Flyers 3, Sabres 1: Knuble's First Two, in Game Two

October 21, 2026 - Buffalo - Cole Knuble's parents were in the building. Mike Knuble played 1,068 NHL games, 338 of them in a Flyers sweater. Cole was in his second. At 14:49 of the first, Oliver Bonk's point shot sat in the crease, and the kid put it on his backhand past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen's right skate. First NHL goal. He scored again in the third. That was the night.

The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 at KeyBank Center. Philadelphia is 3-6-3, three in a row after an 0-6-3 start, and 1-4-1 on the road for the first time this season. Buffalo is 4-4-2. The NHL recap said the Sabres' four-game point streak ended (2-0-2). Shots were 28-26 Buffalo. Knuble, Bonk, Denver Barkey, Jason Zucker, Jamie Drysdale, and Noah Ostlund are not seeded on AthX player pages, so those names stay unlinked.

Knuble scored twice. Trevor Zegras scored on the power play. Bonk had two assists. Dan Vladar stopped 27 of 28. Zucker scored in his season debut. Luukkonen stopped 23 of 26. The Flyers club wrap had Philadelphia 1-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.

A 2-0 that started at the crease

Buffalo had the first period. The Flyers club wrap said Vladar made 15 saves in it, including one without a stick. Tage Thompson got robbed after Owen Power held a puck in. Shots after 20 minutes were 15-9 Buffalo. The score was 2-0 Philadelphia.

Knuble made it 1-0 at 14:49. Bonk from the point. Barkey on the play. Backhand. "I just went to the net. I saw a shot coming and it was just sitting there, so I just put it on my backhand," Knuble told NHL.com. "It was pretty cool that 'Bonker' and (Denver Barkey) were part of that. We've known each other for a few years, so it's fun."

Zegras made it 2-0 at 19:17 on the power play. Luukkonen went left on Matvei Michkov from the right circle. Zegras was in front and batted the rebound out of the air. Drysdale had the other assist. The NHL recap said Michkov's helper was his 70th career assist, past Bill Barber for seventh most by a Philadelphia player age 21 or younger.

Tyson Foerster returned after a one-game absence, the Associated Press recap said. He drew a trip on Jack Quinn at 19:59, a play the Flyers club wrap called an arguable penalty shot. It stayed a minor. Philadelphia took a power play into the second.

Zucker, then Knuble again

The 5-on-3 in the second did not make it 3-0. Zucker took a slashing minor. Power took a high stick that the club wrap said was actually Zegras's stick. Missed shots. Then Travis Sanheim high-sticked Zach Benson, and Buffalo finally scored.

Zucker, in his first regular-season game after sports hernia surgery, redirected Quinn's feed off the shaft of his stick at 19:25. Ostlund the other assist. 2-1. He played 12:16 with three shots. "I think I was OK," he told NHL.com. "I'm not very happy with it overall."

Knuble restored 3-1 at 3:03 of the third. The NHL recap said Buffalo defenseman Louis Crevier lost his stick, Bonk found Knuble, and the puck went behind Luukkonen's left leg. The Associated Press recap said he banked it off the skate. The Flyers club wrap called it a bounce off an over-aggressive Luukkonen. The landing is a wrist shot, even strength, Bonk the only assist.

"I think I can obviously play and help the team at this level, and I think I can bring energy, and I'll do whatever it takes to be a part of this group," Knuble told NHL.com.

Vladar still had work. The Flyers club wrap said he stopped Quinn twice after Buffalo pulled Luukkonen. Knuble cleared the zone and took a hit from Rasmus Dahlin to finish it. Dahlin played 26:27 with four shots in his return. The NHL recap said he had missed the past three games with an upper-body injury. The Associated Press recap said four.

AthX Engine on a 3-1 that was a first-period lead

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Knuble at 10.40 (two goals, four shots). Zegras is 6.90 with the power-play bonus. Bonk is 5.50. Drysdale is 4.10. Michkov and Barkey are 3.70. Zucker is 5.80. Quinn is 4.40. Vladar's win, 27 saves, and one goal against land at 12.60. Luukkonen is 5.60.

Philadelphia's team line is 17.60. Buffalo's 1-3 floors at 0.00.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Flyers club that just won three after starting 0-6-3, and for a Sabres group that put 28 shots up and still left down a net-front game. They are not the same number.

The NHL recap said Knuble is the seventh Flyers rookie to get his first multi-goal game in two or fewer games, and the first since Vinny Prospal in 1996-97. Mattias Samuelsson played his 300th NHL game. He is unlinked.

Track Vladar, Zegras, Michkov, and both clubs on the marketplace. The Ducks visit Philadelphia on Saturday. Buffalo opens a four-game trip in Washington that night.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, Flyers.com, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020152. Information only; not financial advice.*