As recently as this time last week, the Philadelphia Flyers couldn’t buy a win. Now they can’t seem to lose.
The Flyers’ winning ways continued in Buffalo on Wednesday night, as they took down the Sabres by a 3-1 final score for their third straight victory — right on the heels of their ugly season-opening nine-game skid. Cole Knuble didn’t just score his first goal of his young NHL career — he scored his first two goals of his young NHL career. Trevor Zegras also lit the lamp for the Flyers, who moved to 3-6-3 with the victory.
Dan Vladar was stellar in net, holding down the fort in the first period under a heavy Buffalo barrage and making 26 saves on the night. The struggles of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, on the other hand, continued, as he allowed three goals on 26 shots in defeat.
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9 Comments (7 conversations)
Mike
Great work Charlie! I’m glad to hear confirmation of their 3rd period dominance. It seemed Buffalo acquiesced to the loss at some point. Now I’m learning why from your 5×5 analysis, controlled entries, and success on the forecheck. Let the kids play!
ogtknetfronttitan
Great read! Knuble was fabulous but to watch the 3rd period unfold – thing of beauty. Great road win!
jonas
Hey, look at that. Michkov actually cracked eighteen minutes of ice time! Maybe Tocc is finally pulling his head out of the sand.
Lee Goldsmith
Is the sand where it’s been? I thought elsewhere.
Mike
That’s funny!
Michael Sheahan
Now THIS is the team we all were hoping for at the start of the season. Hopefully bringing up the kids puts any of the vets that are not ready to work on notice: Yes you could lose your job to one of them. Also, we knocked the coaching staff when things were rough, now they deserve some of the credit as well. Energy without a plan does not work. The coaches also have seemingly righted the ship, at least for the time being. The last three games have made watching the team fun again. What a difference the young guys have made! Couldn’t agree more that Dan Vladar was the #1 star last night. Also, loved Hunter McDonald’s big hits. Smart of him to keep his head down on the Sabre player’s retaliation as that guy did nothing but damage his hands on McDonald’s helmet.
Mark M Engelhart
Charlie, would love to get your take on what the roster will/should look like when the injured veterans return. Small sample size, but is it coincidence that the team seems to be feeding off of the new kids’ energy?
ifollowcharlieo
This is where I come to get my math needs covered. Thanks, Charlie.
David LaVeck
While this game might have been the upset that the previous game was, they still won a game that they were both on the road and not favored in. This team is night and day how they opened the season, especially these last 2 games. This 2023 Draft class with Michkov returning to form and the recent emergence of Knuble & Bonk along with the solid play of Barkey will be the difference between the Flyers becoming a perennial playoff contender and fading into obscurity. Hopefully Tocchet is not blind to the players that are showing up consistently this season. It is fairly obvious to the rest of us.