BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Bobby Brink had a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 on Friday night to snap a three-game losing streak.
Scott Laughton, Louie Belpedio, Travis Konecny, and Garnet Hathaway also scored, and Joel Farabee had two assists for the Flyers. Samuel Ersson made 22 saves in place of Carter Hart, who was injured against Buffalo on Wednesday and is day to day with a mid-body injury.
“I know we’ve had a bad run here in losing some games, but I like our team,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “I like some of the balance within our team. ... We’re still going to have struggles along the way this year, but I like the attitude of the team no matter if we’re winning or losing. I think everybody’s contributing.”
Henri Jokiharju scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 15 saves for the Sabres, who had their two-game win streak halted.
Laughton gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead 1:03 into the first period on a give-and-go play with Bobby Brink. Laughton snapped a wrist shot high over the glove of Luukkonen. Belpedio scored his first NHL goal 27 seconds later after a shot by Morgan Frost was blocked, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead.
“It’s nice when you come in here, especially on the road, and get a few early and just set the tone for the rest of the game,” Belpedio said.
Konecny’s breakaway goal at 14:57 of the first made it 3-0. Konecny intercepted a pass by Peterka and beat Luukkonen on the glove side.
Hathaway gave the Flyers a 4-0 lead at 14:35 of the second when he tapped in a pass from Ryan Poehling.
Jokiharju spoiled the Flyers’ shutout bid at 2:23 of the third period with a wrist shot that eluded Ersson for his first goal of the season.
“I thought there was enough generated to get breaks and the question would be, did you earn the break,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “We could have scored, but let’s face it, we didn’t play the way we needed to play.”
Brink extended the lead to four goals by scoring on a partial breakaway at 11:28.
“It really hasn’t felt (like a losing streak) to be honest,” Laughton said. “There hasn’t been much straying away from our game and if we continue to play like that, we’ll play with anyone and give ourselves a chance on a nightly basis.”
Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson left the game in the first period and did not return after sustaining a lower-body injury.
Sabres 18-year-old rookie forward Zach Benson was placed on injured reserve on Friday. Benson is out week to week with a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
Flyers: Host Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
Sabres: Open a two-game trip in Toronto on Saturday.
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