NHL Preview: Philadelphia Flyers (9-13-5) at Vegas Golden Knights (19-8-1)

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PHILADELPHIA FLYERS NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME BROADCAST INFO.
Sun., Dec. 11 Arizona Coyotes Mullet Arena 7 p.m. NBCSP+, 93.3 WMMR
Tue., Dec. 13 Colorado Avalanche Ball Arena 9 p.m. NBCSP, 93.3 WMMR
Thur., Dec. 15 New Jersey Devils Prudential Center 7 p.m. NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic

CURRENT INJURIES
PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED
Wade Allison IR-oblique muscle strain, hip pointer 11/13-present 13
Cam Atkinson upper body 9/25-present 27
Sean Couturier IR-back 9/19-present 27
Ryan Ellis LTIR-groin/hip/back 10/11-present 27
Tanner Laczynski IR-lower body 12/7-present 1
2022-23 TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 156

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
12/8 – Recalled D Cam York from Lehigh Valley and reassigned D Egor Zamula to the Phantoms (AHL)
12/6 – Placed F Tanner Laczynski on Injured Reserve
12/2 – Assigned F Kieffer Bellows to Lehigh Valley

FLYERS VS. GOLDEN KNIGHTS: HEAD-TO-HEAD
FLYERS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
5-3-0 ALL-TIME RECORD 3-5-0
2-2-0 HOME 1-3-0
3-1-0 ROAD 2-2-0
3-2-0 LAST 5 MEETINGS 2-3-0
5-3-0 LAST 10 MEETINGS 3-5-0
27 GOALS SCORED 18
28.0% POWER PLAY 23.1%
76.9% PENALTY KILL 72.0%
Konecny: 8 pts (2-6=8) in 8 GP
Hayes: 6 pts (2-4=6) in 8 GP
Laughton: 5 pts (1-4=5) in 8 GP

TEAM SCORING LEADERS Kessel: 34 pts (11-23=34) in 51 GP
Eichel: 15 pts (8-7=15) in 16 GP
Stone: 12 pts (4-8=12) in 15 GP
Smith: 12 pts (8-4=12) in 19 GP
Hart: 2-1-0, 3.03 GAA, .928 SV% in 3 GP
Sandstrom: Has not faced VGK

TEAM GOALTENDERS Hill: 1-0-0, 2.99 GAA, .907 SV% in 2 GP
Thompson: Has not faced PHI

TEAM NOTES
QUICK HITS

  • Philadelphia plays 21 games in 40 days from Nov. 8-Dec. 17 – tied for the most games played among other NHL teams in that span (STL).
  • The Flyers are on a three-game power-play goal streak (4 PPG) – its second-longest PPG streak of the season (four games, 10/13-10/19). The team ranks fifth in the NHL with a 44.4 PP% since Dec. 3 and T-5th in PPG.
  • Philadelphia has allowed the opposing team to score first in 20 of its 27 games this season. The Flyers rank T-1st in the NHL with seven wins when trailing first in a game. The Flyers are 2-3-2 when scoring first.
  • Philadelphia recorded a franchise-best 59 hits Nov. 12 vs. OTT. The 59 hits are tied for the ninth-most in a regular season game in NHL history.
  • The Flyers lead the NHL with 829 hits and rank second with 499 blocked shots.
  • Philadelphia ranks eighth in the NHL in team rookie scoring percentage (10.5) and ninth in team rookie points (19).
  • The rookies have netted a combined eight goals to rank fifth among NHL team rookie goal percentage (12.3) and T-7th in rookie goals.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

  • Philadelphia begins a four-game road trip Friday – tied for its longest road trip of the season (also, Feb. 16-21 & April 2-8).
  • Nine of the Flyers’ next 11 games will be on the road, Dec. 9-Jan. 2.
  • Philadelphia is 3-5-4 on the road this season and has earned a point in four of its last seven road games (1-3-3).
  • The Flyers will face a Western Conference opponent in the next three contests and is 1-0-0 on the road against a Western Conference team (10/22 at NSH, 3-1).

‘TIS THE SEASON

  • The Flyers play 14 contests during the month of December, tied for their second-most in a month this season.
  • Philadelphia will play six games at home and eight on the road, including the start to five road games in a row, Dec. 22-Jan. 2, that will be split up by the NHL Holiday Break, Dec. 24-26.
  • Philadelphia owns a 353-224-82-30 all-time record for games played in the month of December – its second-most wins in a single month.
  • The Flyers rank second in NHL history with a .594 winning percentage during the month of December (VGK – .733 in 60 all-time games) and rank seventh with 353 December wins.
  • The December schedule also features Philadelphia’s 21st all-time game held on New Year’s Eve, it’s 20th on the road, when the Flyers visit the Kings on Dec. 31. Philadelphia is 9-7-2-2 all-time in New Year’s Eve contests, 8-7-2-2 on the road.

