3 takeaways from Knights’ win: Still perfect after late goal
The reaction from Philadelphia Flyers left wing Joel Farabee as he laid in the left circle of his own zone said it all.
For 59 minutes the Flyers battled the defending champs. They skated hard. They fought for loose pucks. They defended with all their might.
It wasn’t enough. The Knights, just like they were last postseason, are inevitable. They might be held down, but never for long.
Defenseman Shea Theodore scored a go-ahead goal with 32.5 seconds remaining in front of an announced crowd of 17,717 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, and the Knights beat the Flyers 3-2 to improve to 7-0. They’re the 16th team in NHL history to open with a winning streak at least that long.
Thirteen of the previous 15 teams to do so made the playoffs. Two won the Presidents’ Trophy. One won the Stanley Cup. The Knights seem determined to join that latter group.
“You just keep pushing, right?” Brayden McNabb said. “You believe you can come back even when you’re down. We’ve done it I don’t know how many times this year. … We just trust it.”
It again wasn’t always pretty for the Knights against Philadelphia.
The Flyers fell behind 1-0 after a goal from left wing Ivan Barbashev 6:54 into the first period but battled back. Center Noah Cates and right wing Cam Atkinson scored 4:12 apart to put Philadelphia ahead 2-1 at the first intermission.
It was the first time the Knights trailed after a period this season.
They again found their game in time to right the ship. Left wing Paul Cotter tied the game with an incredible goal with 7:54 remaining. That set the stage for Theodore’s late heroics.
The defenseman fired a seeing-eye wrister that beat goaltender Carter Hart to make Theodore the first player in Knights history to score multiple go-ahead goals in the final minute of regulation. He also did so against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 19, 2017.
“I thought we were kind of chipping away all night,” Theodore said. “They’re a good team, and they block a lot of shots. It got frustrating, but I thought we battled and were able to get some through at the end.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
1. Goalie duel
Hart and counterpart Logan Thompson put together strong performances.
Hart was incredible until the Knights’ two late goals hurt his stat line. He finished with 25 saves, but he stemmed the tide as long as he could to keep his team in the lead. He made 20 consecutive stops between Barbashev’s and Cotter’s goals.
Thompson had a shaky moment early, then was sharp the rest of the night. Atkinson’s goal came on a backhand shot from below the left faceoff circle. It appeared Thompson wanted to send the puck to the opposite corner with his blocker but missed.
The 26-year-old shook it off and settled in after that. He stopped the final 21 shots he faced to earn his third win.
“He lets one in that he knows he should have had,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “So he makes some saves in the second to give us the chance so it’s not 3-1, they don’t extend the lead. And that’s where I give Logan a lot of credit.”
2. Barbashev bounces back
Cassidy seemed to send Barbashev a message in the last game.
He benched the forward for the final 6:13 of the second period Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks. It was Barbashev’s third straight game without a shot on goal.
The veteran seemed to get the message. Barbashev had a shot 3:30 into the first period against the Flyers and scored his second goal of the season 3:24 later.
He also made several sharp plays along the boards and helped screen Hart on Theodore’s goal.
“He was more involved, working to his spots,” Cassidy said. “Better on the walls. So good for Barby. He’s a good hockey player. We saw it last year. His game’s going to get in order.”
3. Cotter strikes
Cassidy cut down his forward rotation again in the second period, leaving Cotter and right wing Michael Amadio on the bench for almost half the frame.
Cotter responded by scoring one of the Knights’ best goals of the season in the third.
He danced around Flyers defenseman Egor Zamula with his backhand before beating Hart with his forehand. That gave Cotter goals in two consecutive games for the second time in his career.
“You just got to keep going,” Cotter said. “Sometimes in the first period or second period, you’re not feeling it or you’re not playing well. It’s just another thing (that) goes to show, just keep going.”
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.