Photo courtesy of Kate Frese
PHILADELPHIA — A five-goal second period, combined with seven different goal scorers, allowed the Flyers to match their season-high for goals scored on Monday in a 7-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After taking a 2-1 lead into the second period, the Flyers (17-19-7) scored three goals in the span of 5:17 to stretch their lead to 5-1 — courtesy of Jakub Voracek, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Mark Streit. Brayden Schenn and Michael Raffl each scored before the second stanza could end, while Chris VandeVelde and R.J. Umberger scored the two first-period markers.
Six Flyers — Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux, Streit, VandeVelde and Voracek — each recorded multi-point efforts. Streit's three points led the way, while VandeVelde's two points were good enough to be the first multi-point night of his career.
In his second NHL start, Rob Zepp turned away 21 of 24 Lightning shots. Lightning starter Evgeni Nabokov made nine saves on 13 shots, before being pulled after the Streit goal. Ben Bishop made nine saves on 12 shots in his place.
There was one lone casualty for the Orange and Black, as Braydon Coburn left in the second period after blocking a shot with his foot — the same foot he injured in the Flyers' season opener on Oct. 8. He did not return, and Andrew MacDonald double-shifted in his place with Nick Schultz.
Entering the game with the league's second-best home power play, the Flyers went 3-for-4 on the man-advantage. The Lightning were able to capitalize on two of three powerplays, including a Ryan Callahan tally 1:20 into the third period — when the game was essentially out of question.
The Lightning (27-13-4) entered the game holding a one-point lead over the New York Islanders for first place in the Eastern Conference. With 39 points, the Flyers now sit 11 points behind Boston for the conference's second wild card spot.
The Flyers last reached the touchdown mark on Dec. 20, when they beat Toronto 7-4. They last scored seven against the Lightning on Nov. 18, 2010 — a game they somehow lost, 8-7.
The Flyers next head to the nation's capital on Wednesday night, taking on the Capitals in Metropolitan Division action.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61.
