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Playing their best hockey of the season, the Flyers shut out Buffalo again on Sunday at KeyBank Center.
For the third time this season, the Flyers had an identical 3-0 shutout against the Sabers.
The Flyers (11-4-3) have three straight wins and hold the best points percentage in the Eastern Division at 0.694.
Head coach Alain Vigneault claimed his 700th career victory. In NHL history, he is one of nine coaches with 700 or more wins of all time.
The Flyers had 34 shots in the first two periods. They didn’t have a great third period as Buffalo made their push, but the Flyers still secured the shutout. They held the Sabers (6-10-3) scoreless for nine straight periods.
• There were reasonable concerns about the Flyers’ start to the season simply because the team was having a hard time preventing shots a year after allowing the NHL the fewest shots per game.
The Flyers begin to find their identity and their attack system. They have beaten the opponent 116-78 in the last three games after being outscored in 13 of their first 15 games.
And they have last year’s All-Star coming back in the picture.
After his 14-day quarantine, Travis Konecny was removed from the NHL protocol list on Sunday. Konecny, who last played on February 7, will likely join the team on the ice for Tuesday morning’s practice in Pittsburgh. His status for the game is to be determined.
• Carter Hart has rebounded significantly after allowing the Bruins six goals in two periods in the NHL’s 7-3 outdoor loss at Lake Tahoe last Sunday.
A day after Brian Elliott won his 3-0 shutout, Hart delivered one of his own.
The 22-year-old was neat with 28 saves and was solid in the third period, when Buffalo beat the Flyers 9-4.
• The Sabers have seen the return of Jack Eichel, who missed Saturday’s game with a lower body injury.
The 24-year-old Buffalo star center has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 15 career games against the Flyers, but he was held in check on Sunday.
• The bloodline of James van Riemsdyk, Sean Couturier and Joel Farabee reunited when the club returned from their mandatory seven-day COVID-19 stoppage with decimated training.
The line has stayed together as the Flyers are healthier as they are the best unit on the team.
“Playing with Coots and JVR, the two together, they’re probably two of the smartest guys I’ve ever played with,” Farabee said on Friday. “Reemer has to be up there for the smartest guys in the league. It’s pretty easy for me to be able to play with them, they find the ice soft so well and stuff like that. I think when we play fast together we’re pretty hard to stop. “
On Sunday, the trio were cooking again.
Farabee had two assists and scored just under a point per game with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 18 games. Van Riemsdyk had a multi-point game (one goal, one assist) and Couturier scored another goal.
JVR extended the Flyers’ lead to 3-0 in the second period with a spectacular redirect. After needing 47 games to register 25 points in a pretty 2019-20 season for van Riemsdyk, the 31-year-old winger has 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 18 games this season.
For Couturier, since his return from a costochondral separation, the 2019-2020 Frank J. Selke trophy winner has gone on a six-game streak with one point (five goals, five assists). Couturier scored the game’s first goal in the middle frame.
• Michael Raffl does a lot of the little things and he makes a difference even more when providing side goals.
Including the playoffs, the Flyers are 34-2-6 over the past five seasons when Raffl scores a goal.
He gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead in the center stanza with a deflection past Jonas Johansson, who had to make 35 saves on 38 shots.
• Vigneault stayed true to his word about being able to spin defensemen with the Flyers in a six-game nine-day streak.
After serving as a healthy scratch on Saturday, Philippe Myers entered the roster for Erik Gustafsson.
Myers was good because he played a physical and active game. He finished with one assist, four shots and an over 1 rating.
The best pair of Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere continued to perform well.
Lots of healthy competition right now within the Flyers’ backing squad.
• The Flyers’ penalty came in the 30th weekend in the league with 70.2 percent, but went 6 for 6 in Buffalo’s two-game sweep.
• The Flyers fly to Pittsburgh on Monday for three straight road games against the Penguins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET / NBCSP), Thursday (7 p.m. ET / NBCSP) and Saturday (1 p.m. ET / NBCSP).
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