Flyers’ five-game point streak is snapped with 5-3 loss at the Buffalo Sabres

BUFFALO ― The Flyers are having better days lately, but came up short on Thursday night, falling 5-3 to the Buffalo Sabres.

The loss snapped the Flyers’ five-game point streak and is their first road loss in regulation since a 3-0 stinker against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 24.

Things started well for the Flyers. They came out in dominating fashion, but for the 23rd time — in 33 games — they trailed 1-0. It is just their seventh loss (12-7-4) when trailing first.

Jack Quinn knocked down a Travis Konecny pass in the neutral zone, and the Sabres took the puck the other way. Zach Benson carried the puck down the left board before curling and feeding Mattias Samuelsson at the point. Samuelsson, the son of former Flyers defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, put the puck on net quickly, and Quinn redirected it past Sam Ersson.

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But before the KeyBank Center’s announcer could finish announcing the goal, 58 seconds later, Noah Cates found the back of the net to tie it 1-1. Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin moved a dump-in by Cates up the boards, but Bobby Brink picked up the loose puck.

Brink carried the puck up the boards and maintained control under pressure before turning back down the boards and into the left circle. He dished a backhand pass to Cates, who snapped the one-timer past the glove of former Flyer goalie Alex Lyon.

According to Natural Stat Trick, by the end of the first period, the Flyers had a 12-4 lead in shots on goal, had 21 shot attempts to the Sabres’ five, and 88.45% of the expected-goals share.

The Flyers took a 2-1 lead with 8 minutes, 59 seconds to go in the second period. As Trevor Zegras carried the puck through the offensive zone, Cam York cut through the middle, turned, and received a no-look pass from Zegras in the right circle.

York held the puck and then sent the wrister past Lyon. The goal is the defenseman’s second of the season.

But in a period that saw an almost even number of shots, 12 for the Sabres and 10 for the Flyers, the Sabres took a 3-2 lead.

Off a defensive-zone face-off, the Flyers got stuck in their own end, and 32 seconds later, the Sabres tied the game at 2. Travis Sanheim played the puck along the left boards, but right to Buffalo’s Dahlin. He dropped the puck between his legs in front to Tage Thompson, and the winger skated to the middle before beating Ersson.

Noah Ostlund gave the Sabres their second lead of the game less than three minutes later. With 30 seconds left in the middle frame, he sent a shot from the point past several bodies that appeared to screen Ersson.

In the third period, Josh Norris scored to give Buffalo a two-goal cushion. Norris was sitting wide-open in front during a power play when he received a cross-crease pass from Benson. The center waited and whipped the puck past Ersson 18 seconds into a high-sticking penalty on Brink. Philly went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.

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Konecny cut it to a one-goal game with 5:32 remaining off a pass from Emil Andrae. The Flyers had the puck in the offensive zone for 52 seconds when Andrae at the left point found Konecny curling above the right circle.

The goal, which came from a similar spot as York’s, is Konecny’s 10th of the season and fifth in December. He has 11 points in his last nine games.

Buffalo’s Ryan McLeod scored an empty-netter. … The Flyers placed defenseman Egor Zamula on waivers on Thursday. … Defenseman Noah Juulsen and forward Nikita Grebenkin were the healthy scratches. … Ersson allowed four goals on 27 shots. The Flyers put 27 shots on goal, too, with only five coming in the third period. … Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, who was handed a questionable goaltending interference call and was cross-checked while down multiple times — without a call — played 15:27. It is his highest ice time since Dec. 3 (six games ago).

The Flyers head downstate to face the New York Rangers on Saturday (12:30 p.m., NBCSP).