After dominating the Flyers on Saturday, the Lightning put on yet another offensive masterclass at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Monday night behind a goal and an assist a piece from Brandon Hagel, Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov. The Flyers lone tally came from Christian Dvorak. Let’s wrap:
More of the Same
Similarly to Saturday, the Lightning wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. Just 1:10 into the opening frame, Pontus Holmberg found a loose puck net front through a maze of sticks and skates. Homberg quickly shot the puck, surprising Dan Vladar who was down trying to track the disc. The Flyers would be chasing the rest of the game, having difficulty with net front coverages and finding ways to create offense at the other end of the rink.
“It’s a good hockey team over there,” Rick Tocchet said. “So, you know, it’s a measuring stick and you can’t get frustrated, you just got to keep working and you got to do the proper things. We got to hold on to pucks. Let’s face it, their best players are very good. There’s a level we got to find some of our guys to get to and that’s we’re going to try to get to everyday.”
The Lightning notched their 10th consecutive victory. Additionally, they did so without some key contributors in Ryan McDonagh, Victor Hedman and in this game, Brayden Point. Point tallied a powerplay goal for the bolts at the 4:29 mark in the second period, but fell awkwardly after getting tangled up with Cam York. He did not return to the game. Alas, the bolts got contributions from up and down their lineup in the regardless.
Bad Blood
Tempers flared in the third period when Rodrigo Abols nailed Declan Carlile with a hit from behind. Nick Paul then jumped Abols in aid of his teammate as a big scuffle ensued. Simultaneously, Nikita Grenbenkin and Maxwell Crozier also decided to drop the gloves in a spirited scrap.
“I mean, it’s frustration,” Tocchet said. “You’re going to get that. We don’t want to take stupid penalties and stuff like that. I like them digging in and helping each other out, but you don’t want to be in the box all night.”
Both teams combined for 21 penalties for a total of 78 minutes. The Lightning went 2-for-4 on the man advantage, while the Flyers powerplay remained cold, going 0-for-2.
They Said It
Tocchet on needing more from his high end players: “Too many turnovers. If your going to turn them over, if you have a chance, you got to score, if you want to play that type of hockey. You got to be one or the other. I’m a big believer in that. If you’re going to play risky, you better score and our guys aren’t scoring. So, they got to tighten it up.”
Sean Couturier on the upcoming back to back: “All year we’ve done it. We’ll keep putting the work in and respond next game.”
Nick Seeler on how the Flyers can turn in a better effort: “It’s consistency, game management. It’s getting pucks and stop going east/west and put some pressure on the defense. I think we didn’t sustain too much on the o-zone. Obviously, our penalty kill needs to come up big. So, it’s just the little things.”
Christian Dvorak on getting Travis Konecny after missing one game: “It’s a big emotional boost to have a guy like him. He brings it every night, competes hard. It’s good to have him out there and he makes a difference every game for us.”
Did You Know?
According to NHL stats, Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel became the seventh active American player to record nine career 20-goal seasons, joining Patrick Kane (17), Auston Matthews (10), Brock Nelson (10), Chris Kreider (10), Kyle Connor (9) and Anders Lee (9).
On Deck
The Flyers head out onto the road for a brief road swing beginning in Buffalo on Wednesday night. Puckdrop is set for 7:30 and will be broad cast Nationally on TNT.
