The Philadelphia Flyers had Lady Luck on their side thanks to an overtime game-winning goal from Sean Couturier just one minute into extra time to defeat the Las Vegas Golden Knight 4-3. He also had an assist for the Flyers in their fourth-straight win
It was a good night for other members of the squad. Owen Tippett had a goal and an assist, and youngster Tyson Foerster as well as veteran Sean Walker each scored for Philadelphia (9-7-1). Recently returned netminder Carter Hart made 28 saves.
Philadelphia had better luck on their power play than in more recent outings. Ranked 30th in the league, it was able to score on its first two opportunities. Also good news for the Orange and Black, they’re on the verge of getting a couple of veteran defensemen back in their lineup. The Flyers also split their season series with the Golden Knights 1-1.
Philadelphia Flyers host Las Vegas Golden Knights
The first period was almost, keyword almost, fairly uneventful. The most excitement came at the 14:23 mark in the first stanza when Vegas’ William Karlsson was put in the sin bin from a slashing call on Tippett. Call it motivation if you want but that power play pushed Tippett to make the most of it. The Flyers brought their extended power play drought to an end with four and a half minutes left in the frame. A blocked Travis Sanheim shot attempt bounced to Tippett and he buried it in the net past Logan Thompson.
It made the seventh goal of the season for the Tipper and the fifth goal in the past four games where he found the back of the net. Period number one ended with a 1-0 Flyers lead and a 16-8 lead in shots on goal. Big thanks to Hart, who kept this game scoreless over the first ten minutes.
If the first period wasn’t one to watch, the second became must-see TV. The second goal for the Flyers happened quickly in a blink-and-miss-it 59 seconds. Another power play, typically the kryptonite for the team, was used to their advantage. Tippett deflected a Sanheim point shot and the puck bounced off the end boards and back out in front. Foerster, at the right place and right time, deposited the rebound in the net.
It was the second goal of the season for Foerster and the team went 2-for-2 on their power plays for the evening. But Vegas wasn’t laying off their possession and at the 4:01 mark, Karlsson scored from outside the left dot to the short side. The puck was redirected off Nick Seeler and the Golden Knights halved the game 2-1.
Things got a bit testy Chandler Stephenson was given a five-minute major and misconduct for cross-checking on Garnet Hathaway.
Five minutes left before the second intermission, Vegas knotted the score at 2-2. The puck was sent to the left slot, where Jonathan Marchessault scored on a turnaround backhander.
But it would be a short-lived equalizer: 25 seconds short to be exact. Icy Walker’s shot through traffic rose as it traveled and went bar-down. Assists credited to both Seeler and Couturier.
The Flyers went down on a lengthy 5-on-3 disadvantage, courtesy of two holding calls from Walker and Travis Konceny. Oh and add another one from Scott Laughton and his cross-checking against Marchessault. Marchy had his second goal of the afternoon with 55 seconds left in the second stanza with a wrister past Hart to tie the game up at three goals each. Through two periods, shots were 32-21 in favor of the Flyers.
The final 20 minutes of the game featured power-play chances for both teams as well as two minutes of four-on-four. Despite both teams getting close chances, the game went to overtime.
Thankfully for Philadelphia, it was a quick overtime. Eichel hit the post on Vegas’ best opportunity of the first minute. At the other end of the ice, Couturier forced a turnover and attempted a pass to Konecny at the front of the net but it bounced through the five-hole of Thompson for the game-winning goal.
The Flyers are back on the ice for the second half of the back-to-back weekend games. They play the Columbus Blue Jackets at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
AP Photo/Ashley Landis
