The Philadelphia Flyers were back in action against the Tampa Bay Lightning, hoping to take the 2022-2023 season series. The Lightning defeated the Flyers, 5-2, and won the season series, 2-1-0.
Philadelphia Flyers at Tampa Bay Lightning
Morgan Frost zipped a shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy to begin the scoring. Erik Cernak turned the puck over, and Joel Farabee recovered before dishing a pass to Frost for the goal. It was the twelfth of the year for Frost, and his first in seven games.
On the powerplay, Alex Killorn tied the game for Tampa Bay. Farabee served the costly penalty. Nikita Kucherov found Killorn in front of the net, beating Carter Hart. The pass fooled Hart, and Travis Sanheim failed to track Killorn, who got behind him on the play.
Tampa Bay wasted no time in the second period, taking the lead :34 seconds into the period on the powerplay at the expense of Farabee, again. Kucherov fired a one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle, and Hart couldn’t keep up. Then, just before the halfway point of regulation, Ross Colton gave his team a two-goal lead. He charged the crease, ramming home a pass from behind the net from Tanner Jeannot. Hart tried holding his ground, but it got by. Killorn scored his second goal after Hart attempted to play the puck, but fell in the process; he couldn’t regroup in time to make a save.
Brendan Lemieux tried to bring life back to the Flyers. A goal originally credited to Cam York, Lemieux deflected the shot past Vasilevskiy for his first goal in his second game with Philadelphia.
In the final minutes of the third period, tempers flared. Tony DeAngelo received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for spearing Corey Perry. When things settled down, Tampa Bay went on a five-minute powerplay and capitalized. Kucherov scored his second goal of the game, capping a three-point night and a much needed victory for the Lightning, 5-2.
Farabee and Sanheim (-)
Neither played a shift in the second period. Both skaters combined for three penalties in the first period; a result of poor discipline from Farabee and weak defensive play from Sanheim. John Tortorella glued both players to the bench.
Each of the penalties by Farabee resulted in a powerplay goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning. About Sanheim, Tortorella had this to say about his decision to bench during the second and give another chance in the third:
“I don’t know where I go there. [I’m] trying to see if they will answer the proper way. I’m not sure where I go there.”
John Tortorella; 3/7/2023
Special Teams (-)
This game slipped away on special teams and in critical situations. The Philadelphia Flyers were 0/3 on the powerplay and 3/6 on the penalty kill. The Tampa Bay Lightning possess an elite powerplay unit. Playing with discipline had to be a focal point for the Flyers, but penalties sent them in a downward spiral:
“[We] can’t take six penalties; can’t take three in the first period. Most of them [were] in the offensive zone.”
John Tortorella; 3/7/2023
Up Next
Next up, the Philadelphia Flyers faceoff against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Thursday. The puck drops at 7pm.
(AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
