PHILADELPHIA — In a thrilling matchup on Monday night, Jack Eichel secured the only goal during the shootout, enabling the Vegas Golden Knights to come back and defeat the Philadelphia Flyers with a score of 5-4 despite being down by three goals at one point.
Ilya Samsonov, following an impressive outing with 32 saves, demonstrated his skill by stopping all three of Philadelphia’s attempts in the shootout. Eichel notably contributed by scoring in the second period, while teammates Ivan Barbashev, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Tanner Pearson also found the back of the net for Vegas, marking their third consecutive win.
For the Flyers, Emil Andrae celebrated his first career goal, while rookie sensation Matvei Michkov scored his eighth goal of the season, leading all NHL newcomers. Michkov sits atop the rookie scoring leaderboard with a total of 17 points. Additionally, Morgan Frost and Sean Couturier contributed with goals for Philadelphia.
Ivan Fedotov was solid in goal for the Flyers, registering 26 saves, but the team now faces struggles as they have lost three out of their last four games.
In terms of noteworthy performances, Noah Hanifin of the Golden Knights experienced a challenging evening, as he was on the ice for all four goals scored by the Flyers.
Frost not only scored but also assisted Michkov’s goal, marking his second game of the season with multiple points.
A pivotal moment transpired when Frost had an opportunity to secure victory for the Flyers during a late power play in the third period but failed to convert on a wide-open net. This missed chance allowed the Golden Knights to remain tied, subsequently killing off another penalty in overtime and clinching the win in the shootout.
A key statistic from the game highlighted Samsonov’s performance after a rocky start, as he let in four goals from the first 14 shots but subsequently stopped 25 straight, including all shootout attempts. He also made a remarkable glove save on Travis Sanheim during overtime.
Looking ahead, the Golden Knights are set to conclude their five-game road trip in Colorado on Wednesday, while the Flyers will face off against the Nashville Predators on the same night.