Watch Buffalo Sabres vs Philadelphia Flyers Live Online

Watch Buffalo Sabres vs Philadelphia Flyers Live Online

Philly is on a roll with five consecutive wins, including a drawing-away 5-1 victory Thursday over Ottawa in which the Flyers scored three unanswered third-period goals. The first line of Jeff Carter centering Danny Briere and rookie James van Riemsdyk was together for the first time in four games. Briere scored twice, van Riemsdyk once and Carter had two assists. Buffalo has led the Northeast Division all season on the strength of Miller's goaltending -- he was brilliant again on Friday as the Sabres beat Calgary 2-1 in a shootout.

The Sabres started 9-2-1 and had the NHL's best defense before two bad losses last weekend. Coach Lindy Ruff attributed the losses to illness and a busy early schedule and lightened up on his team, although he sent a "team wake-up" message by putting veteran defensive forward Adam Mair on waivers. Mair passed through waivers and will likely be a healthy scratch. The Sabres have scored only 11 non-shootout goals in their past six games -- and that might not be good enough against Philadelphia. Miller has made a career of "stealing" games in these situations.

They started the season sluggishly and then suffered a slew of injuries. But while waiting for the injured players to return, they discovered they have great depth at forward and defense and started the current winning streak. The injured players know they're not entitled to the jobs they're returning to -- they have to play well to keep them. Job insecurity will keep everyone's legs churning. Ray Emery, with every game, is looking more and more like the goalie the Flyers have been seeking for years.