Flyers vs Sabres Preview: How to Watch, Keys to the Game, Lineups

The Philadelphia Flyers are riding high right now on their way to upstate New York to play the Buffalo Sabres for the first time this season coming off of back to back home wins. 

The Flyers are looking to make it three in a row with a win tonight and the team is also looking to keep Matvei Michkov hot as he is on a 3 game goal streak with having 2 in the teams last game against Colorado. The team's power play has started to come alive with goals in back to back games on the man up. Game time tonight will be at 7:30 PM.

How To Watch

• Time: 7:30 PM
• Location: KeyBank Center Buffalo, NY
• TV: TNT
• Radio: 97.3 ESPN
• Streaming: Max or Prime Video

Projected Flyers Lines vs Sabres

Forwards

46 Trevor Zegras - 22 Christian Dvorak - 52 Noel Acciari

94 Porter Martone - 27 Noah Cates 39 Matvei Michkov

58 Michael Bunting - 14 Sean Couturier - 78 Jacob Gaucher

20 Alex Bump - 86 Denver Barkey - 54 Cole Knuble

Defense

6 Travis Sanheim - 59 Oliver Bonk

24 Nick Seeler - 9 Jamie Drysdale

19 Hunter McDonald - 44 Simon Benoit

Goalies

80 Dan Vladar

52 Joseph Woll

Injuries & Roster Updates

GTD: Tyson Foerster (Upper Body)

Out: Travis Konecny (Lower Body), Cam York (Upper Body), Owen Tippett (Upper Body), Rasmus Ristolainen (Upper Body)

Projected Opponents Lines: Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

91 Josh Doan - 20 Jiri Kulich - 72 Tage Thompson

6 Zach Benson - 86 Noah Ostlund - 22 Jack Quinn

17 Jason Zucker - 9 Josh Norris - 94 Konsta Helenius

19 Peyton Krebs - 71 Ryan McLeod - 29 Beck Malenstyn

Defense

23 Mattias Samuelsson - 26 Rasmus Dahlin

8 Olen Zellweger - 25 Owen Power

73 Zach Metsa - 46 Louis Crevier

Goalies

1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

92 Colten Ellis

Keys to the Game

Keep Michkov Hot: Matvei Michkov has undoubtedly been the Flyers best forward this season and he is on a big hot streak right now scoring a goal in 3 straight games. He has 6 goals on the year including 2 last game against the Avalanche. Michkov is playing with such a high level of confidence right now that he is able to take over games and win games for the Flyers. For this hot streak to continue for the Flyers Michkov is going to have to continue his high level of play and be a force on the ice.

Get More Power Play Chances: The Flyers power play as of late has been starting to turn the corner. The Flyers have scored a power play goal in back to back games and they were not fluke goals either, they were goal scorers goals and the power play has been looking effective in this stretch. They are starting to get into that shoot the puck mentality and it has benefited them on the shot count and on the score board. Everyone on both power play lines right now just look a bit more confident than they did just a bit ago and they are now able to move the puck around efficiently and are getting quality shots off and they are reaping the benefits of it.

Shut Down Tage Thompson: Thompson is the forward for the Sabres that everyone immediately thinks of and for good reason. The 6 '6 forward is best known for his goal scoring ability having back to back 40+ goal seasons. Through 9 games this year Thompson has 9 points with 5 goals. He is the driving force for this Sabres offense and he is going to have to be neutralized for the Flyers to get the upper hand tonight.

By The Numbers 

• In 20 career games against the Flyers Tage Thompson has recorded 9 goals and 7 assists for the Buffalo Sabres.
• Dan Vladar has 5 career games against the Sabres having a 2-1-1 record, with a 2.71 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage.
• Sean Couturier in his career against the Sabres has 28 points in 36 games, with 7 goals and 21 assists.

X-Factors

Matvei Michkov: He is going to be the X-Factor for the Flyers until a team is able to figure out how to stop him. The team leader in points, Michkov has been taking over games and is starting to look like the guy the Flyers had hoped he’d be when they drafted him. The chemistry that he and Porter Martone have built together has also been a big factor to his success as well as Michkov's ability now to be more vocal and being more comfortable speaking English. The Flyers hope that Michkov can continue his hot streak and give the Flyers a big boost tonight.

Rasmus Dahlin: One of the top offensive defenseman in the league Dahlin is always a handful to deal with every night on both ends of the ice. This year Dahlin has 4 points in 6 games and is looking to add to his point total any chance he gets. He is a shutdown defenseman on one end and then able to run the first power play unit for the Sabres on the other. He is a true number one defenceman in the league and should always be the top priority any time he is on the ice.

Alex Berardis is a Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN Follow him on social media @PhillyLix