Shorthanded Bolts fall in round robin finale

With a 4-1 loss to the Flyers in the round robin finale on Saturday, the Lightning will be the number two seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

A tough first period saw the Bolts trail by two through 20 minutes.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice in the opening period to give Philadelphia the early lead. Less than eight minutes in, Aube-Kubel got the Flyers out in front with a deflection in the slot. Aube-Kubel added his second of the game late in the period, finishing off a two-on-one feed from Sean Couturier.

Adding to Tampa Bay's trouble in the first period was the loss of Victor Hedman. Midway through the period, Hedman appeared to lose his balance in open ice and had to limp to the bench. After briefly skating during a TV timeout, Hedman headed to the locker room and it was announced that he would not return.

The Bolts managed to get back within one on Tyler Johnson's second goal of the playoffs early in the second period. With the Lightning on a power play, Johnson went unmarked in the slot and Alex Killorn found him with a feed from below the goal line.

Late in the second, however, Joel Farabee re-established the Flyers' two-goal lead with a one-timer from the right circle. The Bolts tried to clear the puck up the boards but Shane Gostisbehere held the play in along the wall and found Farabee wide open across the ice.

By far the third period was Tampa Bay's strongest of the night, outshooting the Flyers 11-4 over the final 20 minutes. Carter Hart was solid in goal for the Flyers though, stopping everything the Bolts threw his way down the stretch. Eventually Tyler Pitlick iced the game with an empty net goal late.

As the number two seed, the Lightning will face the winner of the Columbus-Toronto series in the first round of the playoffs. Tampa Bay will learn their opponent following tomorrow night's Game 5 between the Blue Jackets and Maple Leafs.

Scoring Summary
1st Period
PHI | 7:40 Nicolas Aube-Kubel (1) - Shane Gostisbehere, Derek Grant
PHI | 14:00 Nicolas Aube-Kubel (2) - Sean Couturier, Joel Farabee

2nd Period
TBL | 5:21 Tyler Johnson (2) - Alex Killorn, Brayden Point - PPG
PHI | 14:22 Joel Farabee (1) - Shane Gostisbehere, Sean Couturier

3rd Period
PHI | 18:40 Tyler Pitlick (1) - Scott Laughton - EN