LAS VEGAS — Jonathan Marchessault scored 3:21 into overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.
Marchessault intercepted a pass from Flyers forward Kevin Hayes in the Golden Knights zone, drove the length of the ice and slid a backhand past Hart. It was his fourth straight game with a goal, an NHL career high.
“We had to find a way to win a hockey game tonight,” Marchessault said. “That’s what we did. We stuck with it. It obviously wasn’t a pretty 60 minutes. Good teams find a way to win, and sometimes you get lucky breaks like that.”
William Carrier scored, and Adin Hill made 27 saves for Vegas (20-8-1), which ended a three-game home losing streak.
“It’s nice to win, first of all, it’s been a while,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It was that type of game that someone had to [make a play]. Good for ‘Marchy.’ You play the right way. You keep playing. Now you get your chance at what you’re better at, an open space type of shot. I wasn’t sure he was going to pull away at the end there, but he had it in him. Good for him. I said that’s usually what happens in overtime. That’s how we won. Guys make special plays.”
Video: PHI@VGK: Marchessault scores on a breakaway in OT
Scott Laughton scored, and Hart made 32 saves for Philadelphia (9-13-6), which has lost four of five.
“Obviously a disappointing finish, but it’s a hard-fought point,” Hart said. “That’s a really good hockey club, so we stuck with them for the whole game.”
Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore left the game in overtime with a lower-body injury after colliding shins with a Philadelphia defenseman Travis Sanheim. Theodore was helped off the ice and immediately went to the tunnel.
“Obviously, he’s got an ice bag on. He’s feeling better than what it looked like,” Cassidy said. “I can’t tell you how it’s going to feel tomorrow morning. Right now, that’s a positive.”
Carrier gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 11:45 of the first period, tipping in a puck that came off Hart’s chest. It was his ninth goal in 28 games this season, tying his NHL career high he set in 63 games last season.
“You put pucks to the net, they get loose,” Carrier said. “We’ve seen it. … It’s not always those pretty goals like those 2-on-1s and stuff. A lot of these goals are just scrambles and you got to be around.”
Video: PHI@VGK: Carrier puts home rebound for goal in 1st
Laughton tied it 1-1 at 1:47 of the second period. Hill was behind the net looking to clear the puck, but Laughton intercepted the pass and banked a shot off the goalie as he tried to scramble back to the crease.
Hill stopped the final 25 shots he faced after the gaffe.
“I just had to laugh it off, move on and focus on the next play,” Hill said. “It’s unfortunate. Obviously I’m not happy with the play I made. … You got to move on and it’s going to happen when you play the puck a lot. If you get mad about it, think about it, worry about it, you’re going to be focused on other things.”
NOTES: Marchessault’s seven overtime goals are tied with Theodore for the most in Golden Knights history. …Vegas forward Jack Eichel had one shot in 20:15 after missing two games with a lower-body injury. “It was his call. It’s one of those types of injuries,” Cassidy said. “We’ll see how it is tomorrow.” … Flyers defenseman Cam York was minus-1 with one hit in 17:54 in his season debut after being recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
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