TAMPA - The Tampa Bay Lightning dominated the Philadelphia Flyers from start to finish, winning 4-1 and outshooting Philadelphia 36-14, with total shot attempts finishing 69 to 36 in Tampa Bay’s favor.
Brayden Point opened the scoring at the 16:05 mark of the first period, tipping a John Carlson point shot past Flyers goalie Dan Vladar after winning an offensive-zone faceoff from Trevor Zegras. Despite holding the Flyers to just three shots on net in the first period, the Lightning entered the second period with only a one-goal lead as Vladar made several key saves.
The Lightning extended their advantage just 17 seconds into the second period when Ilya Mikheyev fed Pontus Holmberg on an odd-man rush, and Holmberg beat Vladar with a shot over the glove. Tyson Foerster cut the deficit to 2-1 at 7:22 of the second when a shot from the high slot deflected off traffic and caromed past Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning killed off a Philadelphia power play that followed, then successfully killed another penalty in the closing 1:33 of the period to protect the lead.
Holmberg added a second point in the third period, stealing a David Jiricek pass in the neutral zone and setting up Mikheyev, who tracked a missed shot behind the net and finished a backhand wraparound at 17:00. Brandon Hagel added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds to complete the scoring.
Phil Esposito named Holmberg, Mikheyev, and Zemgus Girgensons as the Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game. Holmberg and Mikheyev each recorded a goal and an assist, while Girgensons contributed an assist. The line of Girgensons, Holmberg, and Mikheyev was effective against Philadelphia’s line of Noah Cates, Porter Martone, and Foerster throughout the night, mirroring their strong performance against Pierre-Luc Dubois’ line in Tampa Bay’s previous win over Washington.
The victory gave the Lightning two more points in the standings. Tampa Bay’s next game has not yet been announced.