Cole Knuble’s First Two NHL Goals Lift Flyers Past Sabres 3–1

Cole Knuble scored his first two NHL goals and Dan Vladar made 27 saves as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 at KeyBank Center on Wednesday, October 21.

Knuble put Philadelphia ahead in the first period and restored its two-goal lead 3:03 into the third. Oliver Bonk assisted on both goals. Trevor Zegras added a power-play goal, while Jason Zucker supplied Buffalo’s only goal on the man advantage.

The Flyers won a game in which Buffalo held a 28-26 edge in shots. Philadelphia’s separation came at five-on-five, where Knuble’s combination with Denver Barkey and Jacob Gaucher was on the ice for both even-strength goals. Vladar stopped every even-strength shot he faced.

Scoring summary · Postgame comments · Lines and pairings · Player statistics · What comes next

Knuble supplies the first goal and the response

Knuble opened the scoring at 14:49 of the first period, with Bonk and Barkey assisting. It was his first NHL goal in his second career game. Zegras made it 2-0 on the power play at 19:17, assisted by Matvei Michkov and Jamie Drysdale, giving the Flyers another goal before the first intermission.

On his first goal, Knuble collected the rebound of Bonk’s point shot and finished with a backhand near the crease. Zegras then batted in a Michkov shot that was still in the air, as described in NHL.com’s game report by Heather Engel.

Buffalo had outshot Philadelphia 16-9 in that period. Vladar’s clean first 20 minutes preserved a lead built on two finishes at the other end.

The Sabres got back within one late in the second. Zucker scored on the power play at 19:25, with Jack Quinn and Noah Ostlund assisting. That goal changed the score heading into the third, but Philadelphia’s response came before the period was four minutes old. Knuble scored again at 3:03, with Bonk recording his second assist.

Knuble’s third-period finish came from below the goal line, banking the puck into the net off Luukkonen, according to Bill Meltzer’s report for the Flyers. Philadelphia went on to win its third straight game.

Knuble finished with four shots in 10:24 of ice time. His two goals accounted for all of the game’s even-strength scoring. Bonk played 19:34 and finished plus-2.

Philadelphia outshot Buffalo 10-7 in the second period and 7-5 in the third. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 23 of 26 shots for the Sabres. He played 57:26; unused backup Colten Ellis did not enter. Vladar played the full 60 minutes, with Joseph Woll unused.

One power-play goal each, different even-strength outcomes

Philadelphia went 1-for-5 on the power play and Buffalo finished 1-for-3. Both clubs scored late in a period, but neither added another special-teams goal. Vladar stopped six of Buffalo’s seven power-play shots and all 21 even-strength shots. Luukkonen stopped eight of Philadelphia’s nine power-play shots and 15 of 17 at even strength.

Buffalo’s 25 penalty minutes included Mattias Samuelsson’s instigator minor, fighting major and misconduct at 15:13 of the third. Philadelphia’s Hunter McDonald received a fighting major at the same time. Samuelsson’s instigator penalty supplied the Flyers with their fifth power-play opportunity.

Scoring summary

Team comparison

Tocchet points to young players’ energy; Ruff cites the net battle

Asked about the energy supplied by young players including Knuble, Bonk, Zegras and Drysdale, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet described a group that enjoys playing and being together.

“They love coming to the rink. They love putting their gear on, it’s not a chore,” Tocchet said in his club-released postgame availability.

In discussing the three straight wins and first road victory, Tocchet said players were stepping up with several regulars out and getting to their game more quickly, while acknowledging there was more work to do.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was asked what problems he saw in his team’s performance. He pointed to missed opportunities and the contest near the net.

“I still think we miss the net too often,” Ruff said in his postgame availability. “I thought, they won the net battle for a couple goals, we didn’t.”

Ruff also credited Philadelphia’s checking. He said the Flyers blocked shots and stayed on the right side of the puck, while Buffalo became frustrated and too elaborate at the line instead of getting the puck below it and winning battles.

Where the lines and pairs separated

Knuble, Barkey and Gaucher shared 6:54 at five-on-five with both goalies on the ice. Philadelphia outshot Buffalo 6-4 and scored twice without conceding during that combination’s minutes. Those goals supplied the difference in a game where the other three main Flyers forward combinations did not score at five-on-five.

That scoring contribution came from a group with less shared time than Philadelphia’s other main forward combinations. Alex Bump, Sean Couturier and Tyson Foerster played 11:17 together, with shots 5-6 and goals 0-0. Christian Dvorak, Noel Acciari and Zegras shared 9:12, with shots 3-4 and no goals for either side. Michkov, Noah Cates and Porter Martone were even at one shot apiece in 8:50.

Buffalo’s Jiri Kulich, Josh Doan and Tage Thompson combination was on the ice for both Knuble goals. The Sabres actually led shots 5-3 during that trio’s 8:43 together, but two of those three Philadelphia shots went in. By contrast, Quinn, Ostlund and Zach Benson produced a 6-1 shot advantage in 8:33 without a five-on-five goal.

On defense, Bonk and Travis Sanheim shared 15:19 at five-on-five, with a 9-5 shot advantage and both Flyers even-strength goals. Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson–Rasmus Dahlin pair was even at five shots apiece in 14:33 but conceded once. Louis Crevier and Zach Metsa conceded the other goal in 4:02, with shots 1-3. Olen Zellweger and Owen Power led shots 7-5 in 12:15 together without a goal at either end.

Philadelphia forward combinations

Philadelphia defense pairs

Buffalo forward combinations

Buffalo defense pairs

Five-on-five figures use the NHL’s complete official shift reports and on-ice play-by-play. Shared time includes only intervals with five skaters and one goalie for each team. Forward rows require the named three forwards together; defense rows require the named two defensemen. Shots on goal include goals. The tables show the four most-used forward combinations and three most-used defense pairs for each club. Brief changes and other combinations are excluded from those selected rows.

What comes next

Both clubs next play Saturday, October 24. Philadelphia hosts Anaheim at Xfinity Mobile Arena at 11 a.m. MDT. Buffalo visits Washington at Capital One Arena at 5 p.m. MDT.

Complete player statistics

Philadelphia skaters

Philadelphia goalies

Buffalo skaters

Buffalo goalies

Goals and official records

Postgame comments were checked against the official English captions for the original club-released interviews.

• Knuble’s postgame interview: a broadcast moment with his parents.
• Watch Knuble’s first NHL goal.
• Watch Knuble’s second goal.
• Official game summary and event statistics.
• Official play-by-play; Philadelphia shift report and Buffalo shift report.

Abbreviations: G, goals; A, assists; PTS, points; +/−, plus/minus; PIM, penalty minutes; SOG, shots on goal; HIT, hits; BLK, blocked shots; GV, giveaways; TK, takeaways; TOI, time on ice; SA, shots against; SV, saves; GA, goals against; SV%, save percentage. Unused backups are listed separately from participating goalies.