Special teams weighing down the Flyers, Joel Farabee tops NHL in key stat, and more notes

The Flyers’ special teams have not been so special this season.

They are 28th out of 31 teams on the penalty kill – successful just 72.2% of the time – and 22nd on the power play (18% success rate).

A year ago, they were in the top 15 in both categories: the penalty kill was 11th at 81.8%, and the power play was 14th at 20.8%.

Center Sean Couturier, a key player on both special teams’ units, said failing to extend a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal Sunday changed the complexion of the Flyers’ eventual 3-1 loss to Washington.

“We needed to score one eventually and get the killer instinct of taking over the game,” Couturier said. “The power play can win games and the penalty kill can lose them. Right now, we’re losing that kind of battle, that facet of the game. We’ve got to figure it out, and I think we’ll be all right. Five-on-five, I think we’re pretty good. We’ve just got to dial in and find a way to get our special teams better.”

The Flyers’ power play is just 6-for-47 (12.8%) since the start of February, and their PK has allowed at least one goal in eight of their 10 losses.

Next up: Tuesday’s meeting against visiting Buffalo (6-14-3), which has done much better than the Flyers (12-7-3) on the penalty kill (ninth, 82.4%) and power play (third, 19.7%), but is last in the NHL in five-on-five goals.

» READ MORE: Flyers by the numbers: A look at the power play

Among regulars, second-year Flyers winger Joel Farabee leads the NHL by averaging 2.575 goals per 60 minutes in even-strength situations.

In fact, Farabee’s current pace in even-strength situations (per 60 minutes) is the best in NHL history, according to QuantHockey.

Toronto’s Auston Matthews, who leads the league with 18 goals, is averaging 1.591 goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five this season, 15th in the NHL.

Farabee, 21, leads the Flyers with 11 goals, all at even strength.

The Flyers have a 5-3 record when they outshoot an opponent, and 7-4-3 when they get outshot.

» READ MORE: Schedule is no excuse: The Flyers rest for a day, then need to regain momentum

Carter Hart has a 4-5 record since Jan. 18. … Scott Laughton leads the Flyers with 60 hits, followed by Robert Hagg (58), and Nic Aube-Kubel (57). ... Ivan Provorov has a team-best 44 blocked shots. ... Buffalo will end a five-game road trip Tuesday; they are 0-4 on the trip. … The Sabres are 2-10-1 since returning from a two-week pause created by the COVID-19 protocol. … Buffalo’s Jack Eichel is goal-less in his last 13 games, though he has collected nine assists during that span.