POSTGAME 5: Flyers Earn 3-2 Comeback Win in Tampa

The Philadelphia Flyers overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat the Tampa Bay Lighnting, 3-2, at Amalie Arena on Tuesday evening. A combination of outstanding goaltending and persistence in the face of adversity lifted the Flyers to 3-0-0 on the young season. Three-time defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay dropped to 1-3-0.

Last season the Flyers only won five games in which an opponent scored first. They've now won three this season. Philly did not win a single game last season when they trailed by two goals at any point. They've now done it twice.
The first period was scoreless. In the second period, a pair of power play markers by the scorching Steven Stamkos (5th and 6th goals of the season) staked Tampa to a 2-0 lead. Scott Laughton (2nd) got one back for the Flyers in the middle stages of the frame. In the third period, James van Riemsdyk knotted the game at 2-2 on a power play deflection goal (1st). Noah Cates converted a Tampa turnover into the game-winning goal for Philadelphia.
Carter Hart earned his first career win against Tampa Bay. He was outstanding in turning back 37 of 39 shots including a dozen saves in the third period. Perennial Vezina Trophy candidate Andrei Vasilevskiy (21 saves on 24 shots) did not play a bad game but was ultimately outdueled by Hart.
The Flyers were 1-for-2 on the power play. The Lightning went 2-for-3.
FLYERS STARTING LINEUP
21 Scott Laughton - 13 Kevin Hayes - 11 Travis Konecny
86 Joel Farabee - 49 Noah Cates - 57 Wade Allison
25 James van Riemsdyk - 48 Morgan Frost - 58 Tanner Laczynski
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 59 Jackson Cates - 17 Zack MacEwen
9 Ivan Provorov - 77 Tony DeAngelo
6 Travis Sanheim - 61 Justin Braun
24 Nick Seeler - 54 Egor Zamula
79 Carter Hart
[32 Felix Sandström]
TURNING POINT
With the score tied at 2-2 in the third period, Flyers center Noah Cates pressured Tampa defenseman Erik Cernak into a turnover in the middle of the slot. Cates got a stick on Cernak's attempted pass up the middle. Cates then claimed the puck and, from prime range, beat Vasilevskiy at 12:44. The goal put the Flyers ahead to stay.

MELTZER'S TAKE
1. The Flyers had to weather a heavy early push by the Lightning over the first nine minutes of the game. Tampa was given too much time and space to make plays, and the Flyers were fortunate that they didn't end up getting scored upon.
Philly had a Grade B scoring chance on the first shift of the game, with Noah Cates driving to the net as Wade Allison shot from the right circle.
The next seven shots all belonged to Tampa. Hart had to step up big twice to deny Brayden Point including a chance in which Point had a wide open lane to take the puck right to the net after a poke check attempt by James van Riemsdyk failed up ice and there was a communication mistake between Tanner Laczynski and Nick Seeler. Point crashed into Hart at the net.
The middle stages of the period saw the play stabilize. At 9:04, Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves with Pat Maroon.The Flyers seemed to settle in thereafter.
Philadelphia had the game's first power play when Ian Cole was called for hooking
Ian Cole was called for hooking Jackson Cates at 11:14. The Flyers' first unit had nearly 100 seconds of attack zone time but they were unable to score.
2. First period shots on goal were 10-6 in favor of Tampa. Scoring chances were 5-2 in Tampa's favor (4-2 high-danger edge). The Flyers won 10 of 15 faceoffs.
3. Tortorella juggled his line combinations in the second period. Zack MacEwen was moved up while Tanner Laczynski was moved down to the fourth line. Later, Noah Cates and Morgan Frost swapped wingers with Cates being flanked by JVR and MacEwen. Frost spent much of the period with Laughton and Wade Allison. Joel Farabee played with Hayes and Konecny.
At the 1:00 mark of the second period, Travis Konecny was called for high-sticking the debuting Nick Perbix. Point won the first faceoff, and Tampa scored just 25 seconds into the man advantage. Vladislav Namestnikov teed up a one-time for Stamkos, who hammered the puck home from the top of the circle ahead of Hart's desperation save attempt. Nikita Kucherov got the secondary assist as Tampa took a 1-0 lead.
At 1:53, Vasilievskiy made his toughest save of the game to that point. The star goaltender stoned Frost from point-blank range at the doorstep.
A scrum erupted after Hart denied an in-close chance at the other end of the ice at the 2:31 mark. Justin Braun, not normally a fighter, gamely dropped the gloves with veteran Corey Perry. Meanwhile, MacEwen received an initial roughing minor from the after-the-whistle dust-up. The Lightning went back on the power play.
Stamkos struck for another power play goal at 4:12 to open a 2-0 lead for the Lightning. Receiving the puck on a cross-ice pass from Kucherov at the bottom of the left circle, Stamkos fired off a guided missile upstairs. Hart had little to no chance on this one, either. To add insult to injury, Namestnikov fell on top of Hart but the goal had already been scored. Victor Hedman received the secondary assist.
The Flyers cut the gap to 2-1 at 10:43. Frost used some slick stickhandling to gain a clean entry and then passed to Egor Zamula at the right point. Zamula's shot produced a long rebound into the bottom of the left circle. Laughton pounced and fired the puck into the net to get the Flyers on the board.

Shortly after the Laughton goal, Hayes had a Grade A chance in the slot off a Konecny pass. The sequence started directly off Farabee winning a puck battle along the wall. Vasilevskiy made the stop on the bang-bang chance.
4. The second period, despite the two Tampa goals, was really the Carter Hart Show. The Flyers goalie kept his team in the game. Second period shots were 17-10 in Tampa's favor. Scoring chances were 20-12 Tampa (10-6 high danger).
5. The Flyers got a power play just 25 seconds into the third period as Stamkos was called for hooking Noah Cates in the Tampa zone. Philly made it count. At the 1:04 mark, van Riemsdyk set up a heavy screen in front of Vasilevskiy and, for good measure, deflected home a Hayes shot from high in the zone. Tony DeAngelo drew the secondary assist.

MacEwen was called for a holding penalty behind the Tampa net at the 5:34 mark. This time, the Flyers penalty kill stepped up. Tampa Bay was held to a single shot.
Midway through the period, Point got Travis Sanheim in a one-on-one but the Flyers defenseman played it well and quickly killed the play. In the meantime, when the Lightning tested Hart -- as they did several times in the first period -- the Flyers goalie made the saves.
Noah Cates put the Flyers ahead with 7:16 remaining in regulation. Thereafter, there were several instances in which Philly had to go into bend-but-don't-break mode and try to keep Tampa to the perimeter.
With Vasilevskiy pulled for an extra attacker, the Lightning were unable to draw even. Noah Cates won a final faceoff against Stamkos with 1.6 seconds left on the clock.