Beginning a four-game road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers visited the T-Mobile Arena to battle the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Flyers contested opponents tightly on their homestand. John Tortorella was ready to hit the road after being at the Wells Fargo Center for a long time. First up were the Pacific Division leaders.
William Carrier got the Golden Knights on the board midway through the first. Carter Hart made the initial save, then attempted to jab the puck away from the crease with his stick. Carrier beat Hart to the poke, and the puck deflected behind Hart for the 1-0 lead. It was the imperfection in regulation that came back to haunt Philadelphia.
Scott Laughton forced a turnover on Adin Hill early in the second. Both goaltenders adversely affected their teams with poor puck control, where Laughton banked the loose puck off Hill for the equalizer, 1-1.
Vegas never served a penalty in the contest. They eliminated a surging powerplay. The Flyers were opportunistic during even-strength play, but a chance with the man advantage could’ve resulted in a goal at their current pace. In overtime, the referees missed a call on the home bench with a too-many-men penalty. Instead of a 4v3 advantage in the extra frame, Jonathan Marchessault jumped a Kevin Hayes pass before breaking away for the game-winner, 2-1.
Penalty Kill (+)
For the third time since November 25th, 2022, the penalty kill for Philadelphia completely shut down an opponent. Two of those previous mentions were contested closely, including last night.
Noah Cates and Laughton both committed tripping penalties. The penalty kill helped Hart by making the wise play. Nicolas Deslauriers kept disrupting the Golden Knights’ powerplay in the neutral zone. However, the best penalty killer was Patrick Brown. He did a wonderful job on both kills, getting the puck into the offensive zone and draining the opposing powerplay.
“Our PK was great. They get two opportunities, they’ve got some good personnel on their powerplay, and we gave them nothing. We did a really good job of shutting them down on the PK.”
Carter Hart; 12/9/2022
Don’t Leave It To the Officials (-)
Both teams mirrored each other during regulation. Goals were surrendered and scored in a similar fashion. Additionally, neither team could break the tie. Carrier could’ve had his second, while Joel Farabee could’ve played hero for the Flyers.
In overtime, the officials missed a call to give Philadelphia their only powerplay.
“We don’t get a powerplay, which is, I’m not sure about that. We get called late in the game; tough there. They blow the whistle when we have a three-on-two in overtime.”
Scott Laughton; 12/9/2022
No doubt it would’ve helped the Flyers to get the call right. Additionally, when Shea Theodore went down, the whistle shouldn’t have been blown. Tortorella mentioned before the road trip that his team needs to understand momentum, and they were before it was distorted in overtime by questionable officiating.
Cam York (+)
Making his 2022-2023 debut, Cam York played a fine game. He stepped in for Tony DeAngelo, who was a healthy scratch.
York played 17:54 against Vegas. He attempted three shots on goal, but two missed and the other was blocked by Nicolas Hague. He did insert himself in shooting lanes, blocking a shot by Keegan Kolesar, and placed a hit on Marchessault. York didn’t stray from his game, but you see where Tortorella challenged him to be more disruptive. He played a good game, evolving, but not straying from his instincts.
He would’ve been on the top powerplay unit had Philadelphia been afforded the opportunity.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Arizona Coyotes. The puck drops tomorrow at 7pm.
(AP Photo/John Locher)
