POSTGAME 5: Struck Down
Lightning jump on Flyers early to walk away with a 5-2 win
by Flyers & Bill Meltzer @NHLFlyersHERE'S WHAT HAPPENED
The Lightning struck for three goals in the opening 10 minutes in the first period to eventually take a 5-2 win over the Flyers on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
JT Miller posted a goal and an assist, including the game winner, while Sean Couturier assisted on both Flyers goals as the teams traded a pair of goals each in the third period.
Louie Domingue stopped 28 of 30 shots for the win. Carter Hart got the start, but allowed three goals on nine shots and was pulled in favor of Brian Elliott, who stopped 22 of 23 shots in relief.
Stars of the Game:
1 - JT Miller (1g-1a)
2 - Sean Couturier (2a)
3 - Erik Cernak (+1)
TURNING POINT
The Lightning taking a 4-1 lead turned this game. After finally breaking through and getting within two goals a minute into the third period, the goal by Yanni Gourde just leaked through Elliott, who had lost his stick, at the right post put the Flyers back to a three-goal deficit.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) At 2:22, after Andrew MacDonald lost a battle in the corner, a Mikhail Sergachev deflected off Shayne Gostisbehere's skate and re-directed upstairs past Carter Hart for a quick 1-0 lead. Tampa soon made it 2-0 at 5:13. After a giveaway by Gostisbehere, an deflected Adam Erne shot hit the post but, with MacDonald turned around and unable to tie up his stick, Alex Killorn was there to tap home the rebound. Hart's night ended at 9:23 of the first period as J.T. Miller tipped a puck past Provorov, led a 2-on-1 and elected to shoot, beating Hart over the glove from the top of the right circle to make it 3-0 on nine shots. Brian Elliott entered the game. First period shots were 13-7 in Tampa's favor.
2) A late first-period Erne hooking penalty gave the Flyers a chance to start to climb back into the game. The Flyers took 59 seconds of carryover power play time into the second period. They were unable to do much with it. At the 4:00 mark, Danick Martel tripped Claude Giroux near the boards in the Tampa zone, giving the Flyers their 2nd power play. The Flyers' first unit struggled. The second unit generated some pressure but was unable to score.
3) The Flyers line of Oskar Lindblom, Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek had a good second period in terms of creating forechecking pressure and puck possession. The Couturier line had been knocking on the door in the second period and broke through early in the third on a nice passing sequence from Michael Raffl (on line for the shift) to Couturier to Lindblom for the finish at the net to make it a. 3-1 game.
4) As a team, the Flyers had some good scoring chances in the middle stanza -- including an open look for Claude Giroux on a scorching blast from the slot -- but had trouble putting their best opportunities on the net. Later in the period, Louis Domingue made a save without a stick, falling back in his net, after sticking a pad in the air laying along the ice and getting some help from Braydon Coburn. A sharp-angle goal by Travis Konecny off the rush on a feed from Couturier got the Flyers back to within two goals.
5) Referee Jake Brenk waved off a goal on a netmouth scramble with 47.5 seconds left, ruling that Couturier interfered with Domingue. The Flyers challenged the ruling but came out on the short end, much to their displeasure and the displeasure of the crowd. A long-distance empty net goal by Ryan McDonagh sealed a 5-2 win for Tampa.
JUST THE STATS
* Oskar Lindblom scored for the second straight game and has points in three straight (3g-1a).
* Sean Couturier continued his hot play with two assists giving him four straight multi-point games (1g-7a).
* Ivan Provorov led the Flyers in ice time with 26:03... Lindblom led the team in shots (6)... Travis Sanheim led the team in blocked shots (4).
* The Flyers went winless against the Lightning in a season series for just the fourth time in 26 seasons and first since 2013-14... They wrapped up the season series vs. Lightning with a 0-1-2 record.
THEY SAID IT
Video: Gordon's postgame press conference after TampaVideo: Players react to no goal and loss to Tampa