Flyers goalie Carter Hart’s injury puts spotlight on a struggling Sam Ersson.

PHILADELPHIA — Maybe the opportunity to restart the game was all that altered it. The Philadelphia Flyers appeared to be about to lose to the Buffalo Sabres in their own arena on Wednesday night after a disorganized, unpolished first ten minutes. However, thanks to Carter Hart’s injury timeout, subsequent exit, and the entry of backup Sam Ersson, the Flyers were able to outplay the Sabres for the next fifty minutes.

No, they didn’t succeed either. Even though the ice was skewed in favor of the Flyers for the majority of the last two and a half periods, Owen Power and Tage Thompson capitalized on what may have been the only two high-danger opportunities the Sabres had following Hart’s departure, turning a 2-2 game into a 4-2 lead and winning 5-2 after adding an empty-netter.