Las Vegas clinched a 5-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, with a standout second period that saw three goals scored by Mark Stone, Nicolas Hague, and Pavel Dorofeyev. The success continues for the Golden Knights, who have triumphed in 11 of their last 13 games. Ilya Samsonov was impressive in goal, saving 23 shots throughout the matchup.
On the other side, the Flyers’ struggles continue, as they have now lost six of their last nine games. Tyson Foester and Travis Konecny managed to find the back of the net for Philadelphia, while rookie Aleksei Kolosov recorded 22 saves.
The action picked up shortly after the start of the second period when Stone tied the game at 1-1, converting a pass from Jack Eichel just 51 seconds in. Hague quickly followed up by skating around the back of the net to score less than 90 seconds later. Dorofeyev then extended the lead with his 14th goal of the season, making it 3-1 with just 1:39 remaining in the period.
In the third period, Holtz increased the Golden Knights’ lead early on at 2:46, but Konecny struck back for the Flyers at 4:56 to cut the deficit to two. Pearson capped off the game with an empty-net goal in the final moments, solidifying the Golden Knights’ victory.
A major takeaway for the Flyers is Kolosov’s performance in the second period, where he allowed three goals, ultimately falling to a record of 4-8-1 after stepping in for the injured Samuel Ersson. For the Golden Knights, Samsonov’s resilience was notable as he improved to 10-3-1 this season, bouncing back efficiently after conceding the early goal in the first period.
A pivotal moment in the game came when the Golden Knights gained momentum by scoring twice within the first 2.5 minutes of the second period after a lackluster first frame. A key statistic reveals that after attempting only four shots in the first period, including none during their sole power play, the Golden Knights bounced back with an impressive 13 shot attempts in the second, capitalizing on three to take control of the game.
Looking ahead, the Golden Knights will be facing the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, while the Flyers are set to compete against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
