Tonight, four games will be played in the NHL. At 7:00 PM the Philadelphia Flyers will welcome the Vegas Golden Knights in Wells Fargo Center, who are riding a two game win streak. Will they manage to extend this streak or will the Flyers surprise with a win in their own barn?
Philadelphia Flyers: Not the start they'd hoped for
The Philadelphia Flyers missed the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs last season. They ended up far out of reach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who took the last wildcard ticket in the Eastern Conference. It was a hectic season where GM Ron Hextall and head coach Dave Hakstol lost their jobs. Alain Vigneault started this season as their new head coach and with him and the talented goalie Carter Hart the Flyers hope to make some improvements.
However, they didn't start their season the way they hoped for. From the first six matches they only managed to get five points. After winning the first two games, they lost the last four matches, three of them in regular time. Saturday there was a tough 4-1 loss at the Wells Fargo Center against te Dallas Stars. Altough the Flyers dominated the Stars in the shot department (19-16), they struggled to find a way past Ben Bishop.
Vegas Golden Knights: Won four of their last five
The Vegas Golden Knights were impressive in their first week of the new NHL season, but there was also a narrow loss against the Boston Bruins and an off-day against the Arizona Coyotes. They have played a heavy early season schedule with a lot of travelling and this became clear when they welcomed the Nashville Predators at T-mobile Arena. The Golden Knights played their fourth game in six days and lost with 5-2.
Besides this loss, the team looks to have found its form, winning four of their last five games. Mark Stone was traded to the Golden Knights last season from the Ottawa Senators and he excels in the early new season, leading the team with twelve points and six goals. Goaltender Marc-André Fleury can also look back on some good perfomances. He shut out his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins and was largely responsible for the the 3-0 victory of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights will extend their winning streak
Carter Hart is one of the most talented goaltenders in the NHL, but the 21-year old only won two of his first matches this season. Vegas' goalie Fleury looked great during most of his first starts this season and the team can score in bunches, 3.44 goals per game. They have a slighty better an little less heavy schedule than when they lost against the Nashville Predators last week, so I'm expecting them to extend their winning streak. The Flyers need to rely on a good performance from Hart to get a win again 'cause they're not scoring enough at the moment.
Update: Oscar Dansk, the third goalie of the Golden Knights will start in net tonight. So I'll play Over 1,5 goals 1st period @ 1.74 instead
