The Vegas Golden Knights managed to keep their historic start alive on Tuesday by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in regulation at T-Mobile Arena to extend their winning streak and bring their record to a perfect 7-0-0.
The Golden Knights are just the 16th team all-time to win their opening seven games of a season and are now just one of three teams who remain undefeated (Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins). They continue to prove why they should be one of the favorites to make another Stanley Cup run.
This was the final game of the NHL’s “Frozen Frenzy” event, where all 32 teams suited up on Tuesday. With 16 games, each starting 15 minutes apart, and a total of 102 goals scored, there was plenty of action. Every big moment from every game was captured on the broadcast in hopes of creating an NFL RedZone-style program, which was an overwhelming success.
Goaltending Showdown
Flyers starting goaltender Carter Hart’s career has been filled with ups and downs, but he’s started off the 2023-24 season strong with a .923 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.21 goals-against average (GAA). He stopped 26 of the 29 shots on the night, and while his .897 SV% might not look great on paper, Hart was a huge reason the Flyers kept this game close until the dying seconds of the third period.
With three power-play opportunities for the Golden Knights, Hart had to be sharp all night, especially late in the third period when Vegas finally found some sustained pressure.
The team in front of Hart has been uninspiring for a few seasons, but with the long-awaited return of Sean Couturier, combined with the second season of John Tortorella as head coach, the Flyers are going to be a much tougher team to play against in 2023-24.
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A lot of this game was spent in the neutral zone after the Flyers seemed to sit back after taking a 2-1 lead on a weak backhand from Cam Atkinson that Logan Thompson misread. Despite giving up two, this was another really solid night for Thompson, who continues to make a case for himself to claim the starting role.
Paul Cotter’s Third Period Heroics
After trading Reilly Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the offseason, the only real concern on the Golden Knights roster was on their third line, which needed somebody to step up as a depth scorer in Smith’s absence. Through the opening seven games, Paul Cotter has filled that role perfectly, and his game-tying goal late in the third period emphasized his importance to the team.
TAKE A BOW PAUL COTTER! 😱 pic.twitter.com/6Hu8vDXPOC
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 25, 2023
The goal came just over 12 minutes into the third, tilting the ice in the Golden Knights’ favor for the rest of the period and leading to Shea Theodore’s game-winning goal with 30 seconds remaining.
Cotter’s offensive creativity hasn’t come out of nowhere – he’s often been called upon in the shootout and has scored a few highlight-worthy goals. However, seeing him manipulate a defender like this in one of the most crucial moments of the game takes a level of confidence that we haven’t seen from him until now.
Related: Golden Knights Have 4 Good Options to Replace Reilly Smith
With his willingness to be physical and his ability to pull off incredible moves like this, Cotter offers a ton of versatility to the Golden Knights’ lineup. He always had the potential to develop into a great power forward, but he’s exceeded all expectations, starting the season off with five points in seven games.
What’s Ahead for the Golden Knights
One of the most underrated parts of the Golden Knights’ winning streak is that they have managed to overcome some very poor starts and still won. They haven’t dug a hole that they haven’t been able to get out of, and as frustrating as it can be to watch, it’s impressive to see a team make effective in-game adjustments in order to adapt and prevail.
Vegas and 28 other teams will get the day off on Wednesday, with just one NHL game on the schedule. They won’t get back into action until Friday (Oct. 27) and will use this free time to regroup and prepare for a rematch against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Despite their 2-4-0 record, the Blackhawks have been playing well and have had to deal with an incredibly difficult schedule to start the season. With their winning streak, the Golden Knights can’t afford to sit back against a young and hungry team like the Blackhawks, who will be highly motivated to split their season series.
