Flyers Show Fight In OT Heartbreaker
The Philadelphia Flyers dropped a tough 3-2 overtime decision to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night, falling victim to a Mark Stone OT dagger just over a minute into the extra frame. Yes, the final score stings, especially against a Vegas squad that swept the season series from Philly last year. But if you watched this game, you didn’t see a team that’s content to just “participate.” You saw a Flyers group that battled a Stanley Cup contender toe-to-toe for 60 minutes, generated quality looks, and left the ice knowing they’re getting closer every single night.
Trevor Zegras continues to look like the franchise-altering acquisition many hoped he’d be. The 23-year-old playmaker buried his team-leading 11th goal of the season and now sits at 28 points (11-17) through the first quarter-plus of the campaign. That pace has him tied for the team lead in assists and third in the entire NHL among players on new teams—trailing only Chris Kreider (13 goals with Anaheim) and JJ Peterka (12 with Utah). Six points in his last six games? That’s not a hot streak; that’s Zegras settling in and reminding everyone why Philadelphia went out and got him.
Depth scoring has been a question mark for the Flyers in recent years, but Wednesday offered real encouragement on that front. Defenseman Noah Juulsen—yes, a defenseman—wired home his first goal as a Flyer (and first of the season) on a gorgeous seeing-eye shot from the point. Travis Sanheim picked up another helper and now has three assists in his last two contests, looking every bit the top-pair workhorse Philly needs him to be.
Then there’s Christian Dvorak, quietly putting together one of the best stretches of his career. The veteran center dished out two assists, pushing his season total to 14 and extending his point streak to three games (1-3—4). Five multi-point performances already, including back-to-back nights—that’s the exact kind of reliable secondary production contending teams lean on in the spring.
Even Carl Grundstrom, who has been easing his way into the lineup after missing time, chipped in his first assist as a Flyer and now has points in consecutive games. Small sample, big vibe: the bottom six is starting to contribute.
Between the pipes, Dan Vladar turned away 18 of 21 shots in a tough-luck loss, while Akira Schmid stood tall for Vegas with 17 saves on 19 shots. The goaltending battle was fun, but the real story is how close the Flyers were to stealing this one on the road against one of the Western Conference’s heavyweight clubs.
Look, overtime losses on the road to the Golden Knights aren’t moral victories—they’re just losses. But they’re the kind of losses that tell you the process is working. The new pieces are gelling. The kids are producing. The veterans are stepping up. And for the first time in a long time, the Flyers don’t look like a team hoping to hang around .500; they look like a team that believes bigger nights are coming.
Two points got away in the desert, but the identity being built in Philadelphia didn’t. Keep playing like this, and the wins—and the spotlight—will follow.
The process is real. The optimism is earned.
Broad Street is waking back up.
- Jesse Bell/Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit/Matt Perretta/Olde City Sports Network
