Gudas Has Goal, 2 Assists In Flyers' 6-3 Win Over Sabres
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Radko Gudas had a goal and two assists, and the Philadelphia Flyers continued their late-season playoff push with a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
Jordan Weal and Travis Konecny had a goal and assist each, and Claude Giroux scored to snap a 12-game goal drought and cap a three-goal second-period outburst. Matt Read also scored while Steve Mason stopped 31 shots.
The Flyers improved to 3-0-1 in their past four and vaulted ahead of idle Tampa Bay into 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Jack Eichel had two goals and assist for Buffalo to extend the NHL's longest active point streak to 11 games.
Evander Kane had a goal and assist for the Sabres, who continued losing ground in the standings by dropping to 1-5-2 in their past eight. Robin Lehner stopped 24 shots and has allowed 24 goals in his past six games.
At least the Sabres didn't blow a lead in a game they never led. Buffalo had squandered third-period leads in four of its previous seven games, including a 3-0 edge in a 4-3 loss at Pittsburgh on Sunday.
The Flyers' six goals matched a season high set twice, and marked just the second time in 21 games they've scored four or more.
With the game tied at 2, the Flyers took control by scoring twice in the final 6:12 of the second period.
Weal was credited with the go-ahead goal when Jakub Voracek's centering pass from the left circle deflected in off Weal's skate.
Giroux then made it 4-2 when he was inexplicably allowed to stand alone to the right of the net. Lehner got his blocker up to stop Michael Del Zotto's shot from the left point. The rebound caromed off Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges and directly to Giroux, who tapped in the bouncing puck for his 13th of the season.
The second period has been an issue all season long for the Sabres. They entered the game allowing 71 second-period goals, which was tied with St. Louis for second-most in the NHL this season.
The Flyers scored three times in the middle frame, starting with Gudas snapping a shot from the right circle that beat Lehner just under the crossbar 4:58 in.
Defensive miscues cost Buffalo. Gudas' goal came after Buffalo's Marcus Foligno was stripped of the puck while attempting to skate backward out of his own zone.
Read opened the scoring 4:34 in when he deflected in Gudas' shot from the right point. The goal came after Eichel turned the puck over in the neutral zone.
Buffalo's first two goals came on the power play. Kane tied the game at 1 in the first period by scoring from the right circle, and with Sam Reinhart screening Mason. Eichel scored from the slot after Ryan O'Reilly won a faceoff to the right of the Philadelphia net.
Chris VandeVelde and Konecny scored in the opening 5½ minutes of the third period.
NOTES: Sabres D Dmitry Kulikov missed his second consecutive game with an upper body injury. ... Eichel has five goals and 11 assists during his 11-game run, the NHL's longest active streak. With three points, he upped his total to 101 (42 goals, 59 assists) in 127 games. ... Flyers C Sean Couturier had two assists.
UP NEXT
Flyers: Resume four-game road trip at Toronto on Thursday.
Sabres: At Columbus on Friday.
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