Postgame RAV4: Flyers Foil Sabres, 3-1

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1, at KeyBank Center on Wednesday night. Playing in front of his parents, rookie forward Cole Knuble scored his first two NHL goals.

The Flyers won their first road game of the season, and their third in a row.

Buffalo had the better of play in the first period. Dan Vladar made 15 saves to hold the Sabres off the board. The Flyers then stepped up offensively.

Playing his second game in the NHL, Knuble (1st) notched his first goal in the National Hockey League. Late in the period, Trevor Zegras (PPG, 3rd) bagged a power goal for a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.

In the middle frame, with a chance to open a three-goal lead, the Flyers failed to convert a two-man advantage on the power play. When Buffalo went to its next power play, Jason Zucker (PPG, 1st) cut the gap to one goal entering the third period.

Knuble (2nd) scored his second goal of the game, opening a 3-1 lead early in the third period.

Dan Vladar turned away 27 of 28 shots to earn the win. In a losing cause, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 23 saves on 26 shots.

The Flyers went 1-for-5 on the power play. They were 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.

1ST PERIOD

At 1:56, Simon Benoit went to the penalty box for a careless tripping penalty. Buffalo generated four shots on goal amid a flurry of late chances. The Flyers survived.

Benoit dished out a punishing hit at 6:28. A TV timeout ensued. Shots on goal were 6-2 Sabres.

Noel Acciari laid out to block a slot shot from Mattias Samuelsson. He hobbled off to the bench.

Tage Thompson was robbed by Vladar after Owen Power held the puck inside the blueline. The Flyers, thinking they'd have a 2-on-1, were caught below the puck.

Vladar made back to back saves -- the latter without a stick -- with his team hemmed in deep. At 13:32, he stopped Owen Zelllweger for his ninth save of the frame.

At 14:49, Knuble corralled an Oliver Bonk rebound after the Flyers' Denver Barkey worked the puck up high. Knuble beat the defender to the net to score the goal.

With 3:30 left in the frame, Vladar ended an attack at the net by freezing the puck. A scrum ensued after the whistle. Nick Seeler received the only penalty (roughing). Sean Couturier had a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush with Acciari. 

At 17:51, Noah Ostlund went off for slashing. The teams skated 4-on-4 before the Flyers went to the power play.

On the man advantage, Zegras generated a clean entry on the power play. Jamie Drysdale worked the puck to Matvei Michkov. At 19:19, Zegras batted home Michkov's rebound from the left side of the crease.

On a semi-breakaway for Tyson Foerster, Jack Quinn tripped the Flyers' forward. It was an arguable penalty shot play but the referee called a tripping minor instead at 19:59. The Flyers took a power play into the second period.

Shots: Flyers 9 -- Sabres 15

Faceoffs: Flyers 9 -- Sabres 9

2ND PERIOD

The Flyers generated one routine shot on the carryover power play. The score remained 2-0.

Barkey made a good checking play in the defensive zone. He shoveled a pass at the other end Sanheim in the slot at 9:14. One minute later, with the Flyers changing lines, Couturier turned to puck over high in the offensive zone. Benson had a chance in transition.

A deflected puck came up and caught Drysdale on the ear. He went up the tunnel but soon returned.

At 14:45, Jason Zucker was penalized for an offensive zone slashing minor on Sanheim.  Luukkonen made a good save on Zegras from the left side of the doorstep. The Flyers went on a gift 5-on-3 for 1:14 at 15:32.  Power was called for a high stick on Michkov. It was actually Zegras' stick.

Missed shots hurt. Play went to 5-on-4. The Flyers were unable to score. At 17:38, Sanheim high-sticked Benson. Buffalo now went to the power play. At 19:25, fronted by Benoit, Zucker directed a Quinn feed into the net. Ostlund got the other assist.

Shots: Flyers 10 (19 overall) - Sabres 8 (23  overall)

Faceoffs: Flyers 6 (15 overall) - Sabres 9  (18 overall)

3RD PERIOD

Knuble created a self-made lucky bounce at 3:03. Moving below the goal line, he banked the puck into the net off an over-aggressive Luukkonen. The assist went to Bonk (2nd of the game).

Through nine minutes, shots on goal were 5-1 Flyers. Philly really did a good job of taking away time and space over the first half of the period. With 7:10 left, Vladar stopped a right circle wrist shot.

With 5:51 remaining, Jamie Drysdale killed a developing scoring chance for Buffalo. On the next shift, Porter Martone fired two attempts at the net. Behind the play, at 15:13, Samuelsson and Hunter McDonald dropped the gloves after a clean McDonald hit on Ryan McLeod.

Samuelsson received an instigation minor and 10-minute misconduct. The Flyers went to the power play. A good chance for Michkov was stopped from the circle after a pass out from Dvorak.

The Flyers iced the puck at 17:30. Buffalo pulled Luukkonen for a 6-on-5 attack.  Vladar made a tough stop on Quinn, and then an even tougher one. Knuble finally cleared the zone, accepting hard hit from Rasmus Dahlin to do so.

Shots: Flyers 7 (26 overall) - Sabres 5 (28 overall)

Faceoffs: Flyers 6 (21 overall) - Sabres 9 (27 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Trevor Zegras - Christian Dvorak - Noel Acciari
Porter Martone - Noah Cates - Matvei Michkov
Alex Bump - Sean Couturier - Tyson Foerster
Denver Barkey - Jacob Gaucher - Cole Knuble

Travis Sanheim - Oliver Bonk
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Hunter McDonald - Simon Benoit

Dan Vladar
[Joseph Woll]

POSTGAME RAV4 (RAV 4 Things Revisited)

1. Power Play: Zegras on Left Side

The Flyers power play looked much more effective against Ottawa and Colorado with Trevor Zegras moving from the right half-boards to the left side. On Wednesday, the Flyers cashed in on their first power play. Zegras had the goal, albeit from near the crease.

2. Michkov

Matvei Michkov took First Star honors in Philly's previous two games, and he brought a three-game goal scoring streak (four goals, five points overall) into the nationally televised Buffalo match. In this game, Michkov extended his point streak.

3. Keep up Recent Shooting Mentality

The Flyers had to be patient for their chances in the first period. They started to generate more attack later on in the game (even as they'd already led).

4. Between the Pipes

Vladar brought back-to-back strong starts into the Buffalo game. On this night, the Czech netminder keyed the Flyers to a lead in a game where they were getting significantly out-chanced. The team buckled down in the third period. Vladar made a couple more clutch saves when needed.