Mark Stone tallied twice, as the Golden Knights defeat the Flyers 3-2 in overtime. Philly is now 6-6-3 all-time against Vegas. Let’s wrap:
Always Remember Your First
At the 16:08 mark of the second period, the Flyers once again knotted up the game, when defensemen Noah Juulsen unloaded a one-time slap shot from the right circle. Christian Dvorak and Carl Grundstrom picked up the assists on the play.
“It obviously feels good,” Juulsen said. “Tough one to lose, I thought we played a pretty solid game as a group, it’s just the way it went.”
The tally is Juulsen’s first of the season and first in orange and black. The rugged defender is more known for his defensive acumen and stay at home ability than his goal scoring, but it was hard to tell on this play. It was definitely a goal scorer’s goal.
“I’m not obviously looking for it all the time,” he said. “I think when it happens, it happens. You contribute when you can, but I’m not going crazy for it.”
The former 2015 first round pick has one goal and three assists with a plus/minus rating of plus three in 25 games played this season.
More on Murchinson
In his second NHL game, rookie rearguard Ty Murchinson again made some positive contribution’s to the Flyers blueline. The 22-year-old logged 23 shifts over 13:41 minutes of ice time in the loss, but similarly to his NHL debut, played a physical brand of hockey which helped him effectively kill plays in the defensive zone.
“Murchinson, for a young kid again, he looked poised out there,” Tocchet said. “There’s some good stuff there.”
With both Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen on the mend, it’ll be interesting to see how the Flyers will rearrange their defensive pairings. Especially with Murchinson making such a notable impression in his limited showings.
“He’s been a real pro,” Juulsen said of the rookie. “His breakouts have been good and he’s cooking out there so it’s nice to see.”
TK with the TO
At the 2:47 mark of overtime, Travis Konecny carried the puck back into his own in order for the Flyers to get fresh legs on the ice. As the Flyers forward went to fire a stretch pass down the ice, he fanned on the attempt, turning the puck over to Jack Eichel. The Vegas leading point getter then went to work on Konecny before finding Mark Stone on a sleek backdoor pass that ended the game.
“He [Eichel] snapped that pass really hard,” Dan Vladar said. “Obviously, I would like to make that extra save. Maybe it could have given us a chance to go the other way.”
Konecny was not made available postgame, but he was visibly upset with himself after the play, as he looked skyward after Stone scored and slammed his stick on the ice. Vladar once again played well enough to give Philadelphia a win, but it was not to be on Thursday night.
They Said It
Rick Tocchet on the Flyers generating one shot on three powerplays: “We’re not getting any middle shots. Other than Trevor [Zegras], our flanks are having a tough time making a play. We’re not using the middle of the ice. We have to fix it somehow.”
Sean Couturier on Noah Juulsen’s goal: “He’s been stepping up in Yorkie’s absence. He deserved that goal. It was a big goal for us to tie the game. You like to see that from a good guy like that.”
Travis Sanheim on the Flyers hanging with the league’s top teams: “We’re a confident group and can compete with anyone. Just have to continue everyday with that mindset. Onto the next one.”
Christian Dvorak on playing with Trevor Zegras: “He’s a great kid and a lot of fun to play with. He’s got eyes in the back of his head, high hockey IQ, it’s pleasure playing with and TK as well.”
Did You Know?
Trevor Zegras opened the scoring for the Flyers in the first period with his 11th goal of the season. According to NHL stats, that is third most among all players skating with a new team this season behind only Anaheim’s Chris Kreider (13) and Utah’s JJ Peterka (12).
On Deck
The Flyers will end a six game homestand on Saturday, December 13th, when they play host to the Carolina Hurricanes. Puckdrop is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on NBCSP.
