Postgame RAV4: Flyers Lose to Bolts, 4-1

The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1, at Benchmark International Arena on Monday evening. The Flyers are winless through four games (0-2-2). 

The first period started out well for the Flyers -- tight checking, fairly clean with the puck -- but Tampa took over late. Philly killed two penalties successfully. However, Tampa built momentum off their second power play, and didn't let it go the rest of the period.

Veteran Flyer-killer Brayden Point (1st) scored a late period deflection goal after an offensive zone faceoff win. Tampa took a 1-0 lead to intermission. 

On the first shift of the second period, Pontus Holmberg (1st) gave Tampa a 2-0 lead. Seven minutes later, Tyson Foerster (1st) got the Flyers on the board as Porter Martone went to the net.

Late in the third period, Ilya Kucherov (1st) scored an insurance goal. Brandon Hagel ENG, 1st) closed out the scoring.

Dan Vladar did his part but took the loss with 32 saves on 35 shots. Andrei Vasilevskiy denied 13 of 14 shots.

1ST PERIOD

At 5:21, Travis Konecny ripped the game's first shot on goal.

Owen Tippett went off at 5:35 for the game's first penalty (tripping). Vladar made his first save, stopping Jake Guentzel in a scramble near the net. The Flyers killed off the rest of the penalty. Tampa had a few good looks but only one shot on net.

Matvei Michkov shot just wide on a promising transition rush. At the other end, Vladar made a tough glove save on Brandon Hagel.

At 12:06, the Lightning went back to the penalty kill. Trevor Zegras went off for an accidental high stick on Nikita Kucherov. Vladar denied Guentzel. Sanheim turned over a clearing opportunity. On a second chance, Sanheim got the puck down the ice. Christian Dvorak and Tyson Foerster had a shorthanded counter chance that missed connecting. With seven seconds left, Vladar made another stop.

The Lightning started to control the puck possession for most of the remaining time in the period.

Konency turned over the puck on an ill-advised drop pass. Vladar stopped Hagel on a 2-on-1 rush after Nick Seeler got a piece of the pass across.

At 16:05, after winning a left circle draw cleanly from Zegras, Point beat Zegras to the net and deflected the puck into the net for a 1-0 Tampa lead. John Carlson and Kucherov got the assists.

Vladar made saves on Hagel and Anthony Cirelli. 

Shots:  Flyers 3- Lightning 10

Faceoffs: Flyers  9 -- LIghtning 7

2ND PERIOD

The Lightning started out behind their net and scored on the line rush at the 17-second mark. Tampa benefited from some interference and Holmberg beat Vladar over the glove from above the dot. The assists went to Ilya Micheyev and Zemgus Girgensons. 

Vladar turned Point away on a 3-on--2 rush. Shots for the game were now 12-4 Tampa.

A promising Flyers rush opportunity fizzled out due a pass off the skates. 

Porter Martone went to the net and seemed to deflect a Tyson Foerster shot from higher in the zone into the cage. The goal came at7:22. The assists went to Seeler and Sean Couturier. The goal was initially credited to Martone but the scoring was changed at intermission.

The Flyers went to their first power play at 9:57. Martone goaded Charles-Edouar D'Astous into a roughing penalty. The Flyers coughed up a 2-on-1 shorthanded chance but nothing materialized for Tampa as the puck went wide.

J.J. Moser pinched on for a dangerous chance. The puck hit the outside of the right goal post. Two shifts later, Vladar turned away a point blank chance from Jeff Viel. The Flyers won a defensive zone draw but turned over the puck.

At 17:29, a Kucherov drop pass created a Gage Goncalves one-timer. Vladar made the save as he tracked it well.

The Flyers went to their second power play at 18:27. Cirelli accidentally high-sticked York on a forecheck. The Flyers won the first draw, and Foerster snapped a shot on net. With 12 seconds left in the period, David Jiricek made in a stride and snapped a shot on net.

Philly took 27 seconds of carryover power play time into the third period.

Shots:  Flyers 7 (10 overall) - Lightning 11  (21  overall)

Faceoffs: Flyers 15 (25 overall) - Tampa Bay 10 (17 overall)

3RD PERIOD

Vladar was tested on two early saves. The latter came after a Zegras turnover. Simon Benoit dropped the gloves with Viel. Tampa had each of the period's first three shots on goal.

A would-be Tampa goal at 2:58 was waved-off immediately as Hagel interfered with Vladar near the blue paint. Tampa did not challenge.

At 3:10, Michkov went off for high sticking Hagel. Kucherov one-timed a shot off the side of the net. A failed clear led to extensive pressure. The Flyers survived. Shots were now 25-10 Tampa.

Zegras put a shot off the crossbar and goal post. Owen Tippett had the feed. Play opened up over the next few shifts before a TV timeout.

Tampa had another  lengthy shift in the Philly zone. The Flyers contained play to the perimeter. Vladar ended it with a clear-sighted glove save from distance.

Martone took a high elbow from Tampa's Hagel at 13:33. Philly went to their third power play.  Once again, the Flyers were unable to capitalize. Zegras set up a near-miss chance.

David JIricek turned over the puck near the blueline. Holmberg then moved right around him and took the puck down low. Michayev received the puck and scored point blank at 17:00. Holmberg had the lone assist.

The Flyers pulled Vladar for an extra attacker. Hagel scored an empty net goal with 6.4 seconds left after a feed from Kucherov. The sequence started with a Konecny turnover.

Shots:  Flyers 4 (14 overall) - Lightning 15  (36  overall)

Faceoffs: Flyers 9 (34 overall)  -- Lightning 12 (29 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Travis Konecny - Christian Dvorak - Matvei Michkov

Denver Barkey - Trevor Zegras - Owen Tippett

Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Porter Martone
Carl Grundstrom - Sean Couturier - Noel Acciari

Cam York - Travis Sanheim

Simon Benoit - Jamie Drysdale

Nick Seeler - David Jiricek

Dan Vladar
[Joseph Woll]

POSTGAME RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Chance creation

For the fourth straight game, the Flyers were heavily outchanced as well as outchanced. The sheer volume of shots and chances Philly is yielding is alarming.

2. Attack/defend the middle

Early in the first period, the Flyers did a good job at taking away the middle of the ice. Thereafter, Tampa had quite a few good looks over the first two periods. Philly didn't get much attack overall, but there were some encouraging sequences. Bottom line, however: they were too few and far between.

3. Special teams

The Flyers were 0-for-3 on the power play. They went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Tampa, however, generated more pressure off their opportunities and carried it back into 5-on-5 play.

4. Ristolainen

Banged up in Saturday's game against Carolina, veteran defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was a game-time decision in Tampa. Ultimately, he was not able to play.