KONNECT FOUR

  • Travis Konecny registered a power-play assist Wednesday to stretch his point streak to four games (3-1=4).
  • He owns 17 points (6-11=17) in his last 15 games, including four multi-point contests and a seven-game point streak (3-7=10), Nov. 2-15.
  • He leads the team in goals (10), ranks T-1st in game-winning goals (2) and second in assists (13), points (23), shots (65) and multi-point games (7) this season.
  • He tallied three goals in a season-high three-game goal streak, Dec. 1-5.
  • The forward recorded his first career shorthanded assist/point vs. VAN (10/15).
  • The 25-year-old netted two goals Oct. 13 vs. NJ for his 11th career multi-goal game. Per NHL Stats, he became the second player in Flyers history to have two-or-more multi-goal games in a season opener (Bill Barber, 3x, 10/9/80, 10/9/81 & 10/7/82).
  • He ranks second in Flyers history in GWG (18), third in goals (120), fourth in scoring (294) and assists (174) and fifth in PPG (23) since entering the NHL in 2016-17.

LUCKY NUMBER 13

  • Kevin Hayes netted his ninth goal, second PPG, of the season Wednesday night to extend his point streak to three games (1-3=4).
  • The forward is also on a three-game PPP streak (1-2=3) – matching his career high, set Oct. 13-18 (3a) this season.
  • He owns nine points (4-5=9) in the last seven games.
  • He collected back-to-back multi-point games (2-2=4), Nov. 26-29, for the sixth time in his career and leads the team with eight multi-point games this season.
  • He owns 18 points (8-10=18) in the last 17 games, including a season-high six-game point streak (Nov. 12-21).
  • The 30-year-old leads the team in assists (19), PPA (8), PPP (10) and points (28) and ranks second in goals (8) this season.
  • He collected eight points (1-7=8) in a career-high five-game season-opening point streak, Oct. 13-22.
  • He tallied his 200th career assist Oct. 19 at FLA.

ICE ICE BABY

  • Tony DeAngelo tallied a power-play assist Wednesday to stretch his point streak to four games (1-3=4) – tied for his longest point streak of the season. He also owns a power-play point (1-1=2) in each of the last two games.
  • He leads team defensemen with 14 points (4-10=14) in 26 games this season.
  • He ranks 17th in the NHL in average TOI/game (24:19).
  • He ranks third on the team in PPP (8), fourth in points,T-4th in assists and fifth in goals.
  • He recorded a career-high 31:03 TOI Nov. 19 at MTL to become the sixth defenseman in Flyers history to skate 31-plus minutes in two-or-more games, also: Matt Carle (2), Eric Desjardins (9), Derian Hatcher (2), Kim Johnsson (4) and Chris Pronger (3).
  • He recorded five points (1-4=5) in a four-game point streak, Oct. 13-19.
  • Per NHL Stats, he became the fifth defenseman in Flyers history to start a season on a point streak of at least four games: Behn Wilson (7 games in 1981-82), Chris Pronger (5 games in 2011-12), Gary Galley (four games in 1993-94) and Mark Howe (four games in 1988-89 & 1984-85).

SANNY ON A ROLL

  • Travis Sanheim saw his season-high four-game point streak (2-3=5) come to an end Wednesday night vs. WSH.
  • He owns seven points (2-5=7) in the last eight games and nine points (3-6=9) in the last 10 contests.
  • He netted his first career shorthanded goal Nov. 29 vs. NYI to become the 41st defenseman in Flyers history to record a SHG.
  • The blueliner ranks T-1st on the team in assists (6), second in scoring (9) and T-2nd in goals (3) since Nov. 19 and leads NHL defensemen in even-strength points (8), ranks T-3rd in goals and T-7th in points in that span.
  • The 26-year-old signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension ($6.25 AAV) on Oct. 13.

IVAN THE GREAT

  • Ivan Provorov has four assists in the last eight contests.
  • He recorded his 200th career NHL point (assist) Nov. 26 at NYI to become the seventh defenseman in Flyers history to reach the 200-plus point milestone.
  • He ranks T-4th in team history for goals by a defenseman with Shayne Gostisbehere (60).
  • The blueliner ranks third on the team in assists (11), T-4th in shots (57) and fifth in scoring (12) and hits (48) this season.
  • The 25-year-old leads the Flyers and ranks third in the NHL with 73 blocked shots.
  • The Russian native’s 10 blocked shots on Oct. 13 tied the franchise record for most in a game for the third time: Andrew MacDonald (3/11/16); Provorov (11/2/17 & 10/13/22).

