Flyers prepare for the worst against Sabres
When the Flyers lost to the Sabres 9-1 a few weeks back, the team had hit rock bottom. Bob Clarke and Ken Hitchcock were fired 5 days later, and the team moved in a new direction. Since then, things haven't gotten much better for the orange and black. The team is now 3-11-1, and they face the task of stopping a team that has not yet lost on the road this season. That's right, Buffalo is in town tonight, and the Flyers need to play 60 minutes of hockey if they even want to have a chance to win this one.
Buffalo has lost one game this year, while the Flyers have lost twelve. Just think about that for a second. Settled in yet? Good. We can easily throw all the stats out there, but we'll try to keep it to a minimum. Maybe the most startling stat: the Sabres have 8 players in double digits in points already. The Flyers have just one, Simon Gagne. The Sabres have 68 goals this season, while the Flyers have just 30. Buffalo's power play is nearly 10% better than the Flyers, which is at a league worst 8.8%. It only gets worse from there.
For the Flyers, Antero Niittymaki will be in goal. Peter Forsberg is questionable with flu-like symptoms. Ryan Miller may be out tonight for the Sabres with a "lower body muscle strain" as termed by head coach Lindy Ruff. If he cannot play, backup Mar
tin Biron will start for Buffalo. Biron won in the Sabres' game last night in Florida. The Flyers also announced today that Marty Murray was claimed on waivers by the Kings, and that Ryan Potulny was called up once again. Despite it being reported here that he would play on Thursday vs. the Islanders, he was acutally sent down again to the Phantoms shortly after it was announced of his call-up. Potulny may or may not play tonight. Great reporting there, eh?
The Flyers' walking wounded also include Denis Gauthier, Mike Knuble, and Randy Robitaille. Gauthier was absent from practice on Friday and may not play tonight. Robtaille has been out since November 3rd after he nicked up his left ankle in a hard crash into the boards against Tampa Bay. Knuble will definitely not play tonight, as he is still recovering from a broken finger.
Tonight's game is somewhat like an impending storm. There's about a 95% chance of something bad happening tonight at the Wachovia Center. Too bad the Flyers only have a snowball's chance in hell of winning.
When the Flyers lost to the Sabres 9-1 a few weeks back, the team had hit rock bottom. Bob Clarke and Ken Hitchcock were fired 5 days later, and the team moved in a new direction. Since then, things haven't gotten much better for the orange and black. The team is now 3-11-1, and they face the task of stopping a team that has not yet lost on the road this season. That's right, Buffalo is in town tonight, and the Flyers need to play 60 minutes of hockey if they even want to have a chance to win this one.
Buffalo has lost one game this year, while the Flyers have lost twelve. Just think about that for a second. Settled in yet? Good. We can easily throw all the stats out there, but we'll try to keep it to a minimum. Maybe the most startling stat: the Sabres have 8 players in double digits in points already. The Flyers have just one, Simon Gagne. The Sabres have 68 goals this season, while the Flyers have just 30. Buffalo's power play is nearly 10% better than the Flyers, which is at a league worst 8.8%. It only gets worse from there.
For the Flyers, Antero Niittymaki will be in goal. Peter Forsberg is questionable with flu-like symptoms. Ryan Miller may be out tonight for the Sabres with a "lower body muscle strain" as termed by head coach Lindy Ruff. If he cannot play, backup Mar
tin Biron will start for Buffalo. Biron won in the Sabres' game last night in Florida. The Flyers also announced today that Marty Murray was claimed on waivers by the Kings, and that Ryan Potulny was called up once again. Despite it being reported here that he would play on Thursday vs. the Islanders, he was acutally sent down again to the Phantoms shortly after it was announced of his call-up. Potulny may or may not play tonight. Great reporting there, eh?The Flyers' walking wounded also include Denis Gauthier, Mike Knuble, and Randy Robitaille. Gauthier was absent from practice on Friday and may not play tonight. Robtaille has been out since November 3rd after he nicked up his left ankle in a hard crash into the boards against Tampa Bay. Knuble will definitely not play tonight, as he is still recovering from a broken finger.
Tonight's game is somewhat like an impending storm. There's about a 95% chance of something bad happening tonight at the Wachovia Center. Too bad the Flyers only have a snowball's chance in hell of winning.
posted by Victor at 12:43 PM
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