The Flyers played quite the neck-and-neck game with the Vegas Golden Knights, one of the league’s top teams. I don’t say neck-and-neck lightly, these were the numbers heading into overtime:
Things kicked off a little shaky and unorganized, but there was an undeniable amount of grit on the ice for the whole game. Yet an unfortunate turnover earned Zach Whitecloud the first goal of the night for Vegas. After a bad attempt at a pass from Dvorak, a backhand from Whitecloud got Vegas on the board. Luckily, Dvorak was able to redeem himself a few minutes later when he earned an assist on Zegras’ tying goal for the Flyers. After his feed to Sanheim, Zegras found himself behind the play to sneak it by Schmid.
It wasn’t the best first period hockey I’ve seen from the Flyers this season, but it was certainly some of the most gritty. They were far more adept at taking shots on goal, something that has been lacking this season, much to the speed of Tocchet, but I find that we need to be willing to take the shots with this team. We may not have the most talent, but we have a lot of hunger for success. They seem to figure things out pretty quick when they take the opportunities. They also were playing a very physical game for all regulation, but especially in the third. It was the closest thing to the Broad Street Bullies I’ve seen in a while, which was exciting to watch for sure. Fans were into it, and the team was hyped up. The momentum didn’t stop, even against some of the league’s best players.
Even when Mark Stone earned a powerplay goal midway through the second period, Noah Juulsen responded with his first Flyers goal. It was one to remember for sure, a beauty of a one-timer off of Dvorak’s pass. Second period play was mostly the same, physical, hungry, and even between the 2 teams with 14 shots and 2 goals each.
The third period was much slower for Philadelphia. At a time when we’ve typically been kicking on the breaks, we began to look tired. A few too many wasted scoring chances prevented the Flyers from a lead, yet they also managed to fight off any potential Vegas advantages, too.
It really was anyone’s game for the entirety of the game, until a Konecny turnover in overtime. From the second he lost the puck, it was clear where things were headed. Mark Stone earned his second goal of the night to win the game for the Golden Knights and cost the Flyers a point.
Despite the loss, it wasn’t a bad game. They earned a point against a top team in the league, and played pretty consistently throughout. They played physically and were able to make chances for themselves, they were just too slow at times. Not a bad showing overall.
The Flyers close out their homestand tomorrow at 7:00pm against the Carolina Hurricanes before venturing to Carolina for a 5:00pm puckdrop on Sunday.
Philly's Next Shift 