Lazar, Reinhart power Sabres past Flyers for first win of season

PHILADELPHIA -- Curtis Lazar and Sam Reinhart each scored two goals for the Buffalo Sabres in their first win of the season, 6-1 against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Monday.

Jack Eichel and Taylor Hall each had three assists for Buffalo (1-2-0), and Carter Hutton made 21 saves.
"That's the way we want to come out," Reinhart said. "We stayed pretty disciplined with our systems the whole game."
It was the first full game Eichel, Hall and Reinhart played as a line. Tage Thompson had been at right wing with Eichel and Hall during the first two games of the season.
"The way the three of them use the whole ice surface, they are constantly in movement, they're finding each other with laser passes," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said. "And Taylor just brings such an exciting element to our team, and it's something that we need to continue to build on. Not only on the power play, but 5-on-5 they just have so much natural cohesiveness already, like they've been playing together for a long time."

Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored late in the third period for the Flyers (2-1-0), and Brian Elliott made 13 saves in relief of Carter Hart, who was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 22 shots.
The teams will play again in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
"I think if I'm a player, and if I'm part of the coaching staff, which I am, I'm embarrassed by how we played tonight and I'm happy that we can get right back at it tomorrow and prove what type of team we are," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said.
Lazar gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 15:52 of the first period, and then Buffalo's top line took over.
A tripping call on Hart at 2:21 of the second period put the Sabres on the power play, and they took advantage when Hall got the puck to the right of the net, drew two Flyers to him, and passed it through the crease to Reinhart at the bottom of the left face-off circle for a 2-0 lead at 3:35.
"He's a world-class player," Reinhart said of Hall, who has scored six points (one goal, five assists) in his first three games with Buffalo. "I think having everyone that can kind of read and react and play every position (on the power play) is a pretty lethal combo. I think we moved the puck better. ... For him to come and kind of settle the unit down and be able to distribute the puck like that makes a huge difference for us."
Hall and Eichel then set up Reinhart for a goal from the slot to make it 3-0 at 6:28.
Lazar made it 4-0 at 8:09 of the second when Riley Sheahan was first on the rebound of a Brandon Montour shot and passed the puck between his skates through the crease to Lazar at the left post. Elliott replaced Hart after the goal.

Henri Jokiharju made it 5-0 at 10:47 of the third when his shot from the left boards went in off the skate of defenseman Erik Gustafsson.
"It felt like tonight we were too stretched out a lot of the game, and I think that kind of forced us to chase the game a bit," Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk said. "Obviously not a good night for us."
Aube-Kubel scored at 17:55 to make it 5-1.
Victor Olofsson scored a power-play goal for the Sabres at 18:49 to make it 6-1.
Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark missed the game because of personal reasons. Jonas Johansson was recalled from the taxi squad to back up Hutton. Krueger said he was unsure if Ullmark would be available Tuesday.
NOTES: Forward Eric Staal had an assist on Jokiharju's goal for his first point with the Sabres. ... It was Reinhart's 10th multigoal NHL game, and first since he scored two against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 8, 2019. ... It was Lazar's second two-goal game in the NHL (also Feb. 6, 2016, for the Ottawa Senators against the Toronto Maple Leafs).