In Buffalo, the holiday started 40 minutes earlier than planned for the Sabres. On Wednesday night, the Sabres posted four goals in the first period to propel them to a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
It was the seventh straight win for the Sabres who improved to 14-6-2.
“We talk about just being even-keeled, not being too high, not being too low, because there’s going to be parts of the game we’re not going to be able to control,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. “So how do we react to that adversity? Certainly, the belief, this group is getting tighter and tighter every game through this winning streak.”
Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, Evan Rodrigues, and Johan Larsson scored in the first period for Buffalo.
“It’s good to see the way we came out,” Sabres captain Jack Eichel said. “I think it’s good, for one, that we’re learning. It’s progress from the last few games of not starting the way we wanted. Full 60 minutes is what we’re looking for. I thought we played the majority of the game we wanted to.”
Carter Hutton made 23 saves in the victory.
The Flyers dropped their fourth straight after a successful road trip tot he west coast.
“We didn’t do enough in the first 10 minutes, we weren’t quick enough with the puck, we weren’t quick enough to pucks, and we didn’t win enough battles,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said.
Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds scored for Philadelphia in the middle frame to tighten the score.
“That’s a long way to climb out,” Hakstol said. “We got a couple in the second period and had some good chances in the third to make it a one-goal game, but usually when you get behind by four, that’s a pretty tough one to dig out of in somebody else’s building.”
Sam Reinhart potted an empty-net goal to close out the scoring.
“It’s unacceptable. I’m pretty [ticked] off. We’ve got two big games coming up here,” Giroux said of the Sabres’ opening 20 minutes.
[WATCH: All Flyers vs. Sabres highlights]
Alex Lyon got the start for the Flyers but was given hook in the first intermission; he made eight saves in the period.
“I feel bad for him. We let him down, the whole team,” defenseman Christian Folin said of Lyon. “You shouldn’t do that to your goaltender. It’s frustrating. He’s such a good goalie and such a great guy that we want him to play well. He’s playing well, but we’re putting him in [lousy] situations.”
Calvin Pickard made eight saves through second and third periods.
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