Cole Knuble’s first two NHL goals power Flyers past Sabres for a third straight victory
Playing in his second NHL game, Knuble is now just 276 goals behind his dad, Mike, while Oliver Bonk notched primary assists on each of his goals.
BUFFALO ― The kids are all right.
Playing in their second and seventh NHL games, respectively, Cole Knuble and Oliver Bonk led the Flyers to a 3-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres. The 22-year-old Knuble notched a pair of goals, and the 21-year-old Bonk registered the primary assist on each one.
After a franchise-record nine-game winless streak to start the season, the Flyers have now won three straight games (3-6-3).
Although the Sabres outshot the Flyers by a wide margin and generated 10 high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick, when the buzzer sounded to end the first period, the Flyers had a 2-0 lead.
Goalie Dan Vladař was stellar, stopping all 16 shots he saw in the opening period, including a chance by perennial 40-goal scorer Tage Thompson off a turnover — with Bonk smartly tying up a Sabres player as he crashed for a rebound — and a save on a rising shot by Rasmus Dahlin before kicking out the pad on another shot by the Sabres captain later in the period.
The first goal by the Flyers on the night was the first of Knuble’s NHL career. Recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Monday, the 5-foot-10, 195-pound forward made an impressive debut, showing off his high motor, hockey sense, and “dog on a bone” mentality.
On Wednesday, that paid off on the scoresheet.
The Flyers lost a defensive zone face-off, but Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson, son of former Flyers defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, tried to tap the puck to a teammate but didn’t get much mustard on it. Denver Barkey and Jacob Gaucher applied pressure, with Gaucher laying a hit on Samuelsson, and the puck ended up in the neutral zone.
Knuble battled Sabres top-line winger Josh Doan to get it into the offensive zone, and Barkey, providing puck support, scooped up the loose puck. He sent it to Bonk at the point for a shot that, although blocked in front by Samuelsson, went right to Knuble, who backhanded the puck around the pad of goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Just like his dad, Mike Knuble, who once suited up for the Flyers, Cole Knuble scored from atop the crease. The first father-son duo in Flyers history, both have now scored for the Orange and Black, with Mike and the family watching from the stands at KeyBank Center.
On the Flyers’ first power play of the night, and with 43 seconds left in the opening frame, they cashed in to extend their power-play prowess to three games.
After skating four-on-four, thanks to Noah Östlund being called for slashing on Noah Cates, the top unit of Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Jamie Drysdale, Porter Martone, and Barkey got to work after Nick Seeler served his time.
Zegras sent a shot wide as his massive windup didn’t connect fully, and then 21 seconds later, Michkov skated through the right circle and fired a shot on goal. Luukkonen made the save, but the puck popped up, and Zegras knocked it into the open net for his third goal of the season.
The tally extended Zegras’ point streak to three games (two goals, three assists) and Michkov’s to four (four goals, two assists). Drysdale got the secondary assist for his first point of the season.
With under five minutes to go in the middle frame, the Flyers had a five-on-three when the Sabres’ Owen Power was called for high-sticking Michkov, and Jason Zucker was already in the box. On replay, it was clear that Zegras’ stick was the one that hit Michkov, but the call stood.
The Flyers registered five shot attempts and one shot on goal, and six seconds after it went back to even strength, Travis Sanheim was caught high-sticking Zach Benson. Fired up by the bad call, Buffalo responded, as Zucker scored a goal from in front after a shot-pass by Jack Quinn deflected off his body and behind Vladař.
It seemed like the game would turn, but in the third period, Knuble stopped the Sabres push. The Flyers pressed Buffalo high in the offensive zone, and Bonk sent the puck to Knuble in the right circle.
He skated to the net, faked like he was going to do a wraparound and instead banked it in off the right skate of Luukkonen for his first career multi-goal game.
Breakaways
Forward Tyson Foerster returned after missing Monday’s game due to injury. Foerster blocked a shot with his right hand Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. … Forward Michael Bunting was a healthy scratch for the first time since signing a one-year contract on Oct. 6. … Samuelsson, who was born in Philly, played in his 300th NHL game. … Defenseman Hunter McDonald had a big open-ice hit on Ryan McLeod in the neutral zone and then dropped the gloves with Samuelsson. The Sabres defenseman got an instigator penalty. … The Flyers were outshot by the Sabres, 28-26.
Up next
The Flyers return to action on Saturday, hosting Cutter Gauthier and the Anaheim Ducks (1 p.m., NHL Network).
