Flyers Hand Buffalo a Win With Sloppy Play and More Mistake Filled Play
Buffalo Sabres center Noah Ostlund (86) and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim (6) get separated by linesman Matt MacPherson (83) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
The Flyers rolled into Buffalo tonight with something to prove, not just that they bounced back from the back-to-back losses against the Carolina Hurricanes, but those losses didn’t rattle their confidence. That win in Montreal didn’t feel like a bounce-back; it felt like a reminder of who they are when they play direct, heavy, and disciplined. This road trip has stripped away excuses, and the Flyers responded in Montreal by staying structured and getting scoring from everywhere. You can feel the edge building. Good teams stack wins, and serious teams do it on the road.
In the first period, the Sabres got the scoring started early when Mattias Samuelson shot a slap shot from the point, which was tipped in by Jack Quinn, who got by Samuel Ersson in the blink of an eye. Less than a minute later, Bobby Brink stayed with a zone entry pass when he flipped a beautiful pass to the trailing Noah Cates, who sniped a shot past Alex Lyon to tie the game.
The second period would be a tale of two halves. The Flyers were dominating the second period in all ways except goals until 11 minutes into the period, in maybe the best rotation of the season, Trevor Zegras found Cam York for his second goal of the season.
At about the 15-minute mark, the ice tilted to Buffalo, and that culminated with Tage Thompson wristing a shot past Ersson on a field breakout for the Flyers. At the end of the second period, they were playing back, and just looking for the end of the period, Noah Ostlund took advantage with a snap shot from the point, which went past Ersson.
When they came back from the Intermission, the Sabres continued the domination. Brink took a penalty for high-sticking Michael Kesselring, and in the ensuing power play, Jack Norris ended up with the puck and shot one past Ersson, to bring the lead to 2 goals. Travis Konecny scored again to bring the Buffalo lead to one, but Rick Tocchet pulled Ersson, and with 8 seconds left, Ryan McLeod put the game away with an empty net goal, giving Buffalo a hard-fought 5-3 win.
Again, unforced errors caused this loss. Buffalo was definitely the better team all game, with the Flyers having a slight run at the end of the first and second periods, but all in all, the Sabres controlled the ice. The disheartening thing is that all but the first goal from Quinn was set up by a Flyers misstep. When the Flyers play off like they did tonight, it is almost always self-inflicted wounds. Tonight, it was a longer list of issues, including the captain Sean Couturier mistiming a breakout, Brink taking a high-sticking penalty when the Sabres are picking up momentum, and bad clears out of the defensive zone.
The losses to the Hurricanes were close games, where the Flyers were in it, but tonight the Flyers let this one get away. From the 15-minute mark on in the second, the Flyers looked like they were just missing the spark and making mistakes that they can’t afford to make. I feel like I’m constantly saying this, but the Flyers need to really clean up these mistakes. They are too good a team to let games like tonight happen. If they want to be taken seriously as a playoff contender in the Metropolitan, they will need to win games like tonight.
The other thing that bothered me tonight was the penalty kill unit, which has been one of the best in the NHL this season, really looked out of sync tonight. The 4th goal was a direct result of the PK not watching the backside of the play. They let the Sabres form a rush behind the play, and that started the Sabres in motion. These are things that can’t happen against top-level competition in playoff series. The Flyers are a much better team than the Sabres, but tonight, you’d never know it if you watched the game. These are issues that can’t continue, and against teams that are below them in the standings. Tocchet has a few days to correct these issues before heading to Manhattan to play the New York Rangers.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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