Flyers Win Sends Sabers to 10th Straight Regulation Loss

Report FRom Philadelphia Flyers

* Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the Flyers’ scoreless streak ended tonight at 168:50. It ranks as the fourth-longest scoreless streak in team history.

* Rob Zepp made his third start of this week and his fourth consecutive appearance. He is now 3-1 on the season.

* Michael Del Zotto recorded his second multi-point game of the season and 23rd of his career. Eleven different Flyers got on the scoresheet tonight, with Del Zotto being the only one to post a multi-point night.

* Zac Rinaldo was credited with five hits tonight and now has 14 hits in his last two games.

* Claude Giroux finished the night at 16-for-25 (64 pct) on faceoffs.

* Phantoms note: Nick Cousins recorded a hat trick plus an assist in Lehigh Valley’s 5-1 win over the Binghamton Senators in Allentown.

* The Flyers return to action on Monday when they visit the New York Islanders (1:00 PM, TCN, 93.3 WMMR).

GAME RECAP

BUFFALO — Chris VandeVelde scored 5:54 into the third period to help give the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center on Saturday.

VandeVelde scored a breakaway goal when he got a breakout pass from Vincent Lecavalier. VandeVelde deked and slipped the puck past Sabres goalie Michal Neuvirth for his fifth goal of the season.

Michael Raffl made it 4-2 at 8:39 when he picked up a loose puck off a deflected shot by Michael Del Zotto and put a wrist shot past Neuvirth for his 12th goal of the season.

Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons scored his second goal of the game and 13th of the season on a power play with 1:09 left in the third to make it 4-3.

The loss was the Sabres’ (14-29-3) franchise record 10th consecutive in regulation.

Girgensons gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead with 1:09 left in the first period, but Philadelphia made it 1-1 with a power-play goal byR.J. Umberger 3:51 into the second period.

Umberger tipped a slap shot from Matt Read past Neuvirth for his eighth goal of the season 3:51 into the second period. It was the Flyers’ first goal in 168:50 since a 7-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday; they had been shut out the past two games.

The Flyers (18-21-7) took a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal 7:49 into the second. Defenseman Mark Streit received a pass from captain Claude Giroux and scored his sixth goal of the season with a slap shot from high in the slot that beat Neuvirth.

Tyler Ennis made it 2-2 with 54.6 seconds left in the second period. Ennis took a pass from Matt Moulson after a shot from defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen went off the post. Flyers goalie Rob Zepp scrambled to gather the puck after Ristolainen’s shot hit the post, but Moulson got to it first and passed to Ennis for his 10th goal of the season.

Zepp made 24 saves; Neuvirth had 28.