WHOLE LOT OF HART

  • Carter Hart stopped 29-of-32 shots Monday night to earn his eighth win of the season. The win also marked his first career win against Colorado.
  • Monday’s contest was Hart’s 70th career victory to become the 11th goaltender in Flyers history to reach 70-plus wins (NHL Stats).
  • The backstop has seen 30-plus shots in 12 of his 19 games this season – he is 7-1-4 in those contests.
  • He ranks third among NHL goaltenders in shots against (621) and fourth in saves (566) this season.
  • He opened the season on an eight-game point streak (6-0-2) to become the fourth goaltender in team history to have started a season on an eight-game plus point streak: Pete Peeters (22-0-5 in 1979-80), Bob Froese (9-0-1 in 1982-83) and Dominic Roussel (8-0-0 in 1993-94). (NHL Stats)
  • He made a career-high 48 shots and tied his career high with 51 shots faced vs. FLA on Oct. 27.
  • He recorded a career-high season-opening five-game win streak.
  • Per NHL Stats, he became the seventh goaltender in Flyers history to win each of his first five games of a season and first since Ron Hextall (5-0-0 in 1995-96). The longest such stretch in franchise history is eight straight games, achieved by Dominic Roussel (1993-94) and Bob Froese (1982-83).
  • The 24-year-old’s 48 saves tied for the eighth-most by a Flyers goaltender while his 51 shots faced T-10th. Per NHL Stats, his 48 saves mark the highest single game save total by a Flyers goaltenders since Steve Mason on March 22, 2016 (51 at CBJ).
  • Outside of Philadelphia, he only has one NHL team he has not earned a win against: St. Louis.

BUZZIN’ JOEL

  • Joel Farabee has five points (2-3=5) in the last 10 games.
  • He owns nine points (2-7=9) in the last 16 games, including a season-high three-game assist streak, Nov. 8-12, and two three-game point streaks, Nov. 8-12 & Nov. 19-23.
  • He ranks third on the Flyers in scoring (15), fourth in goals (5) and T-4th in assists (10) this season.
  • The forward tallied a season-high three points (1-2=3) on Oct. 22 at NSH.
  • He tied his career-high five shots for the seventh time on Oct. 19 at FLA.
  • The 22-year-old is one of seven Flyers players with a GWG this season, notching his fourth career on Oct. 27 vs. FLA.

CZECH HIM OUT

  • Lukas Sedlak has five points (2-3=5) in the last six contests.
  • He registered two assists Nov. 29 vs. NYI, including his first career shorthanded assist.
  • He recorded back-to-back multi-point games for the first time in his career (1-3=4), Nov. 26-29, and has three multipoint games on the season.
  • The forward has eight points (3-5=8) with the Flyers since being claimed on waivers from Colorado on Oct. 19.
  • The Czech Republic native’s five assists are his second-most in a season (6 in 2016-17) and his eight points are tied for his second-most in a season (13 in 2016-17, 8 in 2017-18).

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES:

GOLDEN KNIGHTS UPCOMING GAMES
Golden Knights 2022-23 Record: 19-8-1, 39 points (7-6-0 at Home, 12-2-1 on Road)

DATE OPPONENT TELEVISION RADIO SPANISH RADIO
Dec. 9 vs. Philadelphia Flyers AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Dec. 11 vs. Boston Bruins AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Dec. 13 at Winnipeg Jets AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM None
Dec. 15 at Chicago Blackhawks AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM None
Dec. 17 vs. New York Islanders AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM

GOLDEN KNIGHTS LAST GAME RECAP
December 7 – Vegas Golden Knights 1, New York Rangers 5
The Vegas Golden Knights (19-8-1) suffered a 5-1 setback against the New York Rangers (13-10-5) on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena. Kaapo Kakko had the only goal in the first period as he snuck a shot through at 6:49 of the opening frame. During a 5-on-3 power play in the second period, Chandler Stephenson dished to Jonathan Marchessault who buried the game-tying goal. New York took over in the third period as Mika Zibanejad (2), Filip Chytil and Alexis LaFreniere all scored to give the Rangers a 5-1 win.

LAST GAME BY THE NUMBERS

  • Marchessault has goals in three straight games for the first time this season
  • Shea Theodore had an assist on Vegas’ only goal to extend his point streak to four games
  • Logan Thompson stopped 32 of 37 shots
  • Vegas drops to 19-8-1 and 7-6-0 at home

Three for Marchy
Jonathan Marchessault has tallied a goal in three consecutive games for the Golden Knights. This is the first time this season that Marchessault has had a three-game goal streak and the sixth time in his career, all with Vegas. The last time the forward had this long of a goal streak was March 30 – April 3, 2022. Marchessault has never reached four consecutive games with a goal.

