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The Philadelphia Flyers (3-6-3) are no longer winless on the road. Rick Tocchet’s team skated to a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Keybank Center on Wednesday night. The Flyers have won three straight games. They have points in four of their last five matches.
Flyers rookie Cole Knuble notched a pair of goals in his second career National Hockey League game. Not only did he do so on national television, he accomplished the feat with parents Mike and Megan in the stands. Trevor Zegras added a power play goal (3rd goal of the season) in between.
Meanwhile, Dan Vladar played a stellar game in net. The Czech goaltender stopped 27 of 28 shots. Buffalo heavily outchanced the Flyers early in the game but Vladar kept the match scoreless until Philly struck for a pair of first period goals.
For an in-depth recap, see the Postgame Rav4 here.
The Good
- Another strong performance from defenseman Oliver Bonk. Aside from collecting a pair of assists, the rookie blueliner made several good plays on the defensive side of the puck.
- Vladar faced a slew of tough chances early in the game and sporadic Grade-A opportunities thereafter. While Knuble earned the brightest spotlight, Vladar was the backbone of the victory.
- Zegras now has five points over the last three games. Meanwhile, Matvei Michkov extended his point streak to four games (4g, 2a, 6 points).
- Looking for an unsung hero from Wednesday? Denver Barkey didn’t pop on the scoresheet, although he chipped in a secondary assist on Knuble’s first goal. However, Barkey won puck battles all night long and his relentless energy made him noticeable every time he stepped on the ice.
- Tyson Foerster (hand) returned to the lineup after a one game absence. Alex Bump (three shot attempts, two on goal) remained in the lineup, playing 15:45 across 19 shifts. Veteran Michael Bunting, who has been adequate in seven games since the Flyers signed him for the season, sat as a healthy scratch.
- Rookie defenseman Hunter McDonald (six hits, one block) played the type of physical style he needs to exhibit. McDonald played his third-pair spot well. He certainly got Mattias Samuelsson’s attention after a big third period hit on Ryan McLeod. Samuelsson received the instigator penalty from the ensuing fight.
The Bad
- The Flyers did not get off to a good start in this game. They were unable to replicate the way they came out against Colorado two nights earlier. Fortunately, Vladar was at the top of his game and the Flyers eventually struck for two first period goals. Never apologize for strong goaltending. However, the Sabres were the better overall team early in the game.
- It was kind of a mixed bag game for Jamie Drysdale. Nevertheless, he made a vital defensive play in the third period. Offensively, Drysdale has yet to get cranking through 12 games. In the second period, a deflected puck hit Drysdale in the ear. Fortunately, he made a quick return after heading up the tunnel.
The Ugly
- The Flyers received a gift 5-on-3 power play on a blown call. With Philly on a 5-on-4, Zegras accidentally clipped Michkov with a high stick. Buffalo defenseman Owen Power received a minor penalty instead. The Flyers failed to convert the opportunity to grab a 3-0 lead.
- Moments after the power play expired, Travis Sanheim was guilty of a clear-cut high stick. Buffalo scored on their 5-on-4 power play. If not for Knuble’s early third period marker and Philly strong closeout thereafter, this easily could have turned the game in a very negative direction.
- Vladar didn’t get much help in from of him in the first period and later pockets of the game. Philly’s first PK opportunity wasn’t pretty in front of the goalie.It looked like a shooting gallery from prime scoring spots. Fortunately, Vladar (four saves) was equal to the task.
Flyers 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]
Team Toyota Spotlight: Cole Knuble
Never get carried away, positively or negatively, from small sample sizes. Cole Knuble projects as a very useful NHL role player. He’s a smart and versatile player. He’s quick and deceptively strong. Cole is smaller physically than his power forward dad but he is compact and more powerful than he looks. The young player can play wing or center, move up or down a lineup.
He is also fearless. Knuble has taken a few big hits during the preseason and his first two regular season matches. Knuble received a couple stitches in his debut game on Monday. Fortunately, he’s bounced right back to his feet each time.
Overall, there’s a lot to like about the rookie. Players with his characteristics tend to have successful pro careers if they stay reasonably healthy.
Now the caveat: Don’t get carried away with offensive expectations because he scored a few goals in the preseason and two on Wednesday. Knuble has the potential to chip in supporting offense. He gets to the “greasy” areas and has quick hands. However, he’s not a natural sniper. He’ll get some goals with his positional smarts, hustle and competitive drive. But there will be times when he can’t buy a bounce to go his way. Self-made puck luck still involves some good fortune.
Moreover, even if Knuble can ride a wave for a while, that’s not going to go on forever. Knuble’s spot will be won — and hopefully kept for the long haul — because of the all-around quality and diversity of what he can bring. He’s not going to pop many water bottles with picturesque top-shelf tallies.
Likewise, small sample surges — or droughts for a few weeks — are not cause for over-excitement or panic. Don’t get too high or too low. That credo served Mike Knuble very well. It’s how Cole is wired, too. He’ll keep working to earn his keep, whatever his given tasks are in a game.
Thankfully, Knuble’s big night came at a great time for his team. The Flyers are still riddled with injuries. Meanwhile, they still need to likes of Owen Tippett (IR), Foerster, Travis Konecny (IR) and Drysdale be offensive catalysts. That has not changed.
Tocchet Postgame Video
Flyers Daily: Jason Dissects the Buffalo Game
Wednesday’s win was all about getting to your game. Sometimes your goaltender has to be your best player until your side can start to build successful shifts and make a few key plays. That was very much the case in Buffalo on Wednesday. Winning hockey is also about resiliency when adversity strikes. That was also part of the Flyers’ win in Buffalo.
The good thing about the Flyers’ awful stretch over the first nine games: There was still ample time to make corrections. The challenging side: the Flyers dug an immediate hole and now have to be in file-and-forget mode even after a win. The same process has to be replicated over and over.
The Flyers have a off-day on Thursday.Come Friday, they must get ready for Saturday afternoon’s home game Jason Myrtetus has more on today’s Flyers Daily.
Today in Flyers History: October 22
The legendary Keith Allen once said that he noticed right from the beginning of the Philadelphia Flyers’ 1969 training that the best player on the team was an unassuming 20-year-old rookie whom the team recently chose in the second round of the NHL Draft.
The kid’s name: Bobby Clarke.
On October 22, 1969, Clarke played his fourth NHL game. On that night, most of the attention went to Flyers top-line center Andre Lacroix and goaltender Bernie Parent in a 4-3 road win over Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens. Lacroix notched a hat trick and Parent authored a 32-save victory.
At 6:01 of the third period, Clarke set up Lew Morrison – a former teammate on the Flin Flon Bombers before the Flyers selected Morrison in the first round of the 1968 NHL Draft – for a go-ahead goal that put Philadelphia up 3-2 in the game. The assist was Clarke’s first point in the NHL.
Clarke played well but did not record a point in the next two games – a 2-2 tie with the Detroit Red Wings and a 0-0 deadlock with the St. Louis Blues – before he got his next point and first NHL goal in a 3-3 tie at the Spectrum with the New York Rangers.
Clarke went on to record a Flyers franchise record 1,210 career regular season points.
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