It was smooth sailing for Tampa Bay through most of the first two periods. The Bolts led 2-0 courtesy of Stamkos' fifth and sixth goals of the season, but Scott Laughton got the Flyers on the board late in the second when he pounced on a juicy rebound.
Philadelphia quickly knotted the game at two at 1:06 of the third on a James van Reimsdyk power play goal before Noah Cates scored the eventual game-winner with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation.
The loss drops Tampa Bay to 1-3-0 on the season.
After opening the year against four-straight Metropolitan Division opponents, the Bolts get their first Atlantic Division matchup on Friday when they travel to Sunrise to face the Panthers.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
TBL 1, PHI 0
1:25 Steven Stamkos (5) - Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov - PPG
A quick and crisp power play zone entry resulted in the first of two second period goals from Steven Stamkos. Nikita Kucherov took the puck down low to the corner and dished to Vladislav Namestnikov in the slot. Instead of shooting, Namestnikov sent a backhand pass to Stamkos on the left wing for a one-timer.
TBL 2, PHI 0
4:12 Steven Stamkos (5) - Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman - PPG
Moments after missing a wide-open net, Stamkos got a second chance and buried another one-timer to double Tampa Bay's lead. From the far side, Kucherov threaded a pass through the middle of the ice to Stamkos at the bottom of the left circle and he wired home a shot before Carter Hart could cover his near post.
TBL 2, PHI 1
10:43 Scott Laughton (2) - Egor Zamula, Morgan Frost
Philadelphia got on the board just past the midway point of the second period when the rebound from an Egor Zamula shot fell to Scott Laughton at the right circle and was quickly fired past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
3rd Period
TBL 2, PHI 2
1:06 James van Riemsdyk (1) - Kevin Hayes, Tony DeAngelo - PPG
A Stamkos hooking penalty in the opening minute of the third period sent the Flyers to the power play and they cashed in to tie the game at two. From the top of the right circle, Kevin Hayes fired a wrist shot that was tipped through Vasilevskiy's five-hole by James van Reimsdyk stationed in front of the net.
PHI 3, TBL 2
12:44 Noah Cates (1) - Unassisted
A bad turnover directly in front of Vasilevskiy led to the eventual game-winning goal from Noah Cates. Erik Cernak was stripped before he could clear the puck from the defensive zone and Cates spun and fired a shot past Vasilevskiy from the slot.
