PHILADELPHIA — Despite getting outplayed through three periods, the Flyers, carried by Carter Hart’s career-best 47 saves, walked away with their second win in a row when they beat the Vegas Golden Knights, 2-1, Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Although the Flyers’ first-period play was not clean, in a rare turn of events, the bounces went their way. Down five shots on goal to none, the Flyers took the lead when Justin Braun scored on the team’s first shot on goal of the night. Then, after two momentum-killing power plays, Oskar Lindblom hit the ice at even strength and scored a wraparound goal.
After controlling the pace of the game from the start of the second period, the Golden Knights got on the board during their third power play of the game when they used quick, efficient passing to get the puck out front, where Evgenii Dadonov scored. The Golden Knights built from there, outshooting the Flyers 17-8 in the second and killing two penalties easily.
In the final minutes of the game, the Golden Knights had a six-on-four after Ivan Provorov was called for delay of game and Vegas pulled its goalie. Hart made six straight stops before time expired.
Hart of penalty kill
When the Golden Knights sneaked past the Flyers on their fourth power play, Hart was there to stop the rebound as it headed toward the goal line. Once play started again, the Flyers’ penalty kill, which was effective on the first two Vegas power plays before giving up a goal on the third, struggled to clear the puck.
For almost two minutes, the Golden Knights passed the puck around and peppered the goal with shots before the Flyers finally cleared it. For almost a minute of it, Hart was without his stick. He made two back-to-back saves before the puck went into the crowd, giving him a chance to retrieve the stick. The Golden Knights finished with three shots on goal during the power play.
Hart’s excellence in those two minutes of play extended through all 60 minutes as he kept his team in the game. By the end of the second period, he had already made 30 saves.
A good thought
From the jump, the Flyers made smart plays on offense that set up great scoring opportunities. Claude Giroux passed it through traffic to a spot goalie Robin Lehner wouldn’t have been able to block. Travis Konecny gave it to Giroux on a rush for an uncontested shot. Kevin Hayes passed it from behind the net to the open space in front.
But on all of them, either the execution or the communication wasn’t there. No one was around to pick up Giroux’s pass or Hayes’ pass, and Konecny’s setup for Giroux amounted to nothing.
Offensive Braun
When Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim went to the penalty box early, the other defensemen were called to step up. Braun, who has been a staple on the penalty-kill unit, answered the call, sacrificing his body to block a shot. In visible pain, he stayed on the ice until the team cleared the puck. And when he came back out, he took a shot from the point that gave the Flyers an early lead.
It was Braun’s fifth goal of the season, which tied a career high with 26 games left to play. Braun, who is more known for his defensive play, has also contributed 10 assists. In a season when the team has struggled, Braun is the only defenseman other than Sanheim without a negative plus-minus. On a one-year contract, Braun is a player who could be traded.
What’s next
The Flyers head to Florida to play the Atlantic Division’s first-place team, the Florida Panthers (38-13-5) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
