Off to a slow start, the Tampa Bay Lightning will seek to get back on track Tuesday night, when they host the Philadelphia Flyers — a team they have beaten regularly over the past four years.
With just one win in their first three games, all on the road, the Lightning should be thrilled for the home opener in Tampa, where they went 27-8-6 last season in finishing third in the Atlantic Division.
The visiting Flyers might be just the antidote to the woes the Lightning are feeling.
Tampa Bay has knocked off Philadelphia in 10 of the past 11 meetings. The only setback in that string occurred on Aug. 8, 2020, during the COVID-impacted season in a round-robin game that was played to determine seeding.
In the second half of a back-to-back set Saturday, the Lightning couldn’t keep up with Pittsburgh in a 6-2 loss. The Penguins broke open a tight 2-1 game with three successive goals against backup goalie Brian Elliott in the first 13:31 of the final period.
Lightning center Brayden Point said puck management was an issue.
“We started turning the puck over way too much,” Point said. “A team like that with a lot of speed coming at you with all that skill is tough to defend.”
Steven Stamkos scored for the fourth time, giving him markers in all three matches. He also posted his 492nd career assist to move past Vincent Lecavalier for second all-time in franchise history.
Few pundits had high expectations for Philadelphia entering its first year under new coach John Tortorella, but the club has been good right out of the gate over two games.
In a pair of home contests, the Flyers opened the new campaign with a 5-2 win over Metro Division rival New Jersey on Thursday. Two days later, they dealt the Pacific Division’s Vancouver Canucks and coach Bruce Boudreau a 3-2 defeat.
The Flyers gave up two first-period tallies to Vancouver, but they rallied behind the play of Travis Konecny. The speedy forward scored the game-winning goal with 6:07 left to keep his club perfect in the young season.
Tortorella has been observant of the play of Konecny and has used the London, Ontario, native in a variety of situations.
“I just like his energy,” Tortorella said after beating Vancouver. “We kind of switched up the (penalty kill) pairs, trying to get him more time there. He had a really good camp. He’s one of those players that you’re looking to put in all situations because he just has so much try in his game. You can’t help but look at that.”
The Flyers were also triumphant despite being hampered by injuries to key pieces.
Forward Cam Atkinson and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen were unavailable in the first two games, then forward Owen Tippett was injured early in the New Jersey contest. Forward Sean Couturier is on injured reserve and has no timetable for practice yet.
Philadelphia has had comeback wins in its first two games of the season for the first time since 1993-94. It allowed the first goal Thursday in the opener against the New Jersey Devils before rallying to win going away, 5-2.
–Field Level Media
