The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up their five-game road trip on a high note, securing the club’s fourth consecutive victory with a 5-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.
Jonathan Quick stopped 27 of 30 shots for a .900 save percentage in his fourth straight win with the Golden Knights and his 374th career win. He is now tied with John Vanbiesbrouck for second on the all-time wins list among American-born goaltenders.
Pavel Dorofeyev scored for the second game in a row, Jonathan Marchessault found the back of the net in his third straight and Ivan Barbashev and Teddy Blueger combined for three goals as Vegas’ trade-deadline acquisitions contributed once again.
Dorofeyev kicked things off 8:34 into the game with his second goal and third point in two games since re-joining the Golden Knights lineup.
Unlike his first career goal, which bounced off his visor and into the net, this one was a high-skill play, as Dorofeyev won a battle along the wall, drove to the crease from behind the net and roofed it through Flyers netminder Felix Sandstrom while getting hit from behind.
Barbashev scored his first of the night early in the second period, giving Vegas a 2-0 lead just 1:58 into the middle frame. Vegas’ unofficial new strategy of having Shea Theodore fire away on the power play proved successful once again, as Barbashev provided the net-front presence and tipped Theodore’s point shot.
Barbashev has two two-goal games and eight points in nine games since joining the Golden Knights.
The Flyers got on the board on a fluke goal by Travis Sanheim, whose pass deflected off Nicolas Hague’s stick and then Quick’s glove before finding twine. That made it a 2-1 game just over eight minutes into the second period.
However, Vegas restored its two-goal lead when Blueger scored his first as a member of the Golden Knights. It was an excellent shift by the new-look fourth line, which had multiple rebound opportunities in front before Blueger put it home. Both Paul Cotter and Phil Kessel assisted on the full-line goal.
The Golden Knights made it 4-1 just over three minutes into the third period, netting their second power-play goal of the game. Jack Eichel’s slap pass fooled Sandstrom, leaving an empty net for Marchessault on the backdoor for his third goal in the last three games.
Later in the frame, Philadelphia scored two goals in less than two minutes to make it a one-goal game with 9:45 remaining.
First, defenseman Nick Seeler pulled off a gorgeous move, threading the puck between the skates of Theodore before roofing the shot far-side past Quick.
Then, Morgan Frost tipped a cross-ice feed from Brendan Lemieux, beating Quick backdoor just inside the left post to make it 4-3. Quick had no chance on the play, as a 3-on-3 became a 2-on-0 for the Flyers.
The Flyers continued to push and came incredibly close to evening things up at 4-4, but a desperation play by Alec Martinez to swipe the puck off the Vegas goal line cleared Owen Tippett’s bid from the crease to save a goal.
Vegas was able to hold on, and Barbashev eventually sealed the win with an empty-net tally for his second of the game, making it 5-3 with 1:32 remaining.
Once again, it wasn’t Vegas’ best effort, but after playing three games in four nights, the Golden Knights found a way to survive a third-period push by Philadelphia, coming away with the all-important two points. It marked the seventh time in eight games this month than Vegas won a game after scoring first.
The Golden Knights have gone 13-2-2 since returning from the All-Star break. Vegas remains atop the Western Conference standings with 90 points in 68 games, reaching that threshold in one fewer game than the franchise record set in the inaugural campaign. Vegas is in fourth place in the overall NHL standings.
Nine out of 12 forwards found the scoresheet in a strong team effort, and Vegas scored two power-play goals for the first time since Dec. 21. In the end, the Golden Knights scored four power-play goals on the five-game road trip after netting four in their previous 26 games.
Vegas will host the Flames and Blue Jackets Thursday and Sunday, respectively, before a three-game Western Canada road swing.