more...

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

If we can't beat them... then yeah... we're doomed.

 

[dats81]

That could be the final nail to the coffin

 

[Hurricane28]

Great GDT song selection

 

[Danko]

My hockey team rented the ice after this game so I'll be there. Last two games I went to they lost with under a minute left.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

be interesting to see how they respond after getting whipped on home ice last night.

 

[wuf]

At this point I just want to see how long Ghost can keep up the point streak.

 

[usahockey22flyers]

Cody Franson, what a fall from grace.

 

[sabremike]

Quick question: has anyone been to the Geno's in Xfinity? If so is the quality comparable to the actual Geno's or am I just better off getting the Campo's one inside the arena like I usually do?

 

[Hurricane28]

Quick question: has anyone been to the Geno's in Xfinity? If so is the quality comparable to the actual Geno's or am I just better off getting the Campo's one inside the arena like I usually do?

Nothing like the original but still better than the Campos inside

 

[RonHextall27]

Hopefully Ghost has a new batch of sticks for this game. Time to turf those ccms in the trash

 

[CutOnDime97]

I want to see Stolarz go in this one.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I want to see Stolarz go in this one.

It seems like he's going to be sent back to the AHL sometime after tomorrow's game & before the Phantoms game on Friday night. So I think you just see Mason tomorrow night & Neuvirth one of the games this weekend.

 

[Rebels57]

I too will be in attendance. I'm 2-0 so far this year if that makes anyone feel better.

 

[Prongo]

Flyers are 23-20-9 regardless if I am there or not. I will be there Saturday though.

 

[flyersjim73]

Don't know where to ask this question so I'll just throw it in here - Why have we not recalled Andrew McDonald yet?

I'll never claim he's great but I was under the impression he was in the minors because of salary cap reasons. Those concerns were taken care of a while ago. He is better than Manning and probably Streit right now. He's pretty comparable (different player but overall) to Medi, Schultz, and Gudas at this point in time. There's absolutely no reason he shouldn't be on the NHL roster at this point IMO.

 

[TheKingPin]

Don't know where to ask this question so I'll just throw it in here - Why have we not recalled Andrew McDonald yet?

I'll never claim he's great but I was under the impression he was in the minors because of salary cap reasons. Those concerns were taken care of a while ago. He is better than Manning and probably Streit right now. He's pretty comparable (different player but overall) to Medi, Schultz, and Gudas at this point in time. There's absolutely no reason he shouldn't be on the NHL roster at this point IMO.

Agreed. He is a serviceable NHL dman. Makes no sense to have manning be a consideration over him.

This teams needs a 5-6 game winning streak and a little help from other teams to be back in the mix. A win here would be nice. Then neuvy comes back and hopefully steals the show. Mase has been so so as of late and we need a hot goalie with couts out.

 

[Juicy Pop]

Don't know where to ask this question so I'll just throw it in here - Why have we not recalled Andrew McDonald yet?

I'll never claim he's great but I was under the impression he was in the minors because of salary cap reasons. Those concerns were taken care of a while ago. He is better than Manning and probably Streit right now. He's pretty comparable (different player but overall) to Medi, Schultz, and Gudas at this point in time. There's absolutely no reason he shouldn't be on the NHL roster at this point IMO.

At a quick glance, the team is at the 23-man roster limit and all of the D, except for Ghost and Russian Pronger, would have to clear waivers. We obviously aren't sending Ghost down and I don't think Hextall wants to lose anyone to waivers, e.g., Manning, that might have value as a throw-in on a trade.

He'll probably be up with the team once the TD passes and the roster has been shifted around.

 

[Domino666]

Agreed. He is a serviceable NHL dman. Makes no sense to have manning be a consideration over him.

This teams needs a 5-6 game winning streak and a little help from other teams to be back in the mix. A win here would be nice. Then neuvy comes back and hopefully steals the show. Mase has been so so as of late and we need a hot goalie with couts out.

I mean of course every fan wants the playoffs and more than half of the fanbase expect them to get there every year, but ever since Hexy took over I am all in on his patience approach, missing the playoffs again this year yes would suck but, a decent pick again and the kids starting to come along nicely, make me feel like it's going to be worth all the misery now, when the Flyers ice an insane D-core for once and are contenders again hell even a cup favorite in a couple years why not?!?!?!

Of course I will always root for them to win but this year the sting of loss is shorter due to Ghost and the kids

 

[Curufinwe]

Don't know where to ask this question so I'll just throw it in here - Why have we not recalled Andrew McDonald yet?

Hakstol wouldn't play him ahead of any of the regular top 6, Hextall isn't going to waive Manning, and they don't want to carry 8 dmen.

 

[boxcar65]

Don't know where to ask this question so I'll just throw it in here - Why have we not recalled Andrew McDonald yet?

Because he is softer than tissue paper and doesn't play the defensive style that Hak likes to see. I was reffing the other night and have yet another one tonight, so I will miss the game. My NHL Gamecenter subscription ran out, so I guess I had better shell out a few more bucks.

I did watch the Manning fight against Grizzly Adams, and he acquitted himself fairly well against the bigger man. I would say he also got in the best punch of the fight, but then Grizzly used his size to take ManDog to the ice. Brandon played with the "heart of a lion" the other night, so I fully expect him to be back in tonight as well.

 

[wuf]

I mean of course every fan wants the playoffs and more than half of the fanbase expect them to get there every year, but ever since Hexy took over I am all in on his patience approach, missing the playoffs again this year yes would suck but, a decent pick again and the kids starting to come along nicely, make me feel like it's going to be worth all the misery now, when the Flyers ice an insane D-core for once and are contenders again hell even a cup favorite in a couple years why not?!?!?!

Of course I will always root for them to win but this year the sting of loss is shorter due to Ghost and the kids

For the good of the team and the culture we are building, I want them to go out and compete every night. I think it softens the blows of losing when you know that this team isn't built to compete today, but it is still competing. You want the players to feel that there's something to build off of and be proud of.

The other part of remaining competitive is gauging Hakstol's performance as a coach. If Hakstol can keep this team winning with pieces that aren't the best, it makes me think when he has prime talent that we will have a chance at a cup.

 

[Hiesenberg]

Dave Isaac tweeting that Weal is in, no word on who is out.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Probably Gagner.

 

[Hiesenberg]

Which is basically a lateral move.