Comments / New

What to watch for as the Golden Knights start their home-stand against the Flyers

Tonight will not only mark the first ever meeting in franchise history between the Vegas Golden Knights and Philadelphia Flyers, but it will also mark one week since the Philadelphia’s football team, the Philadelphia Eagles, won the Super Bowl. The Flyers are now riding a three-game win streak since the big day last week and Vegas will look to end that run with a win tonight.

The Golden Knights are currently sitting first place in the Pacific Division with a record of 36-14-4 whereas the Flyers are entering tonight sitting third place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 27-19-9.

Vegas is coming off a huge 5-3 win against the San Jose Sharks Thursday night as a result of an offensive outburst and four different Golden Knights players recording two-point games. Fleury was also huge in the win, stopping 35 of 38 shots and improving his record to 16-5-2 on the year.

The Golden Knights are currently 7-3-1 in their last 11 games and have scored 41 (!) goals within that time.

The Flyers, on the other hand, are currently coming off a crucial 4-3 shootout win last night against the Arizona Coyotes. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere led the way for the Flyers, recording two assists in the win as goalie Brian Elliot (who was injured during the shootout) stopped 22 of 25 shots.

Here’s what to look for in tonight’s battle:

Can Vegas start the huge seven game home-stand on a positive note?

The Golden Knights are currently coming off a very successful road trip, going 4-2-0 within the six games. It is now their turn for a long homestand. And what better way to start than with a tough team in the Flyers who are currently on fire? Vegas will need to have a hot start in order to get the crowd into the game by throwing pucks to the net against the poor defensive Philadelphia team.

Will Vegas take advantage of the Flyers’ playing a back-to-back?

The Flyers will be playing their third game within the last five nights and Vegas will have to be all over that. A fast start, good pressure early on and some timely pinches by the defense can lead to the recipe for victory tonight. The Golden Knights own the best home record in the NHL right now, going 19-3-2 through 24 games and will look to make it 20 wins within their first 25 home games.

Can the Golden Knights’ power play stay hot?

Vegas has been one of the most dynamic offensive teams of the year so far and a big part of that has to be due to their on and off power play. Vegas is currently sitting at 12th place in the NHL with a 21.1 percent conversion rate on the man advantage and will go up against the 29th-ranked Flyers penalty kill. The Golden Knights are now 12-for-25 on the power play in their last last nine games and will look to stay hot against the Flyers.

How to Watch

Time: 5:00 p.m. PT

TV: AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, NBC Southern California

Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM