On a night the Vegas Golden Knights raised a couple of banners in the rafters of T-Mobile Arena, they dropped hard on the ice.
The defending Western Conference champion Golden Knights didn’t look like the team that trampled most opponents at home during last year’s historic inaugural season in Thursday night’s opener of the 2018-2019 campaign. The Philadelphia Flyers ruined what was supposed to be a celebratory debut with a 5-2 victory.
After the Golden Knights won 36 of the franchise’s first 50 home games, they’ve now lost three straight dating back to last year’s Stanley Cup Final.
This was the most lopsided defeat of the bunch, as coach Gerard Gallant pulled goalie Marc-Andre Fleury midway through the second period after he allowed five goals on 16 shots. Backup Malcolm Subban stabilized Vegas the rest of the way — notching eight saves — but it was too late.
The Flyers scored four goals in about 16 minutes of game time from the end of the first period to the middle of the second period to build a sufficient cushion. Third-line winger Wayne Simonds had two of the goals back-to-back when he forced in loose pucks from the side of the net.
His second goal came after a shot from defenseman Robert Hagg, a typically sparse offensive contributor who complemented his first-period assist with a second-period goal.
Gallant waited a couple minutes after Hagg’s score to pull Fleury, who allowed his first goal on a breakway from the Flyers’ Oskar Lindblom.
That tied the score at 1-1, as the Golden Knights were on the board first courtesy of a wrist shot from Jonathan Marchessault, assisted by Jon Merrill and Fleury, at 6:37 of the first period.
In the third period, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the Golden Knights’ second goal after creating a takeaway at center ice, deking a Flyers defender and flipping the puck past Flyers goalie Jake Elliott, who finished with 22 saves.
It was the prettiest play of the Golden Knights’ young season, but some fans weren’t there to see it after leaving during the second intermission. On the rare night where the Golden Knights were uncompetitive on their home ice, it was hard to blame those exited early.
Check back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage.
Golden Knights trail 5-1 at end of second period
Midway through the second period, the sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena caught a sight they didn’t plan to see much during the Vegas Golden Knights’ season, let alone the first game.
Golden Knights Coach Gerard Gallant pulled goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Malcolm Subban played the final 10 minutes after Fleury gave up three goals in the period.
The Flyers lead 5-1 at the second intermission. Vegas scored the first goal on a Jonathan Marchessault wrist shot seven minutes into the game, but has seen little offense materialize ever since.
It’s been too easy, meanwhile, for Philadelphia. After a pair of first-period scores, Philadelphia struck early in the second period when Wayne Simonds converted a power-play opportunity by poking through a rebound.
Robert Hagg got an assist on the play, a precursor to a slap shot goal the defenseman would score about three minutes later. The final shot to find its way into the net came off of the stick of Radko Gugas and was tapped in by Scott Laughton.
End of first period: Flyers lead Golden Knights 2-1
The Flyers got the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury twice in the final 12 minutes of the opening period.
After Oskar Lindblom out-maneuvered Vegas' goalie with a backhand at 8:38, Wayne Simonds knocked through a rebound with a little more than a minute remaining. The Golden Knights spent most of the period in the Flyers' zone, but only scored when Jonathan Marchessault fired a shot past Brian Elliott's left side.
They also caught some bad breaks. Shea Theodore had what looked like a goal, but the puck hit off of the post.
Flyers answer in two minutes
The Philadelphia Flyers converted on their first big opportunity when Oskar Lindblom beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a backhand off of a breakaway at 8:38 of the first period.
The goal ties the game at 1-1. The Golden Knights have controlled most of the action, and have eight shots on goal to the Flyers' five.
Golden Knights score at 6:37 of the first period
The Golden Knights pressured the Flyers early and peppered them with a number of shots, including three on goal. The fourth found its way past Philadelphia goalie Brian Elliott.
Jonathan Marchessault got behind the defense, received a pass from Jon Merrill and wristed a shot by Elliott to make the score 1-0 Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury was also credited with an assist.
Fleury started the sequence after one of the few times the puck was in the Golden Knights' defensive zone. The Flyer have managed only a single shot on goal.
Pre-game
The Golden Knights zipped around the ice this morning at City National Arena noticeably quicker than the last few days, and communicated with each other more spiritedly.
Consider it a byproduct of training camp officially coming to the end, and a signal that the franchise’s second regular season is hours away. Vegas begins its defense of last season’s Western Conference championship at 7 p.m. tonight at T-Mobile Arena against the Philadelphia Flyers.
“We’re in game mode now,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said.
The preseason wears on everyone, as 20 days of training camp drags even for a team that’s had a relatively short 119 days since its last real game in the Stanley Cup Final.
“As a player, you want to play a couple preseason games just to be ready, but three weeks is a long time,” first-line forward Jonathan Marchessault said.
Marchessault said sellout crowds at every home preseason game helped keep things exciting, but those environments should pale in comparison to the one tonight. Last year’s home opener, a 5-2 win over the Coyotes, will be remembered as a defining moment in Las Vegas sports history.
This year’s first game will also go down as historic, albeit for different reasons. The Golden Knights plan to commemorate last season with a pregame ceremony that will include raising Western Conference and Pacific Division championship banners.
“It’s going to be nice to see in your building,” Gallant said. “I don’t think that’s going to make us lose any focus. I think our guys will be happy; it’s exciting and the game will be loud tonight like it is every night.”
Gallant and the players were effusive in their praise for the Flyers, who have high expectations of their own coming off of a postseason appearance last year. Philadelphia fell to Pittsburgh in six games in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals but could improve this season behind a young roster that, not unlike Vegas, prides itself on playing fast.
Philadelphia won its only trip to Las Vegas last season, 4-1 in February, but fell 3-2 to the Golden Knights at home in March.
“It’s a new season and obviously we’re happy,” Marchessault said. “But we have some unfinished business. We’re not satisfied with what we did last year. We want more.”
Keefer’s Prediction: Golden Knights 4, Flyers 3 (OT)
Season record for predictions: 0-0
Pick to score the first Golden Knights’ goal: Max Pacioretty
TV: NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 220, Cox 38 , CenturyLink 640)
Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM
Betting line: Golden Knights minus-170, Flyers plus-150; over/under: 6
Golden Knights (51-24-7 last season) (29-10-2 home last season)
Coach: Gerard Gallant (second season)
Goals leader (last season): William Karlsson (43)
Assists leader (returning from last season): Jonathan Marchessault (48)
Expected goalie: Marc Andre-Fleury (2.24 gaa, .927 save percentage last season)
Philadelphia Flyers (42-26-14 last season) (20-13-8 road last season)
Coach: Dave Hakstol (fourth season)
Goals leader (last season): Claude Giroux (34)
Assists leader (last season): Claude Giroux (68)
Expected goalie: Brian Elliott (2.66 gaa, .909 save percentage)
Golden Knights expected game day roster
Forwards (12): Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, William Carrier, Ryan Carpenter, Erik Haula, William Karlsson, Oscar Lindberg, Jonathan Marchessault, Tomas Nosek, Max Pacioretty, Ryan Reaves Reilly Smith, Paul Stastny
Defensemen (6): Deryk Engelland, Nick Holden, Brayden McNabb, John Merrill, Colin Miller, Shea Theodore
Goalies (2): Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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