Flyers rally to beat Lightning, 3-2, improve to 3-0 for first time since 2011-12

TAMPA, Fla. — The Flyers snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Tampa Bay Lightning with their dramatic 3-2 win Tuesday night and improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12. They also extended their three-game winning streak to start the season, all of which are comeback wins.

This season, the Flyers have trailed the New Jersey Devils by one and the Vancouver Canucks and Lightning by two. They came back in each of those games, a marked difference from the 2021-22 Flyers.

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Last season, there were no such wins. While they officially notched nine “comeback wins,” the fewest in the NHL, all of those came after they trailed by only one. In games when they fell behind by two or more goals, they simply were defeated.

Tuesday night, two Steven Stamkos power-play goals put the Flyers behind the eight ball against the Lightning in the second period. For the next six minutes, the Flyers failed to find an answer. But the tide changed when Scott Laughton scored on a rebound midway through the middle frame.

The Flyers still allowed the Lightning long spells of offensive zone time, but they also put together strong offensive shifts of their own. When the Lightning started the third period with a Stamkos penalty, the Flyers took advantage and tied the game when James van Riemsdyk tipped Kevin Hayes’ shot in. Noah Cates then broke the tie with just over seven minutes left, firing a turnaround wrister over the right shoulder of Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, after he had won the puck back with some great work on the forecheck.

“We weren’t at our best tonight, but we found a way, and that’s what you have to do on nights like that,” Laughton said.

Nine minutes and one second into the game, John Tortorella addressed his team with lots of waving arms and sharp gestures. Immediately out of the stoppage, Nicolas Deslauriers dropped the gloves with fellow fighting Lightning heavyweight Pat Maroon.

In the first two games, Deslauriers’ physicality has helped to energize the team to victory. Tuesday, he created a smaller spark that flickered but slowly grew. Helped by a power play, the Flyers cut an 8-2 shot deficit into a 10-6 deficit in the first. They played slightly faster and tighter and managed to escape the uneven first tied 0-0.

“We were too tentative,” Tortorella said. “Listen, we have to respect the opponent. That’s a really good hockey team. But I just think we showed them too much respect. ... After that, I thought after Nick’s fight, we got some good minutes, then played in spurts. But then we found a way.”

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The Flyers dropped the gloves again following a Lightning power-play goal and an offensive onslaught in the first. Justin Braun went to the box for fighting, and Zack MacEwen ended up in the box for roughing as well. Instead of sparking a comeback, the scrum quickly led to another Lightning power-play goal from Stamkos to make it 2-0. But the Flyers played a more even game from there and started to slowly claw their way back.

Amalie Arena rang with “Vassy” cheers as fans watched their decorated goalie Vasilevskiy. On the other end of the ice, Carter Hart went unlauded by the opposing crowd, but he made several show-stopping saves and carried his team to a win.

With his teammates consistently struggling to get out of the defensive zone, Hart saw much more action than his counterpart. He faced 15 more shots than Vasilevskiy faced, and many weren’t routine. Hart stopped breakaways, