Hagel gets 3 points, Lightning shut out Flyers

TAMPA -- Brandon Hagel had two goals and an assist, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Benchmark International Arena on Monday.

"Best goalie in the world, there's not much more to it," Hagel said. "You know when he's in the back of the net you have a chance to win. He builds so much confidence in this team. I'll continue to say it until I'm out of the League or until he's out of the League, he's the best goalie in the world."

It was Vasilevskiy's first shutout of the season and his 41st in the NHL.

"Obviously, it feels great, but at the same time, we're playing a lot of games," Vasilevskiy said. "We just have to stay consistent. Not too high, not too low."

Anthony Cirelli had a goal and an assist, and Nikita Kucherov had three assists for the Lightning (13-7-2), who have won four straight.

"We've defended, and defending is hard because you play without the puck. It's not as much fun. It takes a lot of work and it takes energy," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "We're playing a pretty complete 200-foot game."

Samuel Ersson made 15 saves for the Flyers (11-7-3), who were beginning a four-game road trip.

"There were plays to be made, we just didn't make them," Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said. "Their best players won them the game. Cirelli was awesome. Hagel ... you know, Kucherov. We had chances. There were plays to be made, we just didn't find the net."

Hagel gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 15:34 of the first period. He redirected a shot from Emil Lilleberg while battling for position in front with Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae.

"Your best defense is your best offense," Hagel said. "The quicker and harder you can be in the D-zone and create loose pucks and battles, the O-zone is going to take care of itself, and that was it."

Cirelli extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:00 of the second period, tapping in a centering pass from Hagel with his backhand on a 3-on-2 rush.

"There were too many odd-man rushes, that's not on the [defense]," Tocchet said. "In the second [Tampa Bay] had eight odd-man rushes. That's on the forwards."

Hagel added an empty-net goal at 19:45 of the third period for the 3-0 final. He has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past two games.

"I think it was a tight-checking game, not many shots on both sides. The difference, I think, was our line was inconsistent without the puck," Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. "We needed to be better. We cost [us] two goals tonight, and that was the difference. It doesn't matter who we play or what kind of game we play, we have to be ready to play any kind of game and find ways to win."

Tampa Bay played without forward Brayden Point and defenseman Erik Cernak. Cooper said before the game that Point, who was injured during a 5-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday, is "dicey" to play against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Cernak, who also was injured against the Capitals, is going to miss "significant" time.

"We've played great defense the past few games," Vasilevskiy said. "Obviously, our [defensemen] are Syracuse-ish (Tampa Bay's American Hockey League affiliate), but as you can see, obviously they are good players, and as long as you execute the game plan, we'll be just fine."

NOTES: Vasilevskiy is 16-4-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and six shutouts in 22 games (21 starts) against the Flyers. ... Kucherov has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak.