For most of the first two periods, the Flyers looked more like the Harlem Globetrotters, dominating the Buffalo Sabres at every turn. They were winning every battle, generating shot after shot, chance after chance, and controlling possession time.

All they had to show for it was a one-goal lead. And in the final minutes of the second, the switch flipped.

Two goals in the final 4:06 of the second period for the Sabres flipped the game upside down. The Flyers never fully recovered, as a five-game points streak was snapped in a 5-3 loss on Thursday night.

The Flyers allowed the first goal once again, despite a fast start in shot attempts. Jack Quinn redirected a shot by Mattias Samuelsson for his seventh of the season to make it 1-0 at 7:40.

The Flyers answered back just 58 seconds later. Noah Cates took a feed from Bobby Brink and buried it for his eighth of the season.

Through 20 minutes, shots were 12-4 Flyers.

The Flyers continued their push early in the second, opening up a 20-7 lead in shots. They finally cashed in to take the lead at 11:01. Trevor Zegras set up Cam York for his second of the season to make it 2-1.

With 3:06 to play in the period, a turnover proved costly as Buffalo tied the game with Tage Thompson scoring his 17th of the season. In the final minute of the period, a seeing-eye shot by Noah Ostlund beat Sam Ersson to give Buffalo the lead.

The Sabres added on with a power play goal at 10:20 of the third. Josh Norris was left wide open to deposit his third of the season to make it a two-goal game.

The Flyers cut the lead back to one with 5:32 to play. Travis Konecny scored his 10th of the season to make it a 4-3 game.

After killing a penalty, the Flyers got a power play with 2:19 to play, but were unable to find the equalizer despite a 6-on-4 with the goalie pulled. Ryan McLeod scored into an empty net with eight seconds to play to ice the game.

Ersson made 23 saves on 27 shots in the loss. Alex Lyon made 24 saves on 27 shots in the win.

Brink had two assists for the Flyers. Zach Benson and Samuelsson each had two assists for Buffalo.

The four-game road trip concludes on Saturday afternoon as the Flyers face the New York Rangers at 12:30 p.m.

Flyers-Sabres Box Score 12-18-2025Flyers-Sabres Box Score 12-18-2025Flyers-Sabres Game Statistics 12-18-2025Flyers-Sabres Game Statistics 12-18-2025Video Recap

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.

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