Two goals in the third period extended the Boston lead to a 5-2 margin, the final from Wells Fargo Center as the Flyers closed out a three-game homestand.
The Flyers are 6-0 after a loss this season. They face another of those situations, as the Flyers welcome the Boston Bruins back to Philadelphia for the second time this season on Saturday night.
Less than 24 hours before the trade deadline, the Flyers were left with a stunning defeat to the Buffalo Sabres, the NHL lowest team in the standings, handed a loss by lowly Buffalo for the second time in two weeks. It was the most fitting of endings for a team that has continued to get in their own way all season.
The Sabres tied the game with 3:03 left after an icing by the Flyers, then scored again with 2:38 to play to take the lead away from the Flyers in a matter of 25 seconds. Buffalo also managed the empty-netter to secure the 5-3 result on Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers take the ice again on Sunday afternoon, this time to face the Buffalo Sabres. A win could move them back to within two points of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the East, pending the result of Boston's game later on Sunday night.
How did the Flyers cap off this month? Quite possibly in the most fitting way, losing to a team that couldn't win a game all month long, the only team that seemed to be finding a way to lose games more than the Flyers themselves. It wasn't even a close loss, it was another embarrassment. The Buffalo Sabres snapped an 18-game winless streak as the Flyers closed March with a 6-1 defeat on Wednesday night.
The Flyers face the Sabres again on Wednesday night. The Flyers are continue to try to keep their dimming playoff hopes alive, while the Sabres look to avoid carrying their winless streak to 19 games.
Monday's game was a battle royale of mediocrity. This was a game that probably played out exactly as it should have in both result and process. Yes, the Flyers are a better team than the Sabres. The standings certainly reflect that. But for 40 minutes, they weren’t close to that, so much so that they not only once again dug a hole to the worst team in the league, requiring another frantic third-period rally, but they also had to shorten the bench to do it.
After falling behind 3-0, the Flyers erased the deficit in the third period, then won the game 42 seconds into overtime on Ivan Provorov's game-winner to claim two points against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.