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Flyers fall to 0-2 with loss to Sabres

BUFFALO - The Flyers allowed three power-play goals in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, saw two of their own goals erased by the referee, and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2008.

Sabres left winger Marcus Foligno checks Flyers center Brayden Schenn in the goal crease during the second period. (Gary Wiepert/AP)
Sabres left winger Marcus Foligno checks Flyers center Brayden Schenn in the goal crease during the second period. (Gary Wiepert/AP)Read more

BUFFALO - The Flyers allowed three power-play goals in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, saw two of their own goals erased by the referee, and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2008.

No, this isn't how they envisioned the start of the lockout-delayed season.

"It's definitely no time to hit the panic button," said defenseman Luke Schenn, who was in the penalty box for two of the Sabres' power-play goals at the sold-out First Niagara Center. "Obviously, you want to get off to a better start . . . but we have a lot of games coming up, and no point dwelling on it. Learn from it and go forward and get better."

The Flyers, coming off a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh, were locked in a 2-2 tie before Buffalo scored three goals in the final 5 minutes, 3 seconds, including an empty-netter.

Thomas Vanek had five points (two goals, three assists) to pace Buffalo, which failed to earn a playoff berth last season.

With 5:03 remaining and Schenn in the penalty box for tripping, defenseman Tyler Myers scored from the top of the left circle on a shot that deflected off Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen, giving Buffalo the lead for good at 3-2.

Buffalo was 3 for 6 on the power play. Opponents have converted five of nine power-play chances in the first two games, though one of those goals was an empty-netter by the Penguins.

"Definitely, this is an area we have to work on," Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov said.

"A couple of bad bounces," defenseman Nick Grossmann said of the penalty-killing woes. "Actually, I don't think it's bad positioning from the guys."

Strange but true: The Flyers' lockout-delayed opener Saturday was their first game in 256 days. They then played Sunday for the second time in 181/2 hours.

The Flyers, who have struggled to win faceoffs in the early going, seemed to have tired legs in the first period and got off to a listless start for the second consecutive game. (That, you might recall, was a recurring theme last season.)

But they erased a 1-0 deficit as Sean Couturier (tip-in) and Claude Giroux (power-play blast) scored 2:34 apart early in the second period.

Buffalo tied it just after a five-on-three power play turned into a five-on-four. Vanek, taking advantage of a bad line change, went in alone on Bryzgalov and beat him with a forehand shot, turning the goalie inside out with a pretty move.

The Flyers had been 6-0-2 in Buffalo since 2007.

Two calls Sunday haunted the Flyers. Ruslan Fedotenko and Max Talbot crashed the net, and the puck deflected past Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller - apparently tying the score, 1-1, with 4:16 left in the first period. But referee Steve Kozari waved off the goal, saying Fedotenko had interfered with the goaltender. (No penalty was called.)

Fedotenko appeared to barely graze the goalie, who fell backward as if hit by a Winnebago.

"It looked fairly clean to me," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "Our player was outside the crease."

With about a minute left in the game, Wayne Simmonds scored on a scramble to cut the deficit to 4-3, but the goal was erased because the referee had lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle.

Kozari "said he couldn't see the puck, but the puck was already in the net, so it shouldn't have mattered," Simmonds said. "I thought it went over the line before he blew the whistle."

"Anytime there's two goals like that taken away, obviously it's going to change your game," Giroux said. "Bounces are not going our way right now. We just have to fight through it and come back."