At 18:10 of the second period, a mere five seconds after Couturier was sent off on a hooking penalty, Pavel Dorofeyev (PPG, 11th) one-timed a shot that beat Ivan Fedotov to the short side to close the deficit to 3-2. Shea Theodore and Tomas Hertl earned the assists. Eichel was not credited with a point but won the initial faceoff against Ryan Poehling for instant puck control.
In the third period, the Flyers spent considerable time in the offensive zone and compiled a 14-6 shot on goal edge. However, Vegas got the lone goal of the frame, forcing overtime. The Flyers made a huge push in the final half-minute but couldn't get a favorable bounce near the net.
Tanner Pearson (5th) tied the game, 4-4, at 11:55 of the third period with a goal from the slot. Earlier on the shift, Pearson's forechecking pressure down low forced a Helge Grans turnover. The Flyers never recovered the puck again. The eventual assists went to Noah Hanafin and Nicolas Hague.
In overtime, the Flyers missed connections on a 3-on-1 rush. Frost made a great one-on-one move against Eichel but put a shot off Samsonov's mask. Philly narrowly missed winning on a 4-on-3 power play.
In the ensuing shootout, the Flyers elected to shoot first:
1st round: Konecny lost control as he went forehand-backhand-forehand. Dorofeyev was stopped by Fedotov's pad
2nd round: Michkov beat Samsonov cleanly but hit the left post. Eichel scored off the right post and into the net.
Third round: Tippett was stopped on a five-hole try moving to his right, ending the shootout in Vegas' favor.
Fedotov stopped 26 of 30 shots in regulation and overtime. He was 1-for-2 in the shootout. Samsonov made 31 saves on 35 shots in regulation and overtime. He was 3-for-3 in the shootout but got help from the post on Michkov's attempt.
The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play. They were 0-for-1 on the penalty kill.
FLYERS STARTING LINEUP
74 Owen Tippett - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny
71 Tyson Foerster- 48 Morgan Frost - 39 Matvei Michkov
86 Joel Farabee - 27 Noah Cates- 10 Bobby Brink
21 Scott Laughton - 25 Ryan Poehling - 19 Garnet Hathaway
6 Travis Sanheim - 8 Cam York
36 Emil Andrae - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
24 Nick Seeler - 3 Helge Grans
82 Ivan Fedotov
[35 Aleksei Kolosov]
PP1: Andrae, Frost, Couturier, Konecny, Michkov
PP2: Sanheim, Tippett Farabee, Foerster ,Brink
Scratches: 5 Egor Zamula (healthy),77 Erik Johnson (healthy), 44 Nicolas Deslauriers (healthy), 9 Jamie Drysdale (IR), 33 Samuel Ersson (IR, lower body).
TURNING POINT
The Flyers had many chances to win the game in regulation or overtime. But the ball started rolling for Vegas, trailing 3-0, as they converted a turnover along the boards into Eichel's goal. Shortly thereafter, Vegas found a way to score again.
POSTGAME 5 ("5 Things" Revisited)
1) Konecny Triggering Offense: The Flyers leading point-getter triggered the counterattack that led to Couturier's first period goal that made the score 2-0.
2) Goaltender Fedotov stepping up: The Flyers goalie made a crucial save on a shorthanded scoring chance for Pearson in the first period. He held his own throughout the game and came up with a couple 10-bell saves. On the fourth goal, he might have liked to have the chance back.
3) Minimizing Turnovers: The Flyers were charged with 14 giveaways to 13 for Vegas. Turnovers by the Flyers played a direct role in the first and fourth Vegas goals.
4) Winning the special teams battle: The Flyers generated good pressure on a couple of their power plays but Vegas won the special teams contest on this night, converting their lone power play in quick order and emerging unscathed on three penalty kills.
1st period: The Flyers generated quick puck movement on the game's first power play but had only a couple of "almost" chances. Vegas had a pair of shorthanded counterattacks denied by Fedotov.
