Tampa Bay’s new faces supplied the push, and the Lightning skated away from Benchmark International Arena with a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
Key takeaways
- Ilya Mikheyev and Pontus Holmberg each finished with a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 13 shots as the Lightning improved to 2-1-0.
- Philadelphia fell to 0-2-2, its first four-game losing start to a season since 2014.
- Dan Vladar faced heavy traffic and made 32 saves for the Flyers.
- Tyson Foerster accounted for Philadelphia’s only goal.
Lightning build control and finish late
The Lightning had responded well after a 5-1 opening-night loss to the New York Rangers, collecting their second straight victory behind balanced scoring and a 36-shot workload against Vladar.
Brayden Point opened the scoring at 16:05 of the first period. John Carlson put a puck toward the crease, and Point redirected it from beneath the hash marks for a 1-0 Tampa Bay lead.
Holmberg doubled the margin only 17 seconds into the middle frame. Breaking in through the right circle, he snapped a shot high on Vladar’s glove side to make it 2-0.
The Flyers finally got one past Vasilevskiy at 7:22 of the second. Foerster directed the puck toward the Lightning net, where it changed course off Charle-Edouard D’Astous’ stick and slipped behind the Tampa Bay goaltender.
Mikheyev’s first Lightning goal seals it
Philadelphia was within a goal entering the late stages of the third period, but Mikheyev gave Tampa Bay breathing room with 3:00 left in regulation. Holmberg fed him the puck, and Mikheyev carried it around the cage before finishing a wraparound for a 3-1 advantage.
The goal was Mikheyev’s first in a Lightning sweater. He joined Tampa Bay on July 1, signing a four-year contract worth $15.4 million, carrying a $3.85 million average annual value.
Brandon Hagel completed the scoring with an empty-netter at 19:53. Nikita Kucherov set up two goals in the win, while the Flyers’ early-season search for their first victory continues after another night spent defending for long stretches.
