(My Sportsbook) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to snap the longest losing streak in franchise history tonight, when they visit the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena in a key battle for playoff positioning.

The Flyers have tied a club record with 10 straight losses, matching the mark set by last year's team.

Philadelphia was first in the Atlantic Division before the slide, but has since fallen into the basement. The Flyers have 67 points and are tied for last in the Atlantic with the New York Islanders. The Flyers and Isles are also just one point behind Buffalo for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference.

The Flyers' most recent setback came in heartbreaking fashion, as the visiting Florida Panthers notched a stunning 2-1 win Saturday at the Wachovia Center. Olli Jokinen scored with 1:16 left in overtime to cap the victory.

The Flyers held a 1-0 lead after Daniel Briere's goal late in the second period, but coughed up that advantage with just 3.7 seconds left in regulation.

A pass to Florida defenseman Steve Montador at the right point nearly crossed the blue line with under 15 seconds left, but Montador held it in with his left leg and passed it to Jay Bouwmeester at the left point. Bouwmeester then blasted a shot that found its way through traffic and between goaltender Antero Niittymaki's pads to tie the game.

Then in the extra session, Florida went up a man after Flyers defenseman Randy Jones was whistled for holding David Booth on a breakaway with 1:25 left. Shortly into the power play, Panthers center Nathan Horton set a screen on Niittymaki as Jokinen blasted a shot from the center of the blue line. The puck got through everyone, giving Florida the win.

Niittymaki stopped 23-of-25 shots as the Flyers equaled a losing streak set from December 2-27, 2006. Philadelphia fell to 23-1-1 while leading after two periods.

To make matters worse, the Flyers will be without leading scorer Mike Richards for at least the next three weeks after the assistant captain tore his hamstring in the third period of Saturday's game. Richards leads the Flyers in goals (23) and assists (43) this season.

Richards joins forwards Simon Gagne (concussion), Joffrey Lupul (high right ankle sprain) and Steve Downie (concussion), and defenseman Derian Hatcher (right knee inflammation) as the significant injuries the Flyers are currently dealing with.

Beginning with tonight's test, the Flyers are playing three of their next four games on the road. Philadelphia is 17-13-1 as the visiting team, but has lost three straight away from the Wachovia Center.

The Sabres, meanwhile, had a two-game winning streak halted with Saturday's close loss to the visiting New York Rangers. Sean Avery scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period as the Blueshirts posted the 4-3 triumph at HSBC Arena.

Avery tallied with 5:05 left in regulation, picking up a loose puck after Brendan Shanahan's blast from the slot was blocked and jamming it by Ryan Miller for the go-ahead tally.

The Sabres had a final chance to tie the game when Michal Rozsival was whistled for interference with 23 seconds to play, but Thomas Vanek's spinning blast went well wide as time expired.

Ales Kotalik notched his second straight two-goal game for the Sabres, who lost for the third time in five games. Jason Pominville contributed his 17th goal of the year and Miller allowed four goals on 35 shots.

Buffalo is playing the second portion of a five-game homestand tonight and is 16-10-3 as the host this season.

The Sabres are 2-0 against Philly this season and have taken five of six and eight of the last 10 meetings between the clubs. The Flyers have also dropped three straight in Buffalo and are 1-9 with a tie in their previous 11 stops at HSBC Arena.