Vegas Golden Knights center Paul Cotter, left, celebrates with right wing Michael Amadio (22) after scoring against the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023 | 11:11 p.m.
One milestone from the Golden Knights’ dominating start to the season was broken Tuesday night.
Vegas trailed the Philadelphia Flyers by one goal after the first period at T-Mobile Arena, marking the first time in 19 periods this season that they were behind.
However, another milestone remained safe in a dramatic come-from-behind win.
The Golden Knights in the third period scored two unanswered goals to finish with a 3-2 victory, extending their record for consecutive regulation wins to open a season to seven. It is the most wins to start the year by a defending Stanley Cup champion.
This victory will go down as the sweetest.
Vegas scored a pair of goals in the final eight minutes, with Shea Theodore burying the game winner with 32.5 seconds to play.
The Golden Knights surely won’t win every game in the 82-game season, but at this pace, they could challenge some of the league’s all-time great teams. Montreal won 58 games in 1975-76 and Colorado registered 56 victories in 2021-22.
More importantly, both of those teams won the Stanley Cup. That, again, is the goal for Vegas.
“It just shows how hungry we are for a repeat,” forward Paul Cotter said.
Cotter scored on an assist from William Karlsson and Kaedan Korczak with about eight minutes to play to even the score at 2-all. Vegas continued to apply pressure in the Philadelphia zone until Theodore netted the game winner.
Logan Thompson made 26 saves to earn the win, rebounding after surrendering an ugly goal to the Flyers’ Cam Atkinson with less than three minutes to play in the first period to give the visitors a 2-1 lead after the first.
Thompson couldn't corral the puck that was heading wide, but dropped behind him, and Atkinson smiled in disbelief.
“It happens to every goalie in this league from time to time,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “So now he makes some saves in the second to give us a chance. They don't extend the lead. That's where I give Logan a lot of credit.
“That's how you stay in the league. You can't be a young guy that gets affected by every mistake.”
The Golden Knights held Philly scoreless the rest of the game, and Theodore did the rest. His blast from the left circle sent many in the crowd of 17,717 into a frenzy.
“I think I saw six bodies in front of the net,” Theodore said. “I was just trying to get one through. I think I had 10 shots blocked tonight.”
They’ll go for eight straight at 3 p.m. Friday against the Blackhawks in the annual Nevada Day game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
