Will it be a happy ever ending in the City of Brotherly Love for the Vegas Golden Knights tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers? Let’s hope so.
After shutting out the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-0 win in the opening game of this three-game road trip, the focus for the Vegas Golden Knights switches to the struggling Flyers today.
Philadelphia – under the guidance of new Head Coach Alain Vigneault – have been a mixed bag this year and they come into tonight’s contest sitting below .500.
There is no doubt that they have the pieces to be a playoff team and it looks like they have finally found their franchise goaltender in Carter Hart, although the 21-year-old has struggled of late with a 2.59 Goals Against Average and a .890 Save Percentage.
The Flyers boast offensive firepower, however, and it is only a matter of time until the likes of Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Hayes explode into life.
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Travis Konecny, on the other hand, has enjoyed a productive start to the year and he leads the Flyers in scoring with eight points (three goals, five assists).
Currently on a four-game winless streak, the Philadelphia Flyers will be looking to feed off the energy from their home crowd tonight and start building some momentum as we approach November.
Looking at the Vegas Golden Knights now, they come into tonight’s contest 3-1-0 on the road to start the year and they won the opening game of this road trip after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0, backstopped by a 29-save shutout performance from Marc-Andre Fleury.
Vegas are 6-3-0 on the year through nine games and they’ve been powered by their special teams, where they rank inside the top six in the NHL when it comes to both their power play and their penalty kill.
Mark Stone has been lights out for the franchise so far, potting six goals and tallying six assists for 12 points in nine games, including five points on the power play.
Reilly Smith has also been on a tear to start the year after scoring six goals and the top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Smith are currently firing on all cylinders.
With tonight the first game of a back-to-back for the Knights, the key will be getting off to a fast start against the Flyers so that they can maybe rest some legs in the third period ahead of Tuesday’s road trip to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Jake Bischoff made his NHL debut for the Knights on Saturday in Pittsburgh and the rookie defenseman will play again tonight, while Oscar Dansk will start his first game in the NHL tonight since October, 30, 2017 with Marc-Andre Fleury getting a well-deserved rest.
And here is all the essential information you need to know prior to faceoff…
Time: 4:00 p.m. PT
Where: Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia
TV Broadcast: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing Cards, Grand Slam Tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.
Tonight is an opportunity for the Vegas Golden Knights to extend their winning streak to three games and build some momentum ahead of returning home on Friday.