Vegas Golden Knights vs. Philadelphia Flyers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 3/8/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

Where to watch: ATTSN-RM, NBCSP

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Golden Knights: 32-21-4

Flyers: 17-28-10

Jack Eichel got his moment on Sunday.

 

The new center for the Vegas Golden Knights scored the game-winning goal against the Ottawa Senators with 5 seconds remaining, winning 2-1 and giving Vegas its third win in four games.

 

Now, the Golden Knights embark on a season-long five-game road trip starting Tuesday when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers in what will ultimately be a big week for Eichel. On Thursday, he will make his return to Buffalo and face the Sabres, the team that drafted him No. 2 overall in 2015 and was the captain of for a few years.

 

More on that later in the week. Right now, the attention goes to Eichel and his play on the ice as he has six points through nine games since making his Vegas debut on Feb. 16. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t played hockey in over a year.

 

"That's what you miss, trying to make a difference and help the team win," said Eichel, who played in his ninth game with Vegas since making his return from neck surgery. "As a competitor, you miss competing and having moments like that."

 

It’s been a struggle for the Golden Knights as of late since the All-Star break. Such a bad start has put them in danger of missing out on the playoffs. Ultimately, I can’t see that being an issue with how talented this team is, and will eventually be when at full strength. Vegas is playing without its captain Mark Stone, who is on LTIR due to a back injury. Defenseman Alec Martinez also hasn’t played since November due to a facial laceration, and key third-line contributor Mattias Janmark is also on IR.

 

Put all that together, on top of the injuries the Golden Knights have dealt with since the beginning of the season, and it’s the greatest surprise ever that they’ve been able to stay competitive this long. 

 

"This is the first time I've been in a situation like this where every game means something," Eichel said. "Every team seems to be winning, and you just need to keep finding two points every night."

 

But while things may be tough on the ice for the Golden Knights, at least it’s not as bad as they Flyers going through their ridiculous on-ice struggles and perhaps the eventual trade of their captain Claude Giroux before the March 21 trade deadline.

 

The Flyers are coming off a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday in their last game. The Flyers, who are just a couple of seasons removed from a near birth in the Eastern Conference Final, has since fired Alain Vigneault as coach and is hoping Mike Yeo can keep the ship afloat for as long as he can.

 

If you’re relying on Mike Yeo to help your team, may God have mercy on your soul. Then again, the last time that happened, Yeo got fired and the St. Louis Blues went on to win the Stanley Cup. I don’t think Craig Berube is falling out of the sky to Philly any time soon but that would be quite the experience.

"I think we had our legs tonight, which always helps," said Flyers forward Cam Atkinson, who scored twice. "I don't think our first period was anything special, but once we started making those plays and feeling good about ourselves and wanting the puck and wanting to make a difference, that's when things opened up for us."

 

The Flyers have been a team in desperate need of some answers as of late given what’s been going on, but it’s hard to find those right now. Carter Hart has not been great as hoped; the forwards are not scoring and the defense has been shaky in front of Hart to say the least.

 

So the next time the Golden Knights are having a rough go and nothing seems to be going right for them, always remember there are teams much worse than them at this moment.

 

The Flyers always play the Golden Knights tough and I can’t imagine that being no different here. However, those teams that played Philadelphia before didn’t have Eichel. And while I don’t think Eichel is the fix to everything just yet, the return of Max Pacioretty is going to help in that regard. The best way to get the most out of Eichel is to let him do what he does with dynamic scorers around him and that’s what will determine this game. Golden Knights win 4-2

The Golden Knights are 17-7 this season following a non-conference game.

The Flyers are 3-16 after losing 15 or more of their last 20 games.

Golden Knights:

Max Pacioretty -- Jack Eichel -- Nicolas Roy

 

Jonathan Marchessault -- William Karlsson -- Reilly Smith

 

William Carrier -- Chandler Stephenson -- Michael Amadio

 

Evgenii Dadonov -- Jake Leschyshyn -- Keegan Kolesar

 

Nicolas Hague -- Alex Pietrangelo

 

Zach Whitecloud -- Shea Theodore

 

Ben Hutton -- Dylan Coghlan

 

Robin Lehner

Flyers:

Claude Giroux -- Scott Laughton -- Travis Konecny

 

Joel Farabee -- Derick Brassard -- Cam Atkinson

 

Oskar Lindblom -- Kevin Hayes -- James van Riemsdyk

 

Max Willman -- Patrick Brown -- Zack MacEwen

 

Ivan Provorov -- Justin Braun

 

Travis Sanheim -- Rasmus Ristolainen

 

Keith Yandle -- Kevin Connauton

 

Carter Hart