Hey Shea!
Shea Theodore has recorded 10 points in Vegas’ last 10 games (1-9—10) and ranks eighth amongst defensemen in the league in points this season (22). Theodore has five multi-point games, second to Alex Pietrangelo (six) for the most multi-point games by a Golden Knights defenseman this season.

Easy Steph-y
Chandler Stephenson has 22 points in Vegas’ 28 games, as well as three game-winning goals. Stephenson’s 63.4 faceoff win percentage ranks second in the NHL among all qualified skaters. Stephenson has recorded a point in five straight games twice this season including seven assists during his most recent point streak.

Cotter the Kid
Paul Cotter has recorded 15 hits in three games, leading all Golden Knights in that time. Cotter recorded a career high of six hits in a victory over the Boston Bruins on Dec. 5, when he also scored two goals. Cotter then matched his best on Wednesday, logging another six hits against the New York Rangers.

Rookie of the Month
Logan Thompson has been strong in net for the Golden Knights and was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for the month of November after going 8-2-0 with a 2.88 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage in 10 starts. In his last three starts, Thompson has faced 127 shots, making 115 saves, good for a .905 save percentage. On Vegas’ most recent road trip, Thompson defended the Golden Knights in two shootouts, allowing only one shootout goal and making 40+ saves in back-to-back starts. Thompson has stopped 86.2% of shootout attempts faced in his career (25-of-29); only Boston’s Linus Ullmark has a better shootout save percentage among active NHL goaltenders who have faced at least 20 attempts in their career. Thompson is second in the league in wins (13) behind Ullmark (15).

Jack of all Trades
Jack Eichel has points in 15 of the last 19 games for Vegas (10G-12A), including seven multiple-point efforts. His +17 rating is third among all NHL forwards (sixth overall).

Martinez Block Party
Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez leads the NHL with 115 blocked shots in 28 games and is the first player in the league to reach the century mark this season. Martinez has led the team in blocked shots in 20 of 28 games.

O from the D
Vegas defensemen have accounted for an NHL-leading 58 assists and 67 points, which trail only San Jose’s blueliners. Shea Theodore (T-8 th, 22 points) and Alex Pietrangelo (T-9th, 21 points) are among the top 10 defensemen in scoring league-wide, making Vegas the only team with two defensemen in the top 17.

The Shorty King
Reilly Smith netted his third shorthanded goal of the season against St. Louis on November 12. Smith leads the league with three shorties and Vegas is tied for first as the team with four shorthanded goals. His 11 shorthanded goals since joining Vegas in 2017-18 are the most in franchise history.

Spreading the Wealth
Six Golden Knights have recorded 20 or more points this season, the most of any team in the league. Jack Eichel leads the club with 29 points, followed by, Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore with 22 points each.

Golden Knights Point Leaders

  1. Jack Eichel – 29 (13G, 16A)
  2. Chandler Stephenson – 22 (6G, 16A)
    Shea Theodore – 22 (4G, 18A)
  3. Jonathan Marchessault – 21 (11G, 10A)
    Mark Stone – 21 (9G, 12A)
    Alex Pietrangelo – 21 (3G, 18A)
  4. Reilly Smith – 18 (12G, 6A)
    William Karlsson – 18 (6G, 12A)
  5. Nicolas Roy – 13 (5G, 8A)

Hot Streaks
Jack Eichel – 2 game goal streak (2-1—3)
Jonathan Marchessault – 3 game goal streak (3-0—2)
Shea Theodore – 4 game point streak (1-4—5)

Against the Flyers
Vegas’ contest with Philadelphia on Friday is the first of two meetings this season. The Golden Knights own a 3-5-0 record against the Flyers, and were winless their series in 2021-22. Vegas has not won at home against the Flyers since Jan. 2, 2020. In their last meeting on Mar. 8, 2022, the Golden Knights fell in a 2-1 decision in Philadelphia. Jack Eichel owns 15 points (8-7—15) in 16 meetings against the Flyers in his career.

2022-23 Season PHI Series: 0-0-0 (Home: 0-0-0, Road: 0-0-0)
Dec. 9 – at Vegas
Mar. 14 – at Philadelphia

2021-22 Season PHI Series: 0-2-0 (Home: 0-1-0, Road: 0-1-0)
Dec. 10 – at Vegas (Vegas 3, Philadelphia 4)
Jan. 6 – at Philadelphia (Vegas 1, Philadelphia 2)