Fresh off a tough road trip to start the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning looked to build some momentum in their home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. That wasn’t the case though, as a late turnover led to Noah Cates’ game-winning goal in a 3-2 loss.
Game Flow
This game began with the Lightning getting numerous chances to break the ice. The best opportunity came when Brayden Point got behind the Flyers defense for a breakaway. He couldn’t finish though, so the game remained scoreless.
Midway through the opening period, Pat Maroon and Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves. Both were given five minute majors for fighting.
About three minutes later, Ian Cole was sent to the box for hooking. That gave the Flyers the game’s first power play. The Bolts were able to kill it off, however, and the teams were scoreless after 20 minutes.
Entering the middle frame, Tampa Bay had to win the board battles and create havoc in front of Flyers goaltender Carter Hart. They accomplished that early on, with rookie defenseman Nick Perbix drawing a high sticking penalty from Travis Konecny.
From there, the Lightning power play went to work. After struggling on the road, head coach Jon Cooper moved Vladislav Namestnikov from the second unit to the top unit. It worked this game, as Namestnikov sent a perfect no-look pass over to Stamkos who fired the puck past Hart for a 1-0 lead.
Not long after, Corey Perry dropped the gloves with Justin Braun and chaos ensued. Perry and Braun received fighting majors, while Zack MacEwen got a minor for roughing. That gave the Bolts another chance with the man advantage.
Once again, they struck. Stamkos’ shot appeared to have been covered by Hart, but it had crossed the line before Hart gloved it. That made it 2-0 and things were looking up.
Unfortunately, that was short lived. Scott Laughton cut the Flyers deficit in half in the final 10 minutes, making it 2-1 Bolts after 40 minutes.
With a one goal lead entering the final period, all the Lightning needed to do was stay out of the penalty box and make good decisions with the puck.
They failed to do both. Stamkos’ hooking penalty less than 30 seconds in gave the Flyers a power play. This time, they converted, with James Van Riemsdyk tipping the puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy to tie things up.
Finally, Erik Cernak’s whiff on a clearing attempt allowed Cates to walk in untouched and beat Vasilevskiy with under eight minutes remaining in regulation.
Game Notes
- Steven Stamkos continued his hot streak with two goals. He now has six goals in four games played.
- Nick Perbix made his NHL debut on Tuesday night.
- Noah Cates game winning goal was his first in the NHL.
- The Lightning lost their home opener for a second straight season. They fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2021.
- Sitting at 1-3, the Lightning are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for last place in the Eastern Conference.
- The Bolts have struggled to close out games, giving up two goals each against the New York Rangers and Flyers. They gave up four to the Penguins, turning a close game into a blowout.
Next Up
Coming off a brutal loss, the Lightning have a couple of days to improve on their defensive awareness before traveling to Sunrise for a matchup with the Florida Panthers on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 7:30pm EST and it will be televised on ESPN+.