The Philadelphia Flyers took on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night in their third game of a four-game homestand. Sam Ersson got the start in net. Bobby Brink and Jamie Drysdale remained out, and Travis Konecny joined them as he sustained an injury in the last game. This was a game to forget. Ersson struggled in net all night, and Nikita Kucherov had himself a four-point night. Garnet Hathaway and Owen Tippett scored the only two goals. The orange and black fell to 22-13-8 on the season.
Kucherov gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead just 1:49 into the first period. Brayden Point, from the left circle, found Kucherov at the back door, and he put a snapshot past the glove of Ersson. Point received the lone assist.
The Flyers tied the game up at one at the 4:15 mark of the first courtesy of Hathaway. He deflected Noah Juulsen’s shot from the blue line past the blocker of Lightning’s goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Juulsen and Rodrigo Abols tallied assists.
Kucherov scored his second of the game and period at the 6:05 mark of the first period to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead. He took a nice pass by Point and put a snapshot over the glove of Ersson from the left circle. Point and Charle-Edouard D’Astous picked up assists.
Hathaway and Declan Carlile dropped the gloves at the 8:00 mark of the first. Hathaway looked to have landed a few big punches and ultimately took Carlile down. Both players got five minutes each for fighting.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play at the 13:13 mark of the first period as Brandon Hagel was called for interference. Matvei Michkov missed on a tip-in try just wide, and Vasilevskiy made a huge save on Tippett from in front. The top unit, featuring Trevor Zegras and Michkov, looked excellent.
The Lightning got their first power play at the 18:55 mark of the first as Cam York got called for cross-checking. The Flyers did a nice job of blocking shots and clearing the puck down the ice when given the opportunity. Christian Dvorak had a chance while shorthanded right as the second period got underway.
Nick Paul gave the Lightning a 3-1 lead at the 13:37 mark of the second period. Ersson made the initial save on D’Astous but allowed a rebound. Paul got to the rebound and put a snapshot into a wide-open net. D’Astous and Anthony Cirelli were given assists. This happened after a turnover by Rasmus Ristolainen in his own zone.
The scoring parade continued for the Lightning as Gage Goncalves gave them a 4-1 lead at the 2:03 mark of the third period. He took a pass from Kucherov and put a snapshot past Ersson as he was driving the net. Assists went to Kucherov and Darren Raddysh.
Hagel made it 5-1 Lightning at the 3:37 mark of the third. Jake Guentzel made a pass to Hagel that sent him on a breakaway. Hagel finished with a snapshot just under the right arm of Ersson. Guentzel and Cirelli tallied assists.
The Flyers went on their second power play at the 4:13 mark of the third period as Goncalves was called for high-sticking. They’d capitalize on this opportunity thanks to Tippett. Dvorak won the faceoff back to Tippett. Tippett then put a snapshot over the blocker of Vasilevskiy. This made the score 5-2 in favor of the Lightning. Dvorak received the lone assist.
Yanni Gourde joined in on the scoring for the Lightning at the 9:00 mark of the third. Zegras turned the puck over to Zemgus Girgensons. Girgensons then made a pass that sent Gourde on a breakaway. Gourde finished with a snapshot that beat Ersson blocker side. Girgensons was given the only assist.
Goncalves scored his second of the game at the 11:00 mark of the third period to give the Lightning a 7-2 lead. Kucherov made a pass to Goncalves, and he put a snapshot under the right arm of Ersson from the right circle. Kucherov and Point picked up assists.
The Lightning got their second power play at the 12:53 mark of the third as Hathaway got called for high-sticking. The Flyers were able to clear the puck down the ice multiple times, and Girgensons missed a tip-in try just wide.
Flyers went one for two on the power play and killed off both of the Lightning’s man advantages.
Ersson saved 16 of 23 shots, giving him a .696 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Kucherov (21) Assists: Point (17)
Hathaway (1) Assists: Juulsen (5), Abols (7)
Kucherov (22) Assists: Point (18), D’Astous (12)
2nd Period:
Paul (5) Assists: D’Astous (13), Cirelli (14)
3rd Period:
Goncalves (5) Assists: Kucherov (42), Raddysh (25)
Hagel (21) Assists: Guentzel (26), Cirelli (15)
Tippett (14) (Power Play) Assists: Dvorak (19)
Gourde (6) Assists: Girgensons (3)
Goncalves (6) Assists: Kucherov (43), Point (19)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Monday, Jan. 12, in Philadelphia against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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