Latvian-descended Cole Knuble scores twice in his second NHL game
Forward Cole Knuble, who has Latvian roots, scored his first two NHL goals in his second career game, helping the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 on the road. His father, former NHL forward Mike Knuble, watched from the stands.
In the National Hockey League (NHL), North America's top professional ice hockey league, forward Cole Knuble, who is of Latvian descent, scored his first two goals in just his second career game. His team, the Philadelphia Flyers, won 3-1 away against the Buffalo Sabres and secured a third consecutive victory. Cole's father, Mike Knuble, a former NHL forward, watched from the stands.
How the game unfolded
Knuble opened the scoring in the 15th minute of the first period. Late in the same period, 43 seconds before the intermission, Trevor Zegras doubled the lead on a power play, knocking in a rebound from Matvei Michkov's shot out of the air. Near the end of the second period, Jason Zucker pulled one back for the Sabres, also on a power play. In the fourth minute of the third period Knuble restored the two-goal margin, sending the puck in off the skate of Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar made 27 saves, while Luukkonen stopped 23.
Philadelphia began the season with nine losses, three of them after regulation time, but now has a three-game winning streak. Buffalo has won one of its last four games and suffered two of its three losses after regulation.
A rare feat for the club
By scoring twice in his second NHL game, Knuble matched an achievement not seen in Philadelphia for 30 years. He became the seventh Flyers debutant to score at least twice in one of his first two games. The previous one was Vinny Prospal in the 1996-97 season, and before him it was done by Todd Bergen, Dave Poulin, Greg Adams, Al Hill and David Michayluk.
Latvian connection
The Knuble family's link to Latvia comes through the father's side: Mike Knuble's parents, Aivars and Mara, were born in Latvia. Mike played 16 NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. In the regular season he collected 548 points (278 goals and 270 assists) in 1,068 games, and in 1998 he won the Stanley Cup with Detroit.
For Buffalo, Zucker played his first game of the season after hernia surgery. Captain Rasmus Dahlin also returned to the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury.
