It was a wild one, but the Philadelphia Flyers earned themselves a huge victory in Game 2 against the Buffalo Sabres at Wells Fargo Center. Danny Briere scored the game-winning goal late in the second period when he redirected a Scott Hartnell shot with his skate, beating Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller.
Sabres Vs. Flyers, Game 2: Wild Night Ends With Philadelphia Win, Tie Series
That tally was a 5-on-5 marker, but the game didn't really get much of a flow at even strength. In total, 54 penalty minutes were handed out in a game that was just insane from the drop of the puck. Six goals were scored in the first period alone, leading to an early shower for Flyers starter Sergei Bobrovsky.
When Brian Boucher entered late in the first to relieve Bob, the game cooled down quite a bit in terms of the "holy-crap-everything-is-going-in-the-net" factor. But that didn't lead to a slow down in emotion. Seemingly every whistle was followed by an altercation, and after the tight-checking, low-scoring affair we saw in Game 1 on Thursday, Saturday's events certainly made this one feel like a playoff series.
Philadelphia was especially poor on the special teams, which you would think wouldn’t bode well in a game with 54 penalty minutes. They allowed two power play goals and failed to convert on nine of their own 10 chances, but that one they did convert on turned out to be a game-changer.
It came just a few minutes prior to Briere's goal when Ville Leino snapped a shot over the shoulder of Miller. From there, the Flyers controlled things at even strength, and even when the Sabres were down by just a goal in the third period, they couldn't establish much pressure in the offensive end.
It was a fun afternoon at Wells Fargo Center for Flyers fans, although likely a bit frustrating for fans of the Sabres. The venue will switch to HSBC Arena for Game 3 on Monday night.
For more on this one, be sure to check in with our Flyers blog, Broad Street Hockey, and our Sabres blog, Die By The Blade. You can also find continuing coverage of this series and every Quarterfinal series right here at SBNation.com.
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