Game 67: Sabres at Flyers

Buffalo Sabres: 31-26-9, 71 points
Philadelphia Flyers: 33-25-8, 74 points

Ryan Miller v. Martin Biron

One week after beating the Sabres to end the long losing streak, they'll get one more shot at them, this time without Brian Campbell. They dealt him to the Sharks at the deadline and added high potential forward Steve Bernier and a draft pick.

After Niittymaki's disastrous Sunday start, Biron will be back in net. He played most of the game against the Rangers anyway.

It was nice to get a win against Buffalo last week, but it's time to start stringing some together. After the trade of Campbell, this should be a team on the decline. Even though Bernier got off to a pretty hot start with his new team, the Sabres should not be as good as they were in the weeks leading up to the deadline. However, that does not mean there's an opportunity for the Flyers to take a game lightly. If the Sabres win in regulation, all of a sudden, they're just one point behind again, and it's time to create some breathing room from the rest of the pack.

Steve Downie said he'll be back in the lineup tonight, which means 100% less Jesse Boulerice. I know a lot of fans wanted him in the lineup once his suspension ended because we were losing and needed a spark, but the guy just doesn't bring anything to the team. He has no offensive ability, he's not good defensively, and he takes stupid penalties. I don't care if he fights. Riley Cote fights. Jason Smith and Mike Richards can fight. We have guys that can do that. Boulerice is not an NHL player, and the Flyers are in a tough spot if we ever have to play him again.

Bill Meltzer has scratches and our giant IR list.

He also reports that Lupul and Hatcher could be back as soon as this weekend. That would be a huge boost. Lupul never really got going after returning from his neck injury, and Hatcher's leadership is very important to the team.