Flyers score 5 in 3rd, defeat Lightning
Sanheim, Cates each has goal, assist for Philadelphia
Travis Sanheim and Noah Cates each had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia (31-22-7), which won for the second time in six games (2-3-1). Morgan Frost had two assists, and Samuel Ersson made 20 saves.
"I think first two periods weren't our best, but we were still hanging in there," Frost said. "I don't think we were bad per se, just weren't really creating too much and getting in on the forecheck. But in general, playing like that in the third against a team like that, it gives us a good feeling."
Nicholas Paul and Steven Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay (32-24-5), which had its four-game road winning streak end. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves.
Tyson Foerster put the Flyers ahead 2-1 just 54 seconds into the third period. He dragged the puck between his legs around defenseman Nick Perbix and beat Vasilevskiy with a backhand from the left face-off circle.
"I didn't really have any sense of trying to take it to the net," Foerster said. "I was just trying to get it on net. I don't know if it was the lights or not, but it just squeaked in, and I was pretty happy."
It was Foerster's fourth goal in three games after he missed the previous four because of an injury to his right foot. He also has seven goals in his past seven games after scoring just seven in his first 48.
Despite the lack of offense, coach John Tortorella has been happy with the other ways Foerster has contributed.
"He's playing with more confidence," Tortorella said. "Those guys, when they start scoring some goals, puck tends to follow them around and they feel more comfortable with it, for sure. The thing for me is he doesn't forget the other part. He did the work on the walls, got pucks out. He's just a smart player, but I think he's gaining some confidence as far as the offensive part of it."
Sanheim made it 3-1 at 3:08 with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle.
"They scored a couple quick goals (in the third)," Stamkos said. "I thought we were playing a pretty good road game, low-event game, low scoring. We were comfortable. The two previous games were like that. I liked our game, but they scored the two quick ones."
Sean Walker pushed it to 4-1 at 6:55 with a wrist shot from the left circle.
Stamkos made it 4-2 at 14:34 with Vasilevskiy on the bench for an extra attacker, scoring on a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle.
Cates scored an empty-net goal at 15:22 to make it 5-2, and Cam York scored an empty-net goal at 17:41 for the 6-2 final.
Bobby Brink gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 2:22 of the first period, beating Vasilevskiy with a wrist shot from the high slot off the rush. The forward was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League earlier Tuesday and was playing in his first game since Jan. 15.
"We love seeing Bobby score," Walker said. "Just a great guy, great teammate. For him to go out there and get us going, it was pretty awesome."
Paul tied the game 1-1 at 4:35 of the second period with a one-timer from the slot off a centering pass from Brandon Hagel.
A partial power outage with 13:39 remaining in the first period caused a 10-minute delay. Wells Fargo Center president Phil Laws said the outage was caused by a transformer on the building's event level burning out.
"It was weird," Stamkos said. "The same for both teams. ... I don't think it had an effect on the game."
NOTES: Hagel extended his point streak to 14 games (nine goals, 12 assists), tying Stamkos for the second-longest in Lightning history. Stamkos holds the record at 18 games (2009-10). ... Sanheim has six points (three goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. ... It was the Flyers' first five-goal period since they scored five in the second period of a 6-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 5, 2023. ... Kucherov had an assist on Paul's goal to give him nine points (two goals, seven assists) during a four-game point streak. … Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point had an assist and has nine points (five goals, four assists) during a season-long seven-game point streak. ... The Lightning had their eight-game road winning streak against the Flyers end. ... Philadelphia forward Scott Laughton had his NHL career-long seven-game point streak end (four goals, six assists). ... The Flyers played their third straight game without leading scorer Travis Konecny, who is day to day because of an upper-body injury. They also are missing defensemen Jamie Drysdale (upper body) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body), each of whom is week to week.
