Wayne Simmonds scores twice as Flyers rout Vegas Golden Knights in opener

LAS VEGAS — The Flyers ruined a party-like atmosphere Thursday night for a sellout crowd that included Las Vegas icon Wayne Newton.

A few hours after Vegas celebrated last season's improbable Western Conference championship and hoisted a banner to the rafters, the Flyers jolted the second-year Golden Knights, 5-2, at T-Mobile Arena.

Wayne Simmonds, who wasn't his physical self last season because of a litany of injuries, scored a pair of goals and goalie Brian Elliott played solidly as the Flyers won their season opener for the third straight year. Simmonds had a hat trick in last year's season-opening win in San Jose.

"We weathered their storm in the first 10 minutes, and I thought we did a good job after that," Simmonds said. "The building was rocking and I thought we did a really good job controlling our emotions and focusing on our game."

The Flyers scored on five of their 16 shots against Marc-Andre Fleury, who is coming off the best season of his decorated career. Fleury, however, has struggled against the Flyers in his career, with a save percentage below .900.

Fleury was removed midway through the second period and his team trailing, 5-1.

Goals by rookie Oskar Lindblom and Simmonds erased an early deficit and gave the Flyers a 2-1 first-period lead.

Vegas dominated the first 10 minutes and took the lead when Jonathan Marchessault converted a long pass from defenseman Jon Merrill and beat Elliott with a left-circle drive with 13 minutes, 23 seconds left in the first. Defenseman Andrew MacDonald started to go off the ice on a line change, then tried to get back into the play after Merrill's pass started a fastbreak into the Flyers' end.

Lindblom finished off a three-on-one with Travis Sanheim and Jake Voracek and scored on a backhander in front, knotting the score at 1-1 with 8:36 to go in the period.

After some key saves by Elliott, Simmonds made it 2-1 as he tapped in a loose puck that was inches from the goal line. Robert Hagg (two points) had thrown a shot toward the net that appeared to deflect off Fleury and gently hit the post, and the hard-driving Simmonds beat a defenseman to the puck with 1:27 left in the session.

Simmonds, now healthy after an injury-plagued season, had four first-period hits and Hagg had five. The Flyers outhit the Knights in the first 20 minutes, 20-8, but Vegas had the better scoring attempts (21-11).

"It's nice just being able to get to where I need to go on time," Simmonds said. "I think it's going to make a big difference this year, but like I said, it was a complete team effort."

Simmonds also contributed a game-high seven hits and led the Flyers with four shots.

"It's always good to see him in his element," coach Dave Hakstol said. "His first goal was down in and around the crease, and then a power-play goal in his familiar spot (down low). That, along with his 200-foot game, is a good first outing for him."

The Flyers' lead grew from 2-1 to 5-1 as they scored three goals in a stunning 4:19 span, getting tallies from Simmonds, Hagg, and Scott Laughton.

Simmonds scored from his office, out front, and it gave him 70 power-play goals in the last six years — second in the NHL in that span. Hagg converted a slick pass from James van Riemsdyk — rookie Mikhail "Misha" Vorobyev (plus-2), making his NHL debut, also had an assist for his first carer point — and Laughton beat Fleury with a deft deflection on Radko Gudas' shot.

Elliott protected that lead with several key saves as the Flyers took a 5-1 lead into the third period.

"I thought he was the key in the first 10 minutes," Simmonds said. "Without him, we might have been down 2-0 or 3-0. He stood on his head in the first 10 minutes and made some unbelievable saves the rest of the game as well. He allowed us to get our footing, and the boys put pucks in the back of the net for him."

"We knew when you come into a home opener, you have to be ready for a push," Elliott said after stopping 23 of 25 shots. "Sometimes you just need to weather it a little bit. I thought we did a good job and then pushed back."

Penalties to Gudas and MacDonald gave the Knights a five-on-three for 1:18 early in the third period, but the Flyers withstood the barrage as Elliott and defenseman Ivan Provorov led the way.

"It's never fun trying to kill five-on-threes, but our team did a great job," Provorov said. "We were in the right lanes and made it hard on them."

The much-maligned penalty kill was 3 for 3.

"We did a good job tonight," said Laughton, who excelled on the penalty kill, "and we just have to keep it going. I thought we were good structurally and we kept it simple."

"Definitely something to build on," Elliott said.

Former Flyer Pierre-Edouard Bellemare got the Knights to within 5-2 with a shorthanded goal with 11:32 left. Vegas would not get any closer.

Vegas is now 29-11-2 at home since it entered the league, with two of those losses to the Flyers.

In what has become a rather common development, the Flyers watched a stirring pregame ceremony for the opposing team as the Knights were honored for their Western Conference championship. It marked the fifth time in the last eight years the Flyers have faced a team that raised a conference or Stanley Cup banner.

The Flyers haven't won a Cup since 1975, which is why a bar near T-Mobile Arena featured a sign that read: WHY DO THE FLYERS DRINK OUT OF SAUCERS(?) NO CUP IN 40 YEARS.

Maybe the sign will serve as a motivator to a Flyers team that had 98 points last season and raised the bar when it signed high-scoring van Riemsdyk in the off-season, helping to give them three dynamic lines and a better power play.

Claude Giroux moved ahead of Bill Barber and into third place on the Flyers' all-time assist list with his 464th helper….This was the second time in franchise history the Flyers won a season-opening game for the third straight year…..Hagg had the first two-point game in his career….The Flyers outhit the Knights, 41-31, and won 52 percent of the faceoffs. Giroux won 64 percent of his draws and Sean Couturier took 63 percent.