Flyers can’t hold early lead in 5-4 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights
The Flyers led 3-0 early in the second period before Vegas, which entered the game scoring the fourth-most goals per game in the NHL, roared back.
On Monday night, the Flyers picked up right where they left off in their come-from-behind overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday afternoon — scoring goals.
Their only issue was facing the Vegas Golden Knights, who entered the night averaging the fourth-most goals in the NHL (3.86). It’s a pretty big gamble trying to score goal-for-goal with a team you’re averaging more than a goal fewer than (2.71).
The Flyers did and had the Golden Knights on the ropes, but they just couldn’t finish off the perennial Stanley Cup contenders, losing 5-4 in a shootout. Vegas’ Jack Eichel scored the lone goal in the shootout.
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The Flyers had their chances in overtime. Morgan Frost made a spin move and passed the puck to himself before getting a shot off. And, like Saturday, they got a power play in the extra session, except Golden Knights goalie Ilya Samsonov put on a show. He made a windmill glove save on a Travis Sanheim one-timer from the right faceoff circle before stopping Sean Couturier as the captain spun in front of the net.
Things started well for the hometown team. Less than four minutes into the game, Joel Farabee set the tone by driving around the Vegas defense and pulling the puck around Samsonov but couldn’t finish. Then, after Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov stoned Tanner Pearson on a shorthanded two-on-one, the Flyers floodgates opened.
Coach John Tortorella wanted to see more offense from Frost and got it Monday night. The forward notched his first goal since Nov. 5 and his second of the season in the first period. Frost returned to the lineup on Saturday after being a healthy scratch for four of the previous five games.
On their opening goal, Frost went to the front of the net as Owen Tippett curled around the left faceoff circle and left a drop pass for the crossing Rasmus Ristolainen. The Finnish defenseman picked up the puck, skated into the circle, and fired off the wrister that Frost tipped past Samsonov.
Entering the night, the Flyers have taken a 2-0 lead in the opening frame four times — and they were 3-0-1 in those games. Couturier made it No. 5 when a stretch pass from Travis Konecny helped him get behind the Vegas defense. He buried a wrister from the left circle for goals in consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 21-22 of last season.
The Flyers then grabbed a 3-0 lead for the third time this season. Emil Andrae, who returned to action on Saturday after missing a pair of games with a mid-body injury, gave them the cushion. After Tortorella said he looked “rusty” against the Blackhawks, the feisty defenseman looked anything but, notching his first NHL goal after pouncing on a Garnet Hathaway point-blank attempt that rebounded out to him at the point.
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But it’s never safe to count out the Golden Knights and they inched back, starting in the second period. Eichel scored from the high slot on a pass by Ivan Barbashev. He then returned the favor when his shot attempt off the rush — and a Scott Laughton turnover — was blocked by Sanheim and he set up Barbashev for the one-timer from the bottom of the right circle on the broken play.
With their lead cut to one, Matvei Michkov — the hero Saturday — slammed home the puck from the slot to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead in the second. Frost got the primary assist on Michkov’s goal as he nicked it before it bounced out to the rookie sensation. Michkov leads all rookies in goals (eight) and points (17).
The Flyers couldn’t hold onto a two-goal lead as the Golden Knights scored the next two to tie things at 4. After Couturier took a holding penalty with under two minutes left in the second period, Pavel Dorofeyev scored just five seconds into the man advantage on a one-timer from the right circle. Pearson buried a wrister with 8 minutes, 5 seconds left in regulation to even the score.
Breakaways
Defensemen Egor Zamula and Erik Johnson remained healthy scratches with Tortorella going with the same lineup as Saturday. … Hathaway blocked a Robert Hagg shot off of his left hand in the third period and went straight to the tunnel. He returned not long after.
Up next
The Flyers head to Nashville for a pre-Thanksgiving matchup with the Predators on Wednesday (8 p.m., NBCSP+).