No. 7 Buffalo Sabres at No. 2 Philadelphia Flyers
Game 1, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals — Series tied, 0-0
7:30 p.m. tonight at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia
[Game Preview] – [SBNation.com Coverage] – [Buffalo Perspective]
Tonight’s goaltenders:
After the jump, lineups, questions to answer and our in-game discussion. It’s playoff time.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Hartnell – Briere – Leino
Nodl – Giroux – Carter
JVR – Richards – Versteeg
Carcillo – Betts – Powe
Timonen – Coburn
Carle – Meszaros
Syvret – SOD
Scratches/Injuries: Nikolay Zherdev (healthy), Jody Shelley (healthy), Nick Boynton (healthy), Chris Pronger (hand), Oskars Bartulis (shoulder)
Black Aces: Johan Backlund, Matt Walker, Erik Gustafsson, Kevin Marshall, Ben Holmstrom, Zac Rinaldo, Michael Ryan, Mike Testwuide, Eric Wellwood
Buffalo Projected Lineup
Vanek – Connolly – Pominville
Ennis – Boyes – Stafford
Gerbe – Gaustad – Kaleta
Niedermayer – McCormick – Grier
Sekera – Weber
Butler – Myers
Montador – Gragnani
Scratches/Injuries: Shoane Morrison (healthy), Mark Mancari (healthy), Patrick Lalime (healthy), Jochen Hecht (upper body), Derek Roy (leg), Jordan Leopold (finger)
Questions to Answer
- How does Sergei Bobrovsky hold up in his first ever playoff game?
- Can the Flyers hold back the Sabres speed?
- Does the Dan Carcillo addition to the lineup turn out to be a good decision?
- Are the Sabres able to exploit the third pairing?
- Danny Briere always plays well against Buffalo. Can he pace the attack tonight?
- Danny Syvret scores a power play goal, right?
- Most importantly, do the Flyers play 60 minutes, and do they look as though the regular season woes are behind them?
