The Vegas Golden Knights overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 in a shootout Monday night at Wells Fargo Center.
It marked the fourth time in franchise history that Vegas fought back from a three-goal hole to win.
It was an exceptionally sloppy defensive effort by the Golden Knights in the fourth game of their season-long five-game road trip, but Jack Eichel led a comeback effort in the second period that he capped off with the shootout winner.
However, Ilya Samsonov was the true star of the game. He was sensational.
His final numbers (32 saves on 36 shots for an .889 save percentage) don’t do his performance justice, as he faced 20 high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick. Vegas managed nine.
The Golden Knights found themselves shorthanded, as Zach Whitecloud is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury and William Karlsson was a late scratch for personal reasons. Robert Hagg returned to the lineup to face his former team, recording six hits in 13:18, while Mason Morelli delivered four hits in 7:31 in his season debut.
It was a milestone night for Noah Hanifin, who skated in his 700th career game. It was far from his best, however, but he managed to make up for being on the ice for all four of the Flyers’ goals with an assist on the equalizer in the third.
In the first period, the Flyers capitalized on Vegas mistakes to grab a 2-0 lead. The Golden Knights had a solid penalty kill early, which included a promising shorthanded scoring chance by Tanner Pearson that was thwarted by an excellent save by Flyers netminder Ivan Fedotov.
However, the road team was unable to hold off the orange and black for long.
The first Flyers tally came just under nine minutes into the contest on a perfectly-timed deflection by Morgan Frost off a point shot by Rasmus Ristolainen, who was given too much time and space in Vegas’ soft coverage.
Sean Couturier then beat Samsonov cleanly less than four minutes later after an ill-advised pinch by Kaedan Korczak.
For the second game in a row, the second period featured five goals. But unlike in Montreal, both teams were involved.
The Flyers got the first one, adding to their lead in the first minute of the frame.
Samsonov denied Garnet Hathaway’s initial attempt in front, but Emil Andrae jumped on the rebound and beat Samsonov for his first career NHL goal just 28 seconds into the second.
The Golden Knights responded with back-to-back goals in what turned into the Jack Eichel show, as he simply took over the game.
First, Vegas’ top line took advantage of a Philadelphia turnover as Eichel beat Fedotov from the slot off a feed from Ivan Barbashev, getting the Golden Knights on the board 7:42 into the period.
Less than four minutes later, it was the top line once again, as Eichel returned the favor by setting up Barbashev on a 2-on-1. Eichel forced a turnover, collected his own rebound and then set up Barbashev for his 10th of the year.
The Flyers followed that up with a great scoring chance, but Samsonov closed off the five-hole as Travis Sanheim drove to the net.
Both teams traded chances, but it was the Flyers who struck next, as Matvei Michkov buried one from the slot to temporarily slow down Vegas’ Eichel-fueled surge. It was another strong play by Frost, who lifted a stick to direct the puck to Michkov.
Hanifin’s rough outing continued, as he was on the ice once again.
But from that point on, Samsonov stole the show.
He made another big stop on Sanheim in the final three minutes of the period; later that shift, Vegas got its first power play of the game when Couturier was whistled for hooking.
It took a total of five seconds for the Golden Knights to convert, as Pavel Dorofeyev’s one-timer cut the deficit to one with 1:50 on the clock. It was Dorofeyev’s 11th goal and fifth power-play goal of the season.
The final two minutes of a wild second period saw both goalies exchange massive saves, with Samsonov stopping Owen Tippett on the breakaway and later Cam York at the side of the net.
When all was said and done, Vegas outshot Philly 19-7 in the second period but trailed 4-3 through 40 minutes. The Flyers had four goals on 14 shots, but 11 of them were high-danger chances, including 10 at 5-on-5.
That trend carried on the rest of the way, as the Vegas defense continued to bleed grade-A chances in the third period and overtime.
One of those could have been a turning point in the game, as Michkov had a breakaway opportunity that would have sent the crowd into a frenzy. Instead, Hanifin got back to disrupt Michkov enough to limit his options, and Samsonov came up with the pad stop.
Samsonov made another key stop as Joel Farabee threatened to restore Philadelphia’s two-goal lead midway through the third. It was a tricky shot, which eventually landed between Samsonov’s pads, but he kept it out of the net to keep Vegas within one.
At that point, Eichel may have been the reason Vegas woke up and got back into the game, but Samsonov was the reason Vegas still had a chance.
With 8:05 remaining, Samsonov was rewarded, as Pearson erased the deficit with his fifth of the year. It was Mr. 700 who made the play, as Hanifin deked around his man along the boards before hitting Pearson in the slot. It was a bright spot on a very difficult night for Hanifin, who continues to be streaky through the first quarter of the season.
After trailing 3-0, the Golden Knights had climbed all the way back to reset the score at 4-4.
On the very next shift, Michkov threatened to steal the momentum right back, but Samsonov had the answer once again.
The Flyers got a power play with just under seven minutes to go when Tomas Hertl took down Frost. Frost had a wide-open net from a severe angle but missed the target off a fantastic cross-ice pass from Michkov.
Shortly after Vegas’ second kill of the game, Eichel masterfully broke up a 3-on-1 by casually knocking down a saucer pass out of mid-air. It was a microcosm of Eichel’s command over the game.
The Flyers continued to push, but Samsonov continued to stand tall.
He finally got some help around the net on the Flyers’ last-second bid, as the puck sat at the top of the crease before Shea Theodore cleared it.
In the end, Samsonov turned aside all 14 shots he faced in the third period to steal a point and force overtime.
But it was more of the same in extra time: the Flyers had the edge, but Samsonov was up to the task.
He pulled off at least five more clutch stops, including a monster save on Frost. Then, Sanheim recovered a turnover in the neutral zone, forcing Nicolas Roy to take him down on his way to the net to set up the Flyers’ third power play of the game.
It was Philadelphia’s best man-advantage of the night; Samsonov was simply better.
He robbed Sanheim several more times, first sliding across the paint to make a glove save on the one-timer and then turning aside Sanheim’s shot when the Flyers tried a similar set play that clinched their overtime victory against Chicago over the weekend. Couturier had another great look in front, but Samsonov helped the Golden Knights escape overtime to set up the first shootout between these two clubs.
Fittingly, Eichel and Samsonov had the last word.
Eichel capped off the comeback with the shootout winner, making it look easy as he beat Fedotov in the second round. Then, Samsonov shut down Tippett to make the 5-4 win official.
It was far from a complete 60-minute effort by the Golden Knights.
Though the club was shorthanded, there were too many egregious mistakes, and Vegas allowed far too many high-danger chances. But for Samsonov, this game could have been a blowout.
This was Samsonov’s second straight start in which he was the difference for Vegas, which is an encouraging sign for Vegas as he continues to rebound from a rough outing in Washington.
Eichel was fantastic, as his dominant start to the season continues; he now has 34 points in 22 games.
With Samsonov leading the way, the penalty kill proved to be a factor in this one, finishing the night 3-for-3. The power play also was perfect, as Dorofeyev’s goal was the tipping point.
But Vegas had long stretches of lackluster play, allowing the Flyers to get to the middle of the ice far too easily. The Golden Knights’ coverage was soft, they didn’t win enough battles, they committed turnovers once again and they hung their goalie out to dry.
Philadelphia outshot Vegas 22-6 in the third period and overtime combined.
Miraculously, the only two goals in that span were both scored by Vegas.
At the end of the day, it was a remarkable comeback and victory, and the Golden Knights were able to steal two points on an off night. Every point matters.
Vegas is now 3-1-0 on this road trip and 14-6-2 on the year.
The Golden Knights will wrap up their five-game road trip Wednesday in Colorado. It will be a tough matchup against an Avalanche team looking to bounce back from an 8-2 thrashing at the hands of the Lightning.