Tonight, Buffalo hockey fans will don their blue and gold once again in support of the Sabres as the home team attempts to even the series against the Philadelphia Flyers at HSBC Arena.

After neutralizing the Flyers’ home ice advantage by winning the first game in Philadelphia, the Sabres dropped the next two games in the series and must win tonight to avoid playing an elimination game in Game 5.

The Flyers continue to haunt the Sabres at HSBC Arena; the Game 3 win moves Philadelphia to 6-0-2 in their last eight trips to Buffalo.  In fact, Philly has not lost in the Queen City since Dec. 21, 2007.

One reason for the Sabres’ recent struggles is the potent Philadelphia offense that was ranked first in the Eastern Conference in goals during the season with 259.  In the past two games, that same offense has combined for 9 goals.

Another problem in front of Buffalo is Philadelphia goaltender, Brian Boucher.  Since replacing rookie Sergei Bobrovsky in the first period of Game 2, Boucher has made it difficult for the Sabres to score, stopping 55 of 58 shots.

Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller is no stranger to roller-coaster ride that is the postseason.  “It’s playoff hockey,” Miller said in an interview with ESPN.com. “Just shake it off and move forward. There’s going to be ups and downs. And the downs sometime make you feel kind of low. You just have to regroup.”

Not surprisingly, the Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta, a fan favorite, will indeed play tonight, despite suffering an injury that forced him to miss the final two periods of Monday’s Game 3.

This blog post was submitted by Dan Ludwig, a junior communication studies student from Canisius College. Dan also contributes to The Griffin, Canisius’ student newspaper.