Flyers give up 3rd-period lead, can’t hand defending champs first loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers were about eight minutes away from pulling off an upset in Las Vegas and 32 seconds away from bringing home at least a point against the defending champs.
But they couldn’t nail down a 2-1 lead and suffered a tough-to-stomach 3-2 loss Tuesday night to the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
It was the Flyers’ second consecutive one-goal defeat to a Stanley Cup contender on the road. They fell to the Stars, 5-4, in overtime last Saturday.
The Flyers are 3-2-1 and now come home for four straight games.
Noah Cates and Cam Atkinson scored the Flyers’ goals Tuesday night, both in the first period.
The Golden Knights (7-0-0) have yet to lose in their title defense and own a plus-15 goal differential.
• Shea Theodore won it for Vegas, firing a shot through all kinds of traffic. There was no way Carter Hart could see it.
Cam York had a costly turnover that led to the Golden Knights’ extended offensive-zone time in the final minute.
With the Flyers nursing their 2-1 lead in the third period, Paul Cotter put a highlight-reel move on Egor Zamula to give Vegas its equalizer. Cotter played the puck through his own legs to maneuver around Zamula and score on Hart.
York is 22 years old and Zamula 23. These were ill-timed learning moments for the young defensemen.
• Hart entered the game 2-1-1 with a .931 save percentage lifetime against the Golden Knights.
He finished Tuesday night with 26 saves on 29 shots.
The 25-year-old made impressive back-to-back stops in the second period, one with his glove, to keep the Flyers ahead.
He was highly tested in the third period, facing 14 shots.
Vegas backup Logan Thompson stopped 26 of the Flyers’ 28 shots.
• The Golden Knights had yet to trail at first intermission this season before Cates and Atkinson gave the Flyers a 2-1 advantage after 20 minutes.
Cates’ goal was his first of the season and erased Vegas’ 1-0 lead. Travis Sanheim picked up an assist on the marker, giving him five through six games.
Atkinson’s goal was his fourth and one that Thompson wanted back.
• Morgan Frost was healthy scratched for a fourth straight game.
Tyson Foerster played just 12:33 minutes. He didn’t have a shot and committed a penalty. One would think Frost might draw back into the lineup for Foerster, but we’ll see.
• Rasmus Ristolainen, on injured reserve with an undisclosed issue, has yet to make his season debut.
Per the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff Neiburg and The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, John Tortorella said Ristolainen recently had a setback in his recovery. The head coach didn’t have an update on the defenseman’s timeline for a return.
“It’s frustrating,” Ristolainen said last Wednesday. “I believe it’s the third year in a row I missed the first couple of games. Makes it even more annoying. But just try to be patient, work, rehab and hopefully be back as soon as possible.”
• The Flyers are back at it Thursday when they host the Wild (7:30 p.m. ET/ESPN+, Hulu).
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