Golden Knights score four in first, hang on for win against Flyers

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights scored four goals in the first period and killed a 6-on-3 power play late in the third to hang on for a 5-4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Max Pacioretty scored twice in the first for the Golden Knights (23-15-6), who have won the first three of their season-high seven-game homestand.
"It was a roller coaster. You don't want to put yourself in those situations, but it seemed like we faced every situation tonight, whether it's power play, penalty kill," Pacioretty said. "Overall, it's a good team win. We relied on everyone. Sometimes that makes winning extra special."
WATCH: [All Flyers vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Philadelphia got the 6-on-3, with goalie Carter Hart pulled for the extra attacker, when Deryk Engelland was penalized for cross-checking Jakub Voracek at 18:31 after Reilly Smith was called for delay of game for playing the puck over the glass at 17:14.
Vegas allowed one shot on goal in the final 1:29. Defenseman Brayden McNabb made a diving block on a Shayne Gostisbehere shot with 1:20 left and poke-checked a pass away from Gostisbehere with 1:09 remaining.
"It's busy, just trying to find the pucks through guys and through legs," said Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 34 saves. "Other guys did a great job, [McNabb] made a nice save, a two-pad stack, and got his stick on another puck to clear the puck out of the zone. It's great, a good battle at the end to keep that win."

Sean Couturier had two goals and an assist for the Flyers (22-14-5), who are 1-2-1 on their six-game road trip. Hart made 28 saves.
It was the second consecutive game the Flyers allowed four goals in the first; they trailed 4-0 in a 5-3 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
"You know they come hard," Hart said. "That was in our prescout. "They're a fast team, they don't like to play a lot of defense. They kind of like to play transition a lot."
Claude Giroux scored at 7:33 of the first period to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead, but Vegas scored three goals in 2:45.

Shea Theodore tied it 1-1 at 8:42, and Pacioretty scored on the power play at 10:08 to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead.
Jon Merrill, a defenseman, played on the fourth line and scored his first goal of the season to make it 3-1 at 11:27.
The Golden Knights played with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Fourth-line center Tomas Nosek did not play after his wife gave birth to their son Wednesday, and forward Jonathan Marchessault (lower body) was a late scratch.
"Anytime I'm in the lineup, I'll do anything for this team," Merrill said. "Whether it's forward, goalie, defenseman, whatever it is, I'll do anything for this team."

Travis Konecny scored unassisted at 14:40 to make it 3-2, but Pacioretty's second goal gave Vegas a 4-2 lead at 17:03.
"First couple of shifts, we dominated. Then we kind of let them back in," Konecny said. "It's not like they dominated us to the point where we couldn't handle them. We were just looking for offense, trying to get ourselves back in."
Rookie Cody Glass ended a 12-game goal drought at 9:37 of the second period to give the Golden Knights a 5-2 lead, but Couturier got the Flyers within 5-3 at 12:08.
Couturier scored his second of the game 15 seconds into the third on the power play to make it 5-4, but Fleury made the save on Philadelphia's final 12 shots.

They said it

"I really liked the way we started. We were in their own end. We were making the right plays, and then after taking that lead, we sort of let the game slip. They got huge momentum. Our guys battled. We had a chance at the end, but it's a tough league to come back." -- Flyers coach Alain Vigneault
"We need to keep this thing rolling. We've got to keep playing well, probably play a little bit stronger for an entire game, but take the points when they come. Next game (against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday) definitely won't be easy. We've got to put together a more complete effort and keep it rolling." -- Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty

Need to know

It was the first win for the Golden Knights against the Flyers at home (1-2-0). ... Pacioretty (eight goals, nine assists) and linemate Mark Stone (five goals, 12 assists) each has 17 points in the past 12 games. ... Alex Tuch filled in for Marchessault on the first line and was minus-2 with no shots on goal in 17:01. Marchessault is day to day. ... Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy, who was recalled from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, had an assist on Merrill's goal.

What's next

Flyers: At the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-A PLUS, NBCSP, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: Host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, ATTSN-RM, FS-MW, NHL.TV)