Noah Cates notched the game-winning goal off a turnover as the visiting Philadelphia Flyers won their third straight game to open the season, rallying to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday.
With the game tied at 2 in the third period, Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak turned the puck over in front of his crease. Cates found the puck in the slot, spun quickly and whipped in his first goal at 12:44 for the game-winning marker.
The win broke the Flyers’ 10-game regular-season losing streak against the Lightning.
Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Philadelphia recorded its third consecutive comeback win behind goals from Scott Laughton and James van Riemsdyk. Goalie Carter Hart stopped 36 of 38 shots.
Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos, whose career-best to open a season was three straight games with a goal in 2010-11, netted a pair of one-timers on the power play in a span of 2:47 to set the second-longest season-opening streak in franchise history. Nikita Kucherov scored eight times over the first seven games of the 2017-18 campaign.
Kucherov had two assists, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed three goals on 24 shots.
Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix, 24, made his NHL debut by logging 13:35 of ice time with three shots and a minus-1 rating.
Following a suspension by his club last week, Ian Cole played in his first game. The league announced Saturday it had found “no evidence to substantiate the allegations” made against Cole on social media.
Though it was uneventful on the scoreboard in the first 20 minutes, Hart — who made 10 saves — was at the center of the frame’s oddest moment. The Alberta native broke a skate blade and had to use his leg awkwardly as a paddle to slide over to the visitors’ bench for repair.
On its first power play one minute into the next period, Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead 25 seconds in when Stamkos fired home a marker. He made it 2-0 by adding a second man-advantage goal — his sixth overall so far — after Philadelphia’s Zack MacEwen went off for roughing at 2:31.
Laughton — the only player coach John Tortorella lets wear a letter on his jersey — grabbed a long rebound off an Egor Zamula shot and ripped his second goal past Vasilevskiy midway through the period. Early in the third on the power play, Kevin Hayes’ shot was deflected in by van Riemsdyk to knot it at 2 just 66 seconds in.
–Field Level Media
