BUFFALO - Marty Biron, his early-season slump a distant memory, continued his impressive goaltending last night as the Flyers won their third consecutive game, defeating the slumping Buffalo Sabres, 3-0, at the HSBC Arena.

Biron, who had a 1.97 goals-against average in his previous four games, made 40 stops, including five during a five-on-three Buffalo power play that lasted 1 minute, 15 seconds in the opening period.

“Whenever there was a breakdown, Marty was there to make the save,” said Flyers coach John Stevens, whose team was outshot, 40-25.

The Flyers, 4-0-1 in their last five games, handed the Sabres their fourth straight defeat.

Playing against his former team, Biron notched his 24th career shutout - his sixth with the Flyers and first of the season.

“Marty looks good right now; he does the things necessary to get ready,” Stevens said. “He works on parts of his game that if there’s any doubt, he solidifies it, and he’s a confident guy in the net right now.”

“It’s nice, because it’s a place where I played for a long, long time,” said Biron, who spent parts of nine seasons in Buffalo. “We’re on a roll and we have to keep it going.”

Late in the first period, the Flyers struck first - not long after killing the first of two five-on-three power plays. They are 7-1-2 when they score the game’s initial goal.

As Scott Hartnell got out of the penalty box to end a five-on-four power play, he took a pass from Simon Gagne and used a deke and backhand to score on a breakaway, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead with 58 seconds remaining in the first period.

“Coming out of the penalty box, I yelled at Gagne when he got the puck,” Hartnell said. “He made a chip that got past their defenseman. I knew I had some time, and I was able to make him [goalie Ryan Miller] make the first move.”

Outplayed and clinging to a 1-0 lead because of Biron, the Flyers got a break when Jason Pominville’s third-period backhander hit the post with Biron out of position.

The Flyers went down the other end and, after a turnover, Jeff Carter picked up the loose puck and fired a shot past Miller’s glove side.

It was the Flyers’ first game in a tough six-games-in-nine-nights stretch, one that caused Stevens to uncharacteristically give the team two days off during the week.

“Trying to keep them energized,” he said.

With the Flyers nursing a 1-0 lead, the goal judge turned on the red light, signaling a goal, after Drew Stafford redirected a pass off Biron’s pads with 14:20 left in the third period. But the puck had hit Biron’s back leg and was under his pads - at least a foot from the goal line - and the score was disallowed after a review.

Carter added his 12th and team-high 13th goals (empty-netter) as the Flyers improved to 5-2-3 on the road.

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Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at 215-854-5181 or scarchidi@phillynews.com.

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