The Flyers went head to head with the best of the Western Conference and came away with a point. After falling early, the team tied the Vegas Golden Knights, only to fall in overtime 2-1. It marks the sixth overtime loss this season for the Flyers; but hey, if you gotta lose, at least you pick up a point then going home empty.
Tony DeAngelo was a healthy scratch for the game. While he leads the Flyers blueliners in points and time on ice, he also has struggled recently on some of the defensive aspects of the game, playing on the third line with Nick Seeler. In his place, Cam York made his season debut. York played almost 18 minutes, dished out a hit, and blocked a shot. York is one of the guys that the Flyers are hoping they can build a future around, so it is important to give the top prospect a shot.
Vegas struck first at 11:55 in the first period with a really sloppy goal. William Carrier took a shot on Carter Hart that bounced off Hart’s chest. Hart flicked it to Rasmus Ristolainen, who was unaware that Carrier was coming around his left side from behind. Carrier swooped in and chipped it in over Hart’s shoulder for the goal.
Scott Laughton would be the one to tie the game up. Adin Hill was playing the puck behind the net. He wasn’t paying attention to his left side, but saw that the right side, had he sent the puck along the boards, but it could’ve been intercepted by Owen Tippett. Without looking, he passed it behind him, only for Laughton to be waiting. Hill slid over to block Laughton’s pass, which ricocheted off his skate into the net for an unassisted goal.
The game remained tied until overtime. Kevin Hayes tried to feed Travis Sanheim the puck. Jonathan Marchessault, with a great heads-up play, skated ahead, intercepted it, and was off to the races with poor Hayes a step behind. Marchessault would cut in front of Hart, sliding the puck in between his pads for the win.
Hart was solid in net, stopped 31 of 33 shots. Likewise, Hill made 27 saves on 28 shots.
The Flyers travel to Phoenix on Sunday to take on the Coyotes. The desert dogs had lost six in a row before stealing a match from the Boston Bruins. So, maybe this won’t be an easy matchup after all.