After Thursday’s disappointing outing against Calgary, the Lightning were determined to bounce back in their next game. Bounce back they did.
The Lightning stormed the Flyers during the early minutes, netting four goals in the first 10:49. After Brayden Point scored the fourth goal, shots were 14-2 in favor of Tampa Bay.
There were plenty of other fireworks during those first 11 minutes. There was a fight between Niclas Deslauriers and Austin Watson, Garnet Hathaway was assessed a 10-minute misconduct, and Flyers coach John Tortorella was given a game misconduct.
Following the ejection of their head coach, the Flyers made a push. They recorded seven of the final eight shots in the first period. Then in the second period, they outshot the Lightning, 11-3. But the Lightning did well to limit scoring chances, and the Flyers were unable to cut into the deficit. Instead, the Lightning added to their lead. One of those three second-period shots yielded a goal — Steven Stamkos set up Anthony Duclair for a tap-in at 15:42.
The Duclair tally took some of the steam out of the Flyers’ comeback effort. Victor Hedman and Brandon Hagel tacked on additional goals in the first half of the third period, allowing the Lightning to play a drama-free final frame.
It was an impressive victory against an opponent similarly battling for a playoff spot. The Flyers have been a strong defensive team and an excellent road club. They entered the game with a penalty-kill percentage of 86.6, tops in the league. But on this night, the Lightning put seven pucks into the Philadelphia net. Three of those were power-play goals.
Next up for the Lightning is another four-day break. A similar break preceded the clunker against the Flames. The Lightning will look to avoid a similar script when they finish the homestand against the New York Rangers next Thursday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Darren Raddysh — Lightning. Five assists.
- Victor Hedman — Lightning. Two goals and assist.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 25-save shutout.
