The Vegas Golden Knights (15-6-9) improved to 3-0-1 on their current five-game road swing with a 3-2 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers (16-9-4) Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Mark Stone scored the game-winner off a sleek backdoor feed from Jack Eichel 2:47 into the extra frame to lift Vegas to victory. It was the captain’s second goal of the game.
Despite returning to Philadelphia, Carter Hart did not get the start for the Golden Knights. Bruce Cassidy explained before the game that the coaching staff wanted to continue with the rotation and get Akira Schmid back between the pipes. Hart also was not made available to the media, and ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that there was extra security behind Hart in the stands.
But once the puck dropped, Schmid did what he’s done all season: win. In fact, he picked up his 11th win of the campaign. He made an especially impressive stop on Matvei Michkov in the second period but was strong throughout the night.
This was a very evenly-matched contest. The score was tied at the end of each period (1-1 after one and 2-2 after the second and third periods), and both teams recorded the same number of shots per period in regulation: five in the first, nine in the second and five in the third. The only difference came in overtime, where Vegas led 2-0 in shots and 1-0 in goals.
For the fifth straight game, Vegas was the first team on the board, as Zach Whitecloud opened the scoring with his first goal of the year. It was a beauty, as Whitecloud’s forehand-backhand move in tight beat Flyers netminder Dan Vladar after the top line completed a series of passes to set him up in the slot.
But the Flyers evened things up with under four minutes left in the frame. It was an extended shift for the Flyers on the cycle, which eventually led to a brilliant pass from Travis Sanheim to Trevor Zegras, who made no mistake with the backdoor tally. Schmid had no chance on the play.
The Golden Knights had a few glorious chances after finishing off a penalty kill to start the second period. However, Vladar robbed both Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev.
However, the Golden Knights got two power plays of their own; the first was uneventful, but Vegas capitalized on the second to take their second lead of the game.
The initial shot came off the stick of Pavel Dorofeyev, and Stone knocked the rebound out of mid-air. Though Vladar got a piece of the follow-up, Stone’s persistence paid off, as the third chance found its way into the net.
But once again, the Flyers reset the score in the final four minutes of the frame. It was a great forechecking shift by the Flyers, which led to another backdoor goal. This time, Christian Dvorak’s saucer feed set up Noah Juulsen, who ripped one from the left circle at 16:08.
In the third, Flyers captain Sean Couturier had an excellent chance on a breakaway after a Vegas turnover, but Schmid got some assistance from the post to keep things tied at 2-2. The Golden Knights took another offensive-zone penalty at 15:12, but Vegas came up with a timely kill to force overtime for the 13th time this season and the third time in four games on this road trip.
In the end, a brutal turnover by Travis Konecny gave the puck to Eichel, who waited in the offensive zone while Stone joined the play. Eichel took full advantage of Philadelphia’s lackadaisical defensive coverage, sending a perfect cross-ice pass to a wide-open Stone for the backdoor game-winner.
The Golden Knights delivered a consistent effort in each period in Philadelphia, particularly in the second, which has not been the case in recent games. Though the Golden Knights surrendered two leads, they were never chasing and never felt overmatched. They made a few mistakes, but in a low-event game that saw both teams fire off just 19 shots, the Golden Knights capitalized on their chances and took care of business when needed.
This was especially true on the penalty kill, which went 3-for-3 on the night and prevented the Flyers from generating or building momentum on the man-advantage. The Vegas penalty kill held Philadelphia to just one shot on three opportunities, and the Golden Knights shut down the Flyers on a particularly critical kill in the final five minutes of the third period.
Despite not facing a ton of action, Schmid was solid in net. He finished the game with an .895 save percentage, but he had no chance on Zegras’ goal, and the Juulsen shot was an absolute laser.
Schmid has now accounted for 11 of Vegas’ 15 wins on the year, and he has looked especially sharp and poised since Hart made his Vegas debut.
Eichel continues to be a game-breaker, and Stone has been sensational. He has recorded at least a point in every game he’s played this year for a total of six goals and 24 points in 14 contests. His two-goal night marked his seventh multi-point performance this season, giving him at least one point in every game and at least two points in every other game.
He got off to a red-hot start at the beginning of the season but missed 16 games due to injury. In his absence, the Golden Knights’ power play faltered, and the team’s swagger took a palpable hit. But since returning, Stone hasn’t missed a beat, and Vegas is 9-1-4 with him in the lineup.
The Golden Knights are 3-0-1 on their current road trip and 5-0-1 in their last six games. They will wrap up the five-game road trip Saturday in Columbus, where Hart is expected to start.
Photo courtesy of @GoldenKnights on X