The Buffalo Sabres were unable to carry their recent momentum onto home ice Wednesday night, falling 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers at KeyBank Center. Buffalo dropped to 4-4-2 on the season as its four-game point streak came to an end.
Buffalo entered the matchup having repeatedly overcome two-goal deficits this season, but the Sabres were unable to produce another comeback against Philadelphia.
The Flyers established control late in the first period, with Cole Knuble opening the scoring before Trevor Zegras doubled the advantage on the power play.
Zegras capitalized after drawing a tripping penalty against Buffalo forward Jack Quinn during a partial breakaway, giving Philadelphia a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission.
Buffalo responded in the second period when Jason Zucker scored on the power play, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
The goal came in Zucker’s season debut after he underwent offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia. Zucker led the Sabres in power-play goals last season.
Buffalo also welcomed back captain Rasmus Dahlin, who returned to the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury.
However, the Sabres could not find the equalizer, and Knuble scored his second goal early in the third period to restore Philadelphia’s two-goal advantage.
Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 22 saves on 25 shots, while Flyers goaltender Dan Vlader stopped 26 shots to secure the victory.
Buffalo now begins another four-game road trip Saturday against the Washington Capitals, where the Sabres will face former teammate Alex Tuch.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.
