A four-point night from Nikita Kucherov helped the Lightning wrap up the road trip with a 6-3 victory over the Flyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Kucherov recorded his fifth career hat trick and added a primary assist in the victory.
Brayden Point, Mikey Eyssimont and Brandon Hagel also scored for Tampa Bay.
Andrei Vasilevskiy got the start in net and finished with 29 saves on 32 shots.
The Bolts now return home to open a two-game homestand that leads directly into the All-Star break. First up is a visit from the Coyotes on Thursday night.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
TBL 1, PHI 0
1:46 Brayden Point (22) – Max Crozier
Max Crozier recorded his first career NHL point, as the Bolts grabbed an early lead less than two minutes in. Crozier ripped a shot from the top of the right circle that was redirected past Samuel Ersson by Brayden Point open at the side of the net.
TBL 2, PHI 0
18:45 Nikita Kuchdrov (29) – Brandon Hagel, Darren Raddysh
Nikita Kucherov bookended the first period with his team-leading 29th goal of the season. Just seconds after a Tampa Bay power play expired, a seam opened through the middle of the ice for Brandon Hagel to tee up Kucherov for a one-timer from the right circle.
2nd Period
TBL 3, PHI 0
2:24 Nikita Kucherov (30) – Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos – PPG
After playing the puck behind the Philadelphia net, Kucherov went unmarked and was able pop free on the far side of the ice. Point worked Kucherov the puck to set up a power play goal from a sharp angle along the goal line.
TBL 3, PHI 1
9:56 Cam Atkinson (13) – Joel Farabee, Sean Walker
The Flyers responded to Kucherov’s second goal with heavy pressure. Cam Atkinson eventually got them on the board, keeping his stick on the ice to redirect a feed from Joel Farabee past Andrei Vasilevskiy.
TBL 3, PHI 2
14:04 Jamie Drysdale (2) – Morgan Frost, Cam Atkinson – PPG
Momentum remained firmly on Philadelphia’s side, and they pulled within a goal following a hooking call on Hagel. Jamie Drysdale’s wrist shot from the high slot beat Vasilevskiy through traffic in the shooting lane.
TBL 4, PHI 2
17:42 Mikey Eyssimont (8) – Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman – PPG
Atkinson was whistled for a hook on Sheary, and the Bolts cashed in on the ensuing power play to reestablish a two-goal advantage. A Victor Hedman point shot caromed off the end boards to Kucherov at the bottom of the right circle. Kucherov one-touched a pass over to Mikey Eyssimont in the slot that was quickly wired past Ersson.
3rd Period
TBL 4, PHI 3
0:42 Cam York (6) – Morgan Frost
With the teams skating 4-on-4 to start the third period, Cam York’s initial shot on the rush was blocked by Nick Perbix and popped up into the air. York continued his drive toward the net and swatted the puck home out of midair on his backhand to get the Flyers back within a goal in the opening minute of the period.
TBL 5, PHI 3
19:00 Brandon Hagel (14) – Anthony Cirelli, Calvin de Haan – ENG
After the Flyers pulled Ersson for the extra attacker, Calvin de Haan cleared the puck to the neutral zone, and Anthony Cirelli was able to work the puck over to Hagel to bury into the empty net.
TBL 6, PHI 3
19:49 Nikita Kucherov (31) – Anthony Cirelli, Nick Perbix – ENG
Kucherov completed his hat trick and rounded out the scoring with an empty net goal in the closing seconds of regulation.
