Cole Knuble needed two NHL games to do something no Flyers rookie had done since the 1996-97 season
Two games into his NHL career, Cole Knuble already owns a piece of Flyers history.
The 22-year-old rookie scored his first two NHL goals on Wednesday night in Buffalo, lifting Philadelphia to a 3-1 win over the Sabres at KeyBank Center. It was the Flyers’ third straight victory, and their first win on the road this season.
Knuble opened the scoring at 14:49 of the first period, cleaning up the rebound of an Oliver Bonk point shot with a backhand from in front of the net. Trevor Zegras added a power-play goal before the period ended, and after Jason Zucker cut the lead to 2-1 in the second, Knuble finished the job early in the third. He took a short pass from Bonk and slipped the puck behind goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at 3:03, restoring the two-goal cushion. Bonk assisted on both Knuble goals, and Dan Vladar made 27 saves.
Here is the history, as NHL.com recorded it in the game notes: Knuble is the seventh Flyers rookie to record his first multi-goal game in two or fewer games, and the first to do it since Vinny Prospal in 1996-97. He didn’t score in his debut on Monday against Colorado, which makes the mark feel earned rather than mythical. Two games, one two-goal night, and a 30-year gap closed.
The family angle makes it better. Knuble’s father is Mike Knuble, who played 338 of his 1,068 career games in a Flyers uniform. Both parents were in the stands in Buffalo, and Mike joined his son for the postgame interview on NHL on TNT.
“I’ve been a fan of this team my whole life, and I’m just grateful to be a part of this organization,” Cole Knuble said in that interview.
The Flyers drafted him in the fourth round, No. 103 overall, in 2023, and he spent three seasons at Notre Dame before arriving this week.
“I’ve put a lot of work in over the years,” he told reporters. “I’m confident in my abilities. It’s obviously a jump up, best players in the world.”
The timing matters for a team that started the season winless in its first nine games at 0-6-3. Three straight wins have steadied the Flyers at 3-6-3, and coach Rick Tocchet credited the understudies afterward.
“I’m proud of them because we’ve got a lot of guys out, and some guys are stepping up and getting more minutes,” Tocchet said.
The Flyers are home on Saturday against Anaheim, and Knuble has given Tocchet every reason to keep him in the lineup.
