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Flyers put end to road woes by edging conference-worst Sabres

Jan 18, 2015 - 6:31 AM Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris VandeVelde and Michael Raffl scored in the third period and Rob Zepp came up with 24 saves, as Philadelphia extended Buffalo's recent misery with a 4-3 result at HSBC Arena.

R.J. Umberger and Mark Streit also tallied while Michael Del Zotto netted two assists for the Flyers, who had been shut out in back-to-back games coming in and picked up their first road win of 2015.

"We have a group of guys here that love scoring goals and some of the guys do it often. To go a couple of games without scoring, it definitely feels long," Umberger said.

Zemgus Girgensons produced a pair of markers for the Sabres, whose franchise- record losing streak reached 10 games. Tyler Ennis added a goal while Chris Stewart posted two helpers.

"If you don't go to the net, if you don't carry the puck and you don't fight your way in their, you're not going to have a chance," Sabres coach Ted Nolan said.

Michal Neuvirth allowed all four Philadelphia scores on 32 shots.

VandeVelde took a Vincent Lecavalier lead pass up the middle, beat a Sabres defender and though he fanned on his shot from the slot, it managed to slide between Neuvirth's pads at 5:54 of the third to give Philly a 3-2 advantage.

Raffl made it 4-2 at 8:39 when he skated to the right side and flipped home a Luke Schenn rebound chance off a Del Zotto shot from the left point.

Neuvirth was pulled for an extra skater with more than two minutes to play and Lecavalier in the box for a stick-holding infraction, and Girgensons snuck a high shot home from the left side as 1:09 remained in regulation.

The host Sabres didn't manage a quality chance from there.

Girgensons gave Buffalo an early lead with 1:09 to play in the first, a shot which knuckled off the ice and beat Zepp inside the left post. The puck appeared to change direction once it hit Flyers defenseman Nick Schultz, who provided a an inadvertent soft screen.

On Philadelphia's first man advantage in the second period, Matt Read's left- circle drive deflected off Umberger's stick to tie the game at 3:51. That marker ended a scoreless string of 168 minutes, 50 seconds that stands fourth in franchise history.

The visitors struck again on the power play at 7:49, as Streit's point blast eluded Neuvirth thanks to a Wayne Simmonds screen.

Zepp then stoned Girgensons on a short-handed breakaway as the clock ticked below 8 1/2 minutes left in the period, and he had to close off the left post to stop Brian Flynn moments later.

Buffalo tied the score at 2-2 with 54.6 remaining before the second intermission. A Rasmus Ristolainen point shot hit the post, and Ennis followed up Matt Moulson's stab at the loose puck and lifted a backhander under the crossbar.

Game Notes

Philadelphia last won on the road Dec. 23 at Minnesota ... Flyers captain Claude Giroux picked up an assist and was 16-for-25 on faceoffs, but finished a minus-2 ... The Sabres became the first NHL team to lose 10 in a row in regulation since the Pittsburgh Penguins did so from Jan. 6-23, 2006 ... Buffalo had given up the first goal in 10 straight games before scoring first on Saturday ... Prior to the contest, the Flyers recalled forward Jason Akeson from Lehigh Valley (AHL) but scratched him anyway ... The Flyers also revealed that at blood clots found in defenseman Kimmo Timonen's lungs during the preseason have dissolved, but the ones in his legs have not. It is still undetermined if the 39-year-old will be allowed to resume his career.