The Philadelphia Flyers will try for their first three-game winning streak since the start of the season when they visit the first-place Buffalo Sabres for a clash at HSBC Arena.
The Flyers have posted consecutive decisive victories in their last two outings against Carolina and Tampa Bay to record back-to-back wins for the third time this year. Philly's longest winning streak came when it began the campaign with three in a row from October 2-6.
The Sabres, meanwhile, have played at a high level all year and, at 9-2-1 they lead the Northeast Division with 19 points. Buffalo has recorded wins in five of its last six games.
Philadelphia has outscored the opposition, 12-3, in its last two games, following up last weekend's 6-1 blowout of Carolina with Monday's 6-2 victory over Tampa.
Jeff Carter and Mike Richards both finished with two goals and an assist, propelling the Flyers to the easy home win over Tampa Bay. Scott Hartnell added a goal and two assists for the Flyers.
James van Riemsdyk notched three assists in the win, while Ray Emery made 26 saves. David Laliberte also recorded a goal, giving him a tally in each of his first two career NHL games.
"It's great to see Laliberte and van Riemsdyk and guys like that take advantage of the extra ice time and use this as an opportunity," Flyers head coach John Stevens said of the two rookies.
Philadelphia will be without forward Danny Briere, a former Sabre, for a third straight game tonight as he continues to battle a strained right groin. Like many NHL teams, the Flyers have been bitten by the flu bug as forwards Arron Asham and Dan Carcillo are probable with the illness, while defenseman Matt Carle is questionable.
The Flyers are just 2-2-0 as the guest this year and have lost their last two road games. The Orange and Black will return to Philadelphia following tonight's game and then it will begin a four-game homestand with Saturday's test against St. Louis.
Buffalo had a four-game winning streak halted in last Saturday's 5-0 road loss against the New York Islanders. However, the Sabres were able to exact revenge for the loss just a few days later as they handed the Isles a 3-0 setback at HSBC Arena.
Ryan Miller posted his second shutout of the season with 24 saves, and Thomas Vanek picked up a goal and an assist to lead the Sabres to victory. Buffalo played two straight against the Isles, but it was not a home-and-home series as New York played a game against Edmonton in between.
Miller was pulled in Saturday's setback after allowing three goals on 16 shots but recorded his 14th career blanking in a successful encore.
"When you lose 5-0...it's good that you get to play them right away. You don't want to have that sit. We had a good run going into that (Saturday's) game," said Sabres forward Tim Kennedy.
Derek Roy pocketed his first goal of the year and Paul Gaustad his third for Buffalo, which has just two regulation losses this season.
The Sabres have an excellent 5-1-1 mark as the host this year and are completing a brief two-game homestand tonight.
Tonight marks the first of four meetings between the Flyers and Sabres this year as well as the first of three encounters this month. Philly swept all four games from Buffalo in 2008-09 and has taken five of six and six of the last nine tests in the series. The Flyers have also come out on top in their last three trips to western New York.
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