Cole Knuble scores first two NHL goals as Flyers beat Sabres 3-1

Cole Knuble scored his first two NHL goals in his second career game Wednesday, October 21, as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The result gave Philadelphia a third straight win and its first road victory of the season.

The rookie forward opened the scoring at 14:49 of the first period. Trevor Zegras doubled the lead on a power play at 19:17, batting a rebound of Matvei Michkov’s shot out of the air past Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, according to the Associated Press.

How Knuble’s goals shaped the Flyers’ win

Philadelphia goaltender Dan Vladar made 27 saves, while Luukkonen stopped 23 shots for Buffalo. The Flyers’ three-game winning streak follows an 0-6-3 start, according to the AP. The Morning Call and Philly Sports Reports both identified Wednesday’s result as their first road win of the season.

Knuble scored with his father, former NHL forward Mike Knuble, watching. Mike played 1,068 NHL games for five teams, the AP reported. Cole had recently been called up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, according to The Morning Call.

After the game, Cole Knuble told TNT that he had been a Flyers fan all his life and was grateful to contribute, according to The Morning Call’s account of the interview. Asked about the emotion of scoring twice, he called it ‘amazing’ and said he had dreamed of the moment his whole life.

Buffalo’s returning players

Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin returned to the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury, according to the AP. The Sabres were 1-1-2 in their last four games, a stretch that includes Wednesday’s loss.

The Morning Call reported that Zegras’s goal gave Philadelphia a power-play goal in a third consecutive game. Buffalo had its own power-play chance late in the second period, which Zucker converted to bring the Sabres within one before Knuble scored again early in the third.