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When the Tampa Bay Lightning scored their first goal of the game courtesy of Ondrej Palat 4:07 into the first, it was their second shot of the game. When the Philadelphia Flyers finally countered with a goal of their own 16:51 into the second period, it was on their 30th shot of the night, and came with just six total shots from the Lightning. When the Flyers jumped out to a 2-1 lead seven minutes plus into the third period, the Bolts were up to 12. In other words, it was not a shock that the Lightning’s franchise-best nine-game winning streak came to an end with a Monday night loss in Philly.
Even so, it took almost everything the Flyers had to beat Tampa Bay netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy on this night, too. As mentioned, it was not until the Flyers’ 30th shot that Vasilevskiy broke. Before then, he came up with one gigantic stop after another. From a successful 2-on-0 stop on a Bellemare-Simmonds rush, to a 2-on-1 stop on Simmonds, and even a Claude Giroux puck off the dome, Vasilevskiy held the Flyers off as long as he could in a night that simply was not for the Bolts.
Philadelphia’s first two goals came from sensational rookie Shayne Gostisbehere, and the third from Brayden Schenn (with help from Steven Stamkos’ skate), and the rout was on for the Flyers. But Tampa Bay stormed back with Vladdy Namestnikov’s goal just 56 seconds later.
And though Namestnikov’s 11th of the season brought the Bolts back within one, an empty-net dagger from Wayne Simmonds with 26 seconds to go would be the final score of a 4-2 Tampa loss.
Random thoughts and notes
- The Bolts just didn’t seem capable of finding ways to pressure Philadelphia in their own end. Obviously, that’s because so much of the game was spent in their own end, but this was the overall frustration of this game if you’re on that Lightning bench. It was didn’t feel as if the team ever got comfortable when it came to playing the game they’d like to. This has been a problem at times for Tampa this year, too, as they’ve repeatedly struggled when teams take away what they’re great at. And while most teams struggle in such scenarios, you’d like to see the Bolts find ways to overcome that adversity.
- A positive in this one comes with the first NHL point for defenseman Slater Koekkoek. In the lineup given the injuries to both Andrej Sustr and Braydon Coburn, Koekkoek recorded one assist, a plus-1 rating, and recorded two shots on goal in just 13:27 of time on ice. Paired with Jason Garrison for much of the night, putting Koekkoek in a situation where he had real minutes against real competition was key, especially if the Bolts have to deal with a multitude of defensive injuries down the stretch.
- Did Jon Cooper have a case in his challenging of Philadelphia’s first goal? I think so, but then again, I’m not sure. With Sam Gagner crosschecked into the Tampa crease by Nikita Nesterov, Cooper challenged the goal with the belief that Gagner’s stick, lodged under Vasilevskiy, prevented the 21-year-old netminder from being able to push off and towards the incoming Gostisbehere shot. He’s not wrong, as it definitely did prevent Vasilevskiy, even if just a little bit, but it’s Nesterov’s doing that puts Gagner in that position to begin with. I think that’s ultimately why the goal was upheld, but it’s a coach’s challenge reviewed on a screen smaller than a Gameboy, so I honestly have no clue.
Up next
The Lightning will head back to Tampa Bay for a Tuesday night showdown with the Boston Bruins. It will be the fourth head-to-head between the two this season, and the away team has won all three. Winner of this game is in first place in the Atlantic Division, too, so look for the Bolts to change that trend.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.