Postgame 5: Flyers Start Fast but Lose to Vegas, 5-2

In the first game of the 2025 calendar year, the Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-2, on Thursday night. The Flyers are 2-2-0 on their current five-game road trip.

Philadelphia played an excellent first period. They outshot the Golden Knights, 8-4, took a one-goal lead to intermission and blocked eight shot attempts. The Flyers also killed off the only penalty of the frame.

The Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead just 21 seconds after the game's opening faceoff. Tyson Foerster (11th goal of the season) scored from the left slot on a chance set up by Noah Cates. The second assist went to Bobby Brink.

A re-direct at netfront by Jack Eichel provided Aleksei Kolosov with his first test of the game. The Flyers netminder came up with the save. Around the seven minute mark, a Noah Hanifin shot dribbled through Kolosov but came to a stop before it went over the goal line.

There was a major turnaround in the second period. Early and late surges by Vegas turned a one-goal deficit into a two goal lead. Shots on goal were 13-11 in the Golden Knights' favor (19-17 Flyers through 40 minutes).

It took Vegas 51 seconds into the middle stanza for Vegas to tie the game at 1-1. Eichel's backhanded shot for the high slot was deflected home as Mark Stone (9th) went to the net. Hanifin had the secondary assist.

At 2:13, Vegas scored again to take a 2-1 lead. Joel Farabee was checked off the puck on the defensive side boards. Nick Hague (3rd) swooped around the net and his wraparound rattled into the net. The assist went to Keegan Kolesar.

The Cates line flurried around the Vegas net three shifts later. They did not score but it was a much-needed positive shift for Philadelphia. Play was even until the final four minutes of the period when Vegas dialed up the pressure again.

With just under two minutes left in the second period, Victor Olofsson hit the post. The Flyers iced the puck at 18:17. Vegas won the ensuing faceoff cleanly and Pavel Dorofeyev ((14th) fired a shot that got through Kolosov at 18:22. The assists went to Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb.

In the third period, Alexander Holtz (3rd) scored on a transition play wrist shot from the top of the left circle. The Flyers were unable to get the puck in deep, getting it only as far as the Vegas blueline before going off for a line change. As the replacements stepped on the ice, Holtz scored. The assists went to Hanifin and Pietrangelo.

Foerster drove with the puck to the net, creating a power play at 4:42 as he was held by Hanifin. The Flyers won the draw cleanly and rotated the puck with five touches, ending in a Travis Konecny goal just above the left dot (PPG, 18th) between Samsonov's glove and pad. The assists went to Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost.

At 9:51, Vegas countered off a blocked shot. Kolosov denied Jonas Rondbjerg on a partial breakaway to keep the deficit at 4-2.

Foerster created a second power play at 11:19 as he was tripped in the neutral zone by Stone. The Flyers won two faceoffs but could not generate any high-grade looks.

With 36 seconds left in the third period, afte Eichel took the puck from Tippett, Tanner Pearson (8th) scored an empty net goal to seal a three-goal victory. The assists went to Stone and Eichel.

Third period shots on goal favored Vegas, 11-6 (27-25 Golden Knights overall).

Kolosov stopped 22 of 26 shots. Winning goaltender Samsonov made 23 saves on 25 shots.

The Flyers went 1-for-2 on the power play. They were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

71 Tyson Foerster - 27 Noah Cates - 10 Bobby Brink
74 Owen Tippett - 25 Ryan Poehling - 11 Travis Konecny
21 Scott Laughton - 48 Morgan Frost - 39 Matvei Michkov
86 Joel Farabee - 14 Sean Couturier - 19 Garnet Hathaway

6 Travis Sanheim - 8 Cam York
24 Nick Seeler - 9 Jamie Drysdale
5 Egor Zamula - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen

35 Aleksei Kolosov

PP1: Ristolainen, Foerster, Cates, Brink, Michkov

PP2: Drysdale,Tippett, Frost, Konecny, Farabee

Scratches:15 Olle Lycksell (healthy), 77 Erik Johnson (healthy), 44 Nicolas Deslauriers (IR), 82 Ivan Fedotov (healthy).

TURNING POINT

The Vegas goals at the 51-second and 2:13 mark of the second period rapidly erased all the good work the Flyers had done in the first period; at least in terms of the game outlook.

POSTGAME 5 ("5 Things" Revisited)

1. Between the pipes -- Kolosov: The Belarusian rookie had a just OK performance in a game where the Flyers needed nearly flawless goaltending to win. The Hague wraparound goal was one that Kolosov would have liked to play differently on the front end and Dorofeyev's game-winner was a goal of the "not easy but not impossible save opportunity" variety.

2. Big chance for Ryan Poehling: In their second game starting together, the revised line with Konecny and Tippett centered by Poehling faced a more formidable challenge than they did in San Jose on Tuesday. Poehling played a season-high 18:22 on 24 shifts. He had two shots on goal, won four of nine faceoffs and was charged with three giveaways.

3. Joel Farabee on the PK: Farabee played 25 seconds of the Flyers' lone penalty kill of the game.

4. Flyers blueliners: Not just the defensemen but the Flyers five-man units could hardly have played a better first period structurally against a very good opponent. The troubles early and late in the second period were sandwiched around roughly 12 good minutes. In the third period, the Flyers had to chase the game. Throughout the game, the Flyers defensemen made frequent -- and usually effective -- use of high flips out of the end zone to relief pressure.

5. Containing Eichel: The Vegas leading scorer had two assists and several scoring chances in his 16:38 of ice time.