Flyers drop their sixth straight with just five games remaining

BUFFALO, N.Y. — An NHL season is long, with bumps and lumps and streaks.

The Flyers have gone streaking — and not in a good way. They have hit a major pothole, one they are struggling to get out of and have grabbed a six-pack of losses thanks to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres.

The good news is the Flyers looked better than they have in the past few games. They put 33 shots on goal while holding the Sabres to just 19 and seemed to dominate puck possession for long stretches.

But a loss is still a loss, and there’s not much time left to right the ship as the Flyers have just five games left

The Flyers allowed four shots on goal in the first period, but one saw the back of the net. Tage Thompson was lost on the rush down the right side and made a slight deke before putting the puck in around the outstretched leg of Ivan Fedotov to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead. Fedotov was making his first NHL start.

There seemed to be even more pep to the Flyers’ step in the second period as they dominated zone pressure. They finally capitalized as Owen Tippett found an open Noah Cates for a zinging wrister from the right faceoff circle past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

But the Sabres then notched two goals on similar plays to build a 3-1 lead. Rasmus Dahlin and Jack Quinn potted goals from the high slot past the stick of Fedotov. The second goal came with just six seconds left in the middle frame.

Tippett cut it to a one-goal lead in the third period with a one-timer from the point. The goal, his 28th of the season, set a new career high. But it was a little too late as Quinn notched his second of the game from near the left post for the 4-2 final.

» READ MORE: With Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov, the Flyers have some uncertainty in net. Feels like old times. | Mike Sielski

Egor Zamula was a healthy scratch for the first time since March 9. He joined Nic Deslauriers, Denis Gurianov, Ronnie Attard, and Adam Ginning in the press box. Sean Couturier was named the Flyers nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, an annual nod to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.” The Flyers captain did not make the trip and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The Flyers are wheels up right after the game for a road meeting with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (7 p.m., NBCSP).