Betting Line, Key Storyline, and Expected Lines: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Philadelphia Flyers Preview

The Vegas Golden Knights continue their five-game road trip with a Saturday matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Betting line: STN Sports has the Golden Knights as -160 favorites with an over/under of six goals. The public favors the side of the Golden Knights by 66% on Covers.com.

About the Golden Knights (13-3-1, 27 points): The Golden Knights won a wild one on Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens. “We have a resilient group. We know what it takes to win. We are going to have to win games in different ways.” Mark Stone after Thursday’s victory. That said, coach Bruce Cassidy would probably rather see a game along the lines of the Oct. 24 matchup when the Golden Knights defeated the Flyers 3-2. 

Pavel Dorofeyev took a high stick for the team late in Thursday’s game against the Canadiens that drew a four-minute double-minor penalty. The Golden Knights converted twice. The victory cost Dorofeyev multiple teeth. We will have to see if he dresses for Saturday’s game. Chandler Stephenson is no longer practicing in a non-contact jersey. Coach Cassidy said that he needs to talk to Stephenson because “he’s not as far along (as Nic Roy)” before deciding to put him back in the lineup. Nicolas Hague remains out.

Expected Lines

Barbashev-Eichel-Marchessault
Howden-Amadio-Stone
Cotter-Karlsson-Dorofeyev
Carrier-Roy-Kolesar

Martinez-Pietrangelo
McNabb-Theodore
Hutton-Whitecloud

Thompson

There was not a Friday practice and will not be a morning skate prior to Saturday’s game. There will be a mystery for the lineup until the team takes line rushes during warmups.

If Stephenson is able to return, the expectation would be Michael Amadio taking Pavel Dorofeyev’s spot on the third line. If Stephenson does not return and Dorofeyev is unable to play as a result of his injury from Thursday’s game; Jonas Rondbjerg would likely draw in on the fourth line and William Carrier would be elevated to Dorofeyev’s spot on the third line.

About the Flyers ( 8-7-1, 17 points): It is a better than anticipated start for the Flyers this season. The Flyers enter Saturday’s game as winners of three straight. However, this is the first game home after a four-game road trip for the Flyers. Teams tend to struggle the first game at their barn after an extended road trip.

Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim lead the Flyers with 14 points. Goaltender Carter Hart enters Saturday’s game with a record of 5-3-0, .921 SV%, and 2.34 GA/G.

Golden Knights to watch: The Golden Knights put up six goals on Thursday against the Canadiens. It could just have easily been 10 goals if a few of William Karlsson’s chances converted. Karlsson is doing everything right but can not find a way to get the puck in the net. A big game could be looming. Ivan Barbashev made his presence known with a big hit on Arber Xhekaj in Thursday’s game. Maybe that’s what Barbashev needed to do to get himself going.

Key storylines: The Golden Knights struggled to generate chances off the rush the last time they played the Flyers. That can be chopped up to lack of execution and the style of defense that Flyers coach John Tortorella deploys. As always, there will be continuation plans as we know the Golden Knights are comfortable winning games in different ways.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 10:00 a.m. PST.
TV: Scripps Sports
Stream: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340