The Vegas Golden Knights kicked off the new year with a 5-2 come-from-behind win against the Philadelphia Flyers Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.
It was a solid bounceback effort after blowing a two-goal lead against Montreal on New Year’s Eve, and it improves Vegas’ overall record to 26-9-3. The win marks the 14th time the Golden Knights have overcome a deficit to win this season.
Though Vegas snapped its four-game streak of scoring the first goal, the Golden Knights potted two quick goals early in the second period to take the lead, which they held on to for the rest of the night. They scored three goals in the second period, which proved to be the difference as they completed the sweep of the season series against Philadelphia.
The Flyers wasted no time in the first period, as it took Tyson Foerster just 21 seconds to open the scoring.
It was a rough opening frame for the Golden Knights, who trailed 8-4 in shots and 10-5 in scoring chances.
But similarly to the third period against San Jose, the Golden Knights came out of the intermission with a bang, striking twice in the first 2:13.
Much like the turnaround in San Jose, Jack Eichel got things started.
In the first minute of the period, Eichel skated into the zone and got to the middle of the ice, something Vegas struggled to do in the opening 20 minutes. Mark Stone deflected Eichel’s backhanded pass to knot things up at 1-1.
Just 1:22 later, Nic Hague scored on a wraparound to give Vegas a 2-1 lead. It was a strong play by Hague, who forced a turnover along the boards and then completed a give-and-go with Keegan Kolesar before sliding it under the pads of Flyers netminder Aleksei Kolosov.
Later in the period, Victor Olofsson blasted a one-timer that hit the top corner of the post, but it wouldn’t be long before Vegas extended its lead. With 1:38 remaining in the second, Pavel Dorofeyev netted his 14th of the season to make it a 3-1 contest.
Alexander Holtz scored Vegas’ fourth consecutive goal less than three minutes into the third. Holtz finally broke through for his first goal since Dec. 4 (his only other goal this season came back on Oct. 22). His third of the year made it a 4-1 game at 2:46.
Holtz later had to be helped off the ice after blocking a shot but was able to return towards the end of regulation.
The Flyers made things interesting when Travis Konecny lit the lamp on the power play just 2:10 later, bringing Philadelphia within two.
However, the Golden Knights had no trouble holding on to this two-goal lead. Though Philadelphia had another man-advantage, the Flyers were unable to convert. Likewise, the Flyers were unable to get one past Samsonov with the goalie pulled. Tanner Pearson eventually hit the empty net to seal the 5-2 win with 36 seconds to go.
Vegas avoided losing consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 20 and is now 16-4-0 at home. The Golden Knights have won 11 of their last 13 games.
Though Vegas reverted to the bad habit of getting off to a slow start, the Golden Knights responded after intermission with four unanswered goals, two of which came in quick succession. They made some much-needed adjustments — including getting to the middle of the ice — to turn things around. At 5-on-5 in the third period, Vegas led 18-10 in shot attempts, 8-2 in scoring chances and 4-1 in high-danger chances with a 72.09 percent expected goal share.
The competition in net was a far cry from Sam Montembeault’s performance the other day, but the Golden Knights generated plenty of chances and finished plays to take advantage of Philadelphia’s shaky netminder.
At the other end of the rink, Ilya Samsonov delivered for Vegas.
After giving up a goal on the first shot of the night, Samsonov stood tall for the Golden Knights, turning aside 23 of the next 24 shots. He finished the game with a .920 save percentage for his fifth straight win and 10th overall win of the season.
Instead of getting rattled by the early tally, Samsonov was able to settle in and close the door until the Golden Knights were able to secure some goal support; notably, he made a few clutch, confident saves in the second period to prevent the Flyers from resetting the score.
After getting blown out by Utah, Samsonov has turned things around. He is 5-0-0 with a .942 save percentage and nearly seven goals saved above expected in his last five starts.
The Golden Knights also continue to get contributions from the back end. Hague scored to give Vegas the lead, Noah Hanifin set up the Holtz goal and Vegas blueliners combined for six points on the night.
The win showed that the Montreal game was more of an exception to the rule rather than the norm.
The Golden Knights will host Alex Tuch and the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday before heading to San Jose on Tuesday. Vegas will then return for three home games against the Islanders, Rangers and Wild, which could be the final time the Golden Knights face Marc-Andre Fleury.
