A strong outing from the powerplay — in particular, the second unit — coupled with an intense, shutdown defense helped lift the Flyers to a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday.
Sam Gagner and Matt Read each cashed in on the man-advantage, while Brayden Schenn continued his stellar play with his 23rd goal of the season. Steve Mason stopped 18 of 19 shots, and fell just a few minutes short of his fifth shutout of the season.
Gagner opened the scoring for the Flyers (31-23-11) at 8:57 of the period, as Steven Stamkos sat a double-minor for a gruesome hi-stick on Brandon Manning. Read's 11th of the season, at 3:34 of the second stanza, came on a slap shot to the left of Ben Bishop. Schenn's goal at 7:56 of the second gave the Orange and Black a 3-0 lead heading into the dressing room.
The Flyers' defense only intensified as the third period started, holding the Lightning (39-23-5) shot-less for the first 9:35 of game play. Ultimately, the Lightning would muster just five shots in the period, and were held to under 20 shots by the Flyers for the second time this week. It's the fifth time this season that the Flyers held their opponent to 19 or fewer shots in a game, and fourth time since Feb. 23.
With 2:42 to play and Bishop out of the net in favor of an extra attacker, Brian Boyle finally put the Lightning on the scoreboard, with his 10th goal of the season. The Bolts continued their attack with the net empty, but were not able to cut the deficit to one goal.
The win was the Flyers' first at Amalie Arena since Feb. 15, 2011. It also closes out their season series against the Lightning, giving them a 2-0-1 record against the Bolts this year.
One thing that did not result in the Flyers' favor, however, was the out-of-town scoreboard. Pittsburgh beat Columbus, 3-2, meaning that the Orange and Black will remain three points behind them in the wild card standings. With Detroit out of action, however, the Flyers climb to two points behind them for the second wild-card spot.
The Flyers' quick Florida road trip continues on Saturday, as they take on the Florida Panthers.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
