The Sabres get another crack at the Flyers on Wednesday night, and Buffalo comes in with a chance to keep building after a solid stretch against Philadelphia. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY, with the Sabres sitting at 4-3-2 for 10 points and sixth place in the Atlantic Division. The Flyers arrive at 2-6-3 with 7 points, good for seventh in the Metropolitan Division.
Buffalo’s special teams remain a work in progress, but the matchup gives the Sabres a chance to lean on one area that has recently shown life against this opponent. The Sabres are clicking at 9.1 percent on the power play, which ranks 32nd, and their penalty kill sits at 64.5 percent, 30th in the league. Philadelphia’s power play is at 12.9 percent, 27th, while its penalty kill has been much stronger at 84.6 percent, eighth.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gets the start for Buffalo. He enters at 3-2-2 with a 3.59 GAA and a .860 save percentage. Dan Vladar is expected to go for Philadelphia, carrying a 1-3-1 record, a 3.58 GAA and a .889 save percentage.
Buffalo’s projected forward group has Josh Doan with Jiri Kulich and Tage Thompson, Zach Benson with Noah Ostlund and Jack Quinn, Jason Zucker with Josh Norris and Konsta Helenius, and Peyton Krebs with Ryan McLeod and Beck Malenstyn. Tyson Kozak is listed as an extra.
On defense, the Sabres are set with Mattias Samuelsson and Rasmus Dahlin, Olen Zellweger and Owen Power, and Zach Metsa with Louis Crevier. Dennis Gilbert is the extra blue-liner.
Luukkonen is joined by Colten Ellis in goal.
The Sabres have had the upper hand in this matchup lately, taking three of the last four meetings with Philadelphia, including the last two. A win would give Buffalo its first three-game winning streak against the Flyers since the five-game run from March 31, 2021 to April 17, 2022.
Special teams have played a part in that success. Buffalo has scored at least one power-play goal in each of the last three games against Philadelphia, and another one on Wednesday would give the Sabres their longest such streak against the Flyers since they scored at least one in five straight matchups from March 11, 2006 to Feb.
20, 2007. Over the last six games in the series, Buffalo has gone 6-for-24 on the power play, a 25.0 percent clip.
The Sabres are also bringing some individual momentum into the night. Jack Quinn has seven points, including three goals and four assists, in his last four games. He has scored in back-to-back contests and would match the longest goal streak of his career, set from Nov. 21 to 26, 2025, with a goal against the Flyers.
Tage Thompson has nine points in his last eight games, with five goals and four assists, and has posted a point in consecutive games. If he gets on the board again, it would be his first point streak of at least three games since March 25 to 31, 2026, when he had four straight multi-point performances.
Zach Benson has turned distributor lately, putting together a four-game assist streak with five helpers in that span. Another assist would make him the first Sabres forward since Thompson from Jan. 8 to 17, 2026, to reach a streak of at least five consecutive games with an assist.
Wednesday also marks a milestone night for Samuelsson, who is skating in the 300th game of his career. He has points in three straight games and has totaled five points, including one goal and four assists, during that run. Another point would give him his fourth career streak of four games or more, and an assist would tie the longest assist streak of his career, set from Jan. 20 to 27, 2026.
Buffalo will also be without several players. Justin Danforth is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, while Sam Carrick is day-to-day with a middle-body injury. Matt Grzelcyk, Alex Lyon, Conor Timmins and Jack Rathbone are all on injured reserve, with Grzelcyk and Timmins dealing with lower-body injuries and Lyon with an upper-body issue.
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