The Lightning broke open what had been a close, tight-checking game with a four-goal third period and secured their ninth consecutive win.
The Lightning’s third-period eruption turned this game into a blowout, but the contest had a much different feel during the opening 40 minutes.
The teams combined for three goals in the opening 6:05 of the first period, and the Lightning netted two of them. Brayden Point stripped Denver Barkey in the Philadelphia defensive zone, creating a two-on-one down low. He wired a left-circle pass to Nikita Kucherov at the side of the net, and Kucherov one-timed the puck past Sam Ersson at 1:49.
The Flyers used an aggressive and effective forecheck to hem the Lightning in the Tampa Bay end for a good portion of the first period. One of those sequences led to the tying goal—Garnet Hathaway deflected in Noah Juulsen’s right-point shot at 4:15.
But less than two minutes later, the Lightning regained the lead. Off the rush, Kucherov snapped a left-circle shot over Ersson’s glove at 6:05.
While the Lightning maintained a 2-1 lead through the end of the period, they had problems dealing with Philadelphia’s up-ice pressure. A majority of the first-period action took place in the Lightning’s defensive zone. But they defended hard without the puck to limit chances. Also, Andrei Vasilevskiy was sharp in making several key saves, including a point-blank stop on Owen Tippett during a Philadelphia power play.
The second period began with the Flyers continuing to dictate play. But after the first few minutes of the frame, the Lightning reversed that narrative. They effectively worked pucks out of the defensive zone and prevented the Flyers from applying consistent pressure. Instead, the Lightning had a majority of the possession time in the period. Shots, attempts, and scoring chances weren’t especially plentiful for either team, but the Lightning managed to pop in a goal at 13:37. Following a zone entry, Jake Guentzel set up Anthony Cirelli for a left-circle shot. Nick Seeler blocked the attempt, but the puck ricocheted to Charle-Edouard D’Astous, who took another left-circle shot. This one forced a save from Ersson. The rebound went to the low slot. Nick Paul had just come off the Lightning bench—he jumped on the puck and slid it in the net to extend the Lightning lead.
In the third, the Lightning finished Grade-A rush chances to break open the game. First, Kucherov set up Gage Goncalves at the right circle, and Goncalves angled to the front of the net before snapping the puck over Ersson’s glove at 2:03. At 3:37, Guentzel fed Brandon Hagel for a breakaway goal. Hagel outraced Barkey up ice to create the in-alone chance. Following a Tippett power-play tally at 4:45, the Lightning responded with two more tallies. Zemgus Girgensons broke up a Philadelphia entry attempt and pushed the puck forward to Yanni Gourde, who had an uncontested breakaway from the red line. Gourde scored the Lightning’s sixth goal at 9:00. Exactly two minutes later, Kucherov set up Goncalves for a right-circle one-timer that beat Ersson.
The final stats will show that the Lightning won this game with their offense. Kucherov led the way with four points and tied a franchise record with his eighth straight multi-point road game. But just as important was the Lightning’s ability to limit Philadelphia’s offensive-zone time after the first period.
The teams wrap up their two-game series—and their three-game regular season series—on Monday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. Two goals and two assists.
- Brayden Point — Lightning. Three assists.
- Gage Goncalves — Lightning. Two goals.
