Game two of the Vegas Golden Knights' (6-3-0) road trip is upon us. Red-hot Mark Stone leads his team into America's birthplace, for a battle with the embattled Philadelphia Flyers (2-3-1). Dating back to the Golden Knights' inception (2017-18), the two teams have a 2-2-0 head-to-head record, with the home team losing each of those four games.
Winless in their last four, the Flyers are looking to snap an ugly skid, following a 2-0-0 start to their season. A win in Prague, CZE, followed by goaltender Carter Hart's first-ever shutout in their home-opener against the New Jersey Devils, seem extremely far gone. Since then, the orange and black have struggled mightily, due in part to an inordinate amount of travel early on this season. The team has been overseas, played one home game, then hit the road for a western Canada trip, losing games to the Vancouver Canucks (F/SO), Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers.
With the ability to rest at home for the first time this season and the addition of first-round pick Joel Farabee, the Flyers could potentially right the ship. They'll attempt to do so against the Golden Knights who relied far-too-heavily on Marc-Andre Fleury in Saturday night's 3-0 win in Pittsburgh. The Penguins controlled play for long stretches, despite the shutout. Fleury was stellar in his first game against his former club and the Golden Knights were only able to muster one goal on backup netmider Tristan Jarry.
Following that game, Golden Knight Head Coach Gerard Gallant conveyed to Gary Lawless that they played a solid game, despite numbers that suggest otherwise.
"I thought it was our best game of the year, personally. I thought we did some real good things, blocked some shots from their PK. Guys stepped up."
-Gerard Gallant
In the game against the Penguins, the Golden Knights were often hemmed in their own zone, chasing the Penguins around. Their opponents had the edge in Corsi, Fenwick, Scoring Chances, Shots For, High Danger Chances, and Expected Goals. Typically, Vegas dominates the advanced stats, but on this given night, they chased the game.
Jake Bischoff played a great first NHL game in Pittsburgh (USA Today Sports)
Jake Bischoff made his NHL debut and played extremely well, both at 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill. His partner, Deryk Engelland, once again looked to be the weakest link, playing with his second rookie partner of the season. Nate Schmidt remains out of the lineup (week-to-week) with a lower-body injury and until he returns, the defense will be a liability relying on an interesting mix of aging vets (Engelland/Nick Holden) and rookies (Bischoff/Nicolas Hague).
Ironically, the Flyers also have defensive woes, which comes as a bit of a surprise. General Manager Chuck Fletcher thought he addressed lingering defense issues when he added veterans Matt Niskanen (WSH) and Justin Braun (SJS) to an exciting group of young defensemen. Much to their dismay, Ivan Provorov's 2018-19 struggles in his own end have resumed and the dynamic Shayne Gostisbehere has yet to make an impact this season. Travis Sanheim (2014 First-Round Pick) signed a bridge deal of his own this summer and looks solid again this season.
Philadelphia is looking for a boost from their 2018 First Round pick (USA Today Sports)
With Joel Farabee expected to make his NHL debut, the Flyers will surely be getting a shot in the arm. Farabee is a great offensive talent and can fit on the wing of either of their top three lines. Per Charlie O'Connor of The Athletic, Farabee skated with the top power play unit, during the morning skate. It's no surprise, considering that he plays mature beyond his years. Starting his season in the AHL, he has three goals in three games and his first added a highlight reel goal to his record.
This game will be decided by the blue liners and goaltenders. Both teams have high-level talent in their forward corps that can exploit a sub-par defensive effort. Reilly Smith, Paul Stastny, Cody Glass, and Stone have been the Golden Knights' best forwards of late. If he is indeed in the home team's lineup, a Chris Stewart/Ryan Reaves bout could be a banger! The Philly defense will have this hands full with Vegas' top-six forward group.
Carter Hart seems to be the goalie the Flyers have been longing for (USA Today Sports)
Both Fleury and Hart are highly regarded and graded goaltenders, who can steal games on any given night. Hart is still young, but shows poise beyond that of a 21-year-old kid. Fleury remains as agile and athletic as ever, even with 900-plus games on his body. On game day, the Golden Knights tweeted that "there's a good chance" Oscar Dansk plays instead of Fleury, which could bode well for the Flyers.
Dansk played well in his first NHL action in an injury-ravaged 2017-18 season (USA Today Sports)
Projected Lineups:
Golden Knights:
Marchessault - Karlsson - Smith
Pacioretty - Stastny - Stone
Pirri - Eakin - Glass
Carrier - Nosek - Reaves
McNabb - Theodore
Merrill - Holden
Bischoff - Engelland
Oscar Dansk (AHL)
Flyers:
vanRiemsdyk - Giroux - Voracek
Lindblom - Couturier - Konecny
Laughton - Hayes - Farabee
Raffl - Vorobeyev - Stewart
Provorov - Niskanen
Sanheim - Braun
Gostisbehere - Hagg
Brian Elliott
Which group will step up to the plate and secure the win for their team? Puck drop is at 4pm Pacific. Be sure to check in following the game, for a Facebook Live Post-Game Discussion (link below).
As always, follow me on Twitter for my most up-to-date Golden Knights content, including #VGKPredictions.
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