For over 50 minutes, the Flyers stayed right with the defending Stanley Cup champions and undefeated Vegas Golden Knights. They carried a lead into the final 10 minutes of the third period with their sights set on making another statement about their early season play.
In the final minute, Vegas was able to turn the tables.
Shea Theodore scored the game-winning goal with 32.5 seconds remaining in the third period to hand the Flyers a 3-2 loss on Tuesday night.
Vegas got on the board first at 6:54. Ivan Barbashev was able to put home a backhand for his second goal of the season to make it 1-0 Golden Knights.
The Flyers had an answer at 13:07. Noah Cates was in front to put home a bouncing puck, evening things at one.
With 2:41 remaining in the period, the Flyers got the lead on a fortunate bounce. Cam Atkinson threw the puck on goal and it deflected off the blocker of Logan Thompson and in to make it 2-1 on Atkinson’s fourth of the season.
Through 20 minutes, shots were 8-6 Flyers.
In the second, the Flyers out-shot the Golden Knights, 12-9, but Vegas generated the more dangerous chances at Carter Hart stood tall.
Through two periods, shots were 20-15 Flyers.
Hart continued his excellent play in the latter half of the third period. With 7:54 to play, the Golden Knights were finally able to tie it up. Paul Cotter got the puck on a rush and made a move around Egor Zamula before scoring to even the score at two.
In the final minute, the Golden Knights took the lead as Theodore scored through a screen to make it 3-2 with 32.5 seconds remaining.
Hart finished with 26 saves on 29 shots in the loss. Thompson made 26 saves on 28 shots in the win.
Jack Eichel finished the game with two assists.
The Flyers return home for a four-game homestand, starting on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild at 7:30 p.m.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Flyers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Knights | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- VGK Ivan Barbashev (2) (Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault) 6:54
- PHI Noah Cates (1) (Joel Farabee) 13:05
- PHI Cam Atkinson (4) (Owen Tippett, Cam York) 17:19
2nd Period
- No Scoring
3rd Period
- VGK Paul Cotter (2) (William Karlsson, Kaedan Korczak) 12:05
- VGK Shea Theodore (2) (Eichel, Brayden McNabb) 19:27
Game Statistics
| Flyers | Golden Knights | |
| Shots | 28 | 29 |
| Power Play | 0/2 | 0/3 |
| Hits | 18 | 17 |
| Faceoff % | 44% | 56% |
| Giveaways | 5 | 9 |
| Takeaways | 6 | 7 |
| Blocked Shots | 29 | 18 |
| Penalty Minutes | 6 | 4 |
