When the Flyers’ schedule first came out, a two-game road trip through Dallas and Las Vegas in late October looked more than daunting.
After all, the Stars made it to the Western Conference finals last year and the team that beat them, the Vegas Golden Knights, went on to win their first Stanley Cup.
So the Flyers knew they would have their hands full with these two outfits.
As it turns out, the Flyers rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the third period to tie the score and send the game at Dallas into overtime before settling for a point in a 5-4 loss on Saturday night.
After falling behind 1-0, the Flyers picked up goals from Noah Cates (his first of the season) and Cam Atkinson. Then goaltender Carter Hart held the fort until the third period rally by Vegas..
Cates scored at 13:07, cleaning up the rebound of a Joel Farabee shot on Vegas goaltender Logan Thompson.
Atkinson connected on what amounted to a gift goal at 17:19. The right wing launched a routine shot at goaltender Logan Thompson, who saw the puck hop off his stick and then his arm before tumbling into the net.
>Short shots
The Flyers entered the game averaging 17 scoring chances per game, second in the NHL. . .Vegas came into the game having begun the season 6-0-0, the best start ever for a defending Stanley Cup champion. . .The game didn’t start until 11:17 p.m. Eastern time due to some scheduling issues with ESPN’s “Frozen Frenzy.” . . .Defenseman Marc Staal, injured in the Dallas game, did not play. That left room for both of the Flyers’ young defensemen, Zamula and Emil Andrae. . .Ivan Barbashev gave Vegas an early 1-0 lead before the Flyers started their comeback. . .The Flyers fly home on Wednesday and will play host to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
