Neuvirth makes 38 saves, Flyers defeat Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS -- Michal Neuvirth made 38 saves, and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.
Philadelphia (28-19-9), which has won four straight, moved within five points of the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

"Our goals remain in place. They remain behind closed doors," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "This team, all we want to talk about is every day coming out and competing hard for one another and sticking together. It's no different than four or five months ago, or at any point in the season."
WATCH: [All Flyers vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Neuvirth got the start in place of Brian Elliott, who sustained a lower-body injury Saturday during the shootout in a 4-3 at the Arizona Coyotes. Neuvirth relieved him and stopped all five shooters he faced for the win.
"It was huge coming off the bench yesterday and shutting the door," Neuvirth said. "It gave me a lot of confidence coming into this game. Back-to-back wins, with our tough schedule, it's huge for us."
Sean Couturier had a goal and two assists, and Andrew MacDonald, Claude Giroux and Radko Gudas also scored for the Flyers, who swept a back-to-back for the third time this season.

Brayden McNabb scored, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 14 saves for Vegas (36-15-4), which lost consecutive home games for the first time this season despite outshooting the Flyers 39-18. The Golden Knights lead the second-place San Jose Sharks by eight points in the Pacific Division.
"I think it was more on us than anything," McNabb said. "We didn't really get to the hard areas tonight. We got shots, but we didn't really get inside in the blue paint. … We skated well, we got pucks on net, but at the end of the day we didn't finish and bear down so it's on us."
McNabb scored at 11:22 of the first period to give Vegas a 1-0 lead.
Couturier tied it 1-1 at 17:50, taking a pass from Travis Konecny between the circles and scoring five-hole on Fleury.
MacDonald made it 2-1 at 17:08 in the second period after Couturier's shot in front the crease deflected off his skate and into an open net.

Giroux extended the lead to 3-1 with 5.8 seconds left in the second when he put in a rebound with a backhand.
Gudas added an empty-net goal at 17:34 of the third period to make it 4-1.
"Coming off a back-to-back, it's kind of tough to get the legs going," Couturier said, "but we grinded it out. We found a way to win, and that's all that matters."

Goal of the game

Couturier's goal at 17:50 of the first period.

Save of the game

Neuvirth's save on William Karlsson at 1:06 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Giroux's goal with 5.8 seconds left in the second period.

They said it

"When you play top teams like that, you want to give your best hockey. It's kind of a test to see where you stand as a team. I do think we could've played a better game, but we got it done and it turned out good for us." -- Flyers forward Claude Giroux
"At the end of the day, we lost the game. It didn't matter if we controlled the game. If you're not strong enough in the blue paint, you're going to lose the game." -- Golden Knights forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Need to know

Konecny has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in his past 12 games… Vegas recalled forward Paul Thompson from Chicago of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis... McNabb scored in back-to-back games for the first time in his career… Bellemare, selected by Vegas from the Flyers in the NHL Expansion Draft, had three shots in 12:38 in his first game against his former team.

What's next

Flyers: Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)