The Flyers opened up the season with a pair of wins, but against teams that had also missed the playoffs last season. So even with the look of a team buying into what John Tortorella has been preaching in training camp, it was going to take a lot more convincing on their part.
In their first road game of the season, facing the defending three-time Eastern Conference champions, they made their first big statement. Trailing by a goal entering the third period, the Flyers rallied for two goals to secure another come-from-behind win, 3-2, over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
The Lightning came out with an early push, getting eight of the first 10 shots in the game. The Flyers got the saves needed from Carter Hart to keep the game scoreless, and eventually worked the shot total back to 10-6 through 20 minutes.
Early in the second, Tampa’s power play finally got a chance and didn’t let it go by. At 1:25, just 24 seconds into a power play, Steven Stamkos was left alone in the slot for a one-timer to make it 1-0. Less than three minutes later at 4:12, Stamkos had his second power-play goal of the period.
The Flyers started to make their push in the second half of the period and got on the board at 10:43. A low shot from a distance by Egor Zamula left a big rebound and Scott Laughton was in the right place to fire it home, making it a 2-1 game with his second goal of the season.
Both goalies made great saves late in the period to keep it a one-goal game. Through 40 minutes, the Lightning had a 26-16 lead in shots.
Just 25 seconds into the third, the Flyers got a power play and took advantage. At 1:06, a shot from the right circle by Kevin Hayes was deflected in by James van Riemsdyk to even things up at two.
The Lightning continued to provide pressure and gets shots and chances, but the Flyers got their best opportunity off a turnover. Noah Cates forced a turnover in front of the net, then fired a turnaround shot that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy to give the Flyers the 3-2 lead with 7:16 to play.
The Flyers were able to withstand the late push from the Lightning, as Hart finished with 36 saves in the win. Vasilevskiy made 21 saves on 24 shots in the loss.
The Flyers are right back on the ice on Wednesday night as they take on the Florida Panthers at 7:30 p.m.
| Box Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Lightning | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- No Scoring
2nd Period
- TB Steven Stamkos (5) PP (Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov) 1:25
- TB Stamkos (6) PP (Kucherov, Victor Hedman) 4:12
- PHI Scott Laughton (2) (Egor Zamula, Morgan Frost) 10:43
3rd Period
- PHI James van Riemsdyk (1) PP (Kevin Hayes, Tony DeAngelo) 1:06
- PHI Noah Cates (1) (Unassisted) 12:44
| Game Statistics | Flyers | Lightning |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 24 | 38 |
| Power Plays | 1/2 | 2/3 |
| Hits | 27 | 21 |
| Faceoff % | 37.7% | 62.3% |
| Giveaways | 4 | 5 |
| Takeaways | 6 | 15 |
| Blocked Shots | 16 | 16 |
| Penalty Minutes | 16 | 14 |
