Before we get to Provorov, props to Philadelphia's five-man pressure. Every Flyer plays a part on this shift.
James van Riemsdyk (25) pursues Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (41), forcing a hot Bellemare corner-to-corner pass that Jon Merrill (15) has to receive with a boot. Smartly, Merrill curls to protect the puck with his body, rimming it up the boards as Wayne Simmonds (17) bears down. Oscar Lindberg (24) has to make a challenging behind-the-back, between-the-legs pass because Shayne Gostisbehere (53) is closing.
So far, so good for the Knights. Tough sledding, but they've advanced the puck to Tomas Nosek (92) in the neutral zone. That's when Provorov steps up and changes the game.
The Norris candidate took us through what he was seeing, "As soon as I saw that they chipped it by [Shayne], I kind of angled [Nosek] into the boards."
Frankly, that's a remarkable action which the video doesn't to do justice, and a tribute to Provorov's skating and stick positioning.
He continued, "Soon as he tried to cut to the middle, I put a shoulder to his chest. Got the puck loose."
A scout suggested to me that Nosek should've received the pass lower in the neutral zone and in stride. Provorov certainly noticed the flat-footed winger, "The way he was picking up the puck, he didn't really have time to take a look and see if anybody was coming. I tried to take advantage of that."
Another key component to Provorov's aggressive read was spotting Mikhail Vorobyev (24) tracking back to support. The blueliner confirmed that he saw his centerman, "Definitely. In training camp, we focused on having good five-man pressure, staying up in the neutral zone, not giving up the red line or the blue line."
Vegas, instead of getting the puck in deep, has to fend off a counterattack after a neutral zone turnover. Philadelphia would drive a dagger home.
"In the neutral zone, we were too loose," complained Gallant. "We gave them too many opportunities. It was too many easy passes. They made long passes from their zone to the far blueline."
That would be Vorobyev to van Riemsdyk.
Gallant continued, "We had turnovers where, if we had worked harder to come back, those goals wouldn't have happened."
While the bench boss did not spell out which goals that he was referring to, the Golden Knights neglected to pick up the scoring defenseman Robert Hagg (8), who had jumped on for Provorov.
Credit also goes to van Riemsdyk, who connects with Hagg while taking a hit from Nick Holden (22). Simmonds also does a good job filling the lane, which pulls Merrill to him. By the time Nosek and Merrill switch, it's too late for Marc-Andre Fleury (29).
Fleury, of course, has given up better goals. But ultimately, this backbreaker is a testament to Philadelphia's teamwork and Provorov's smarts.
Vegas hopes to find some positives away from home, as they match up with Minnesota on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.
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