The 2018-19 Philadelphia Flyers regular season kicked-off on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Philadelphia Flyers started their regular season on the road again as they faced the Golden Knights in Vegas. Brian Elliott started in-net opposing Marc-Andre Fleury.
The first period started off with Vegas controlling the majority of the play, and eventually striking first. Jonathan Marchessault scored in transition while the Flyers were making a line change, and beat Elliott top-shelf. Vegas kept the pressure on until Oskar Lindblom netted the first goal of the 2018-19 season and tied the game at one. Travis Sanheim and Jakub Voracek assisted on the goal.
The Golden Knights responded with more pressure in the Flyers zone, but Elliott stood his ground. Wayne Simmonds went on to score the second goal of the period on a rebound and put the Flyers ahead 2-1. Robert Hagg assisted on the goal. The Flyers also lead in shots on goal at the end of the first, nine-to-eight.
The second period started and it seemed Vegas couldn’t stop the Flyers from scoring. Erik Haula took a slashing penalty, and Simmonds netted his second goal of the game on the power-play and put the Orange and Black ahead by two. Minutes later, the Flyers would tack on another goal thanks to Robert Hagg. James van Riemsdyk had a nifty pass to set him up, and Hagg showcased a nice wrist shot on the goal. Mikhail Vorobyev also attained his first NHL point on the goal, as well.
Scott Laughton made the game 5-1 after deflecting a shot from the point. Fleury exited the game, allowing five goals on 16 shots, in favor of Malcolm Subban soon after. Vegas had some chances towards the end of the period, but Elliott wouldn’t budge. The Flyers still had the shot advantage to end the period, leading 18-17.
The Flyers started the third period killing off a five-on-three man advantage, and went three-for-three on the penalty-kill for the game. They were awarded a consecutive power-play opportunities midway through the third, but Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored what would be the final goal of the game shorthanded and the Flyers won 5-2.
Brian Elliott saved 23 of the 25 shots he saw, and looked comfortable throughout the night. The Flyers are now undefeated in their last three regular season opening games, and also on the new season. Next game is Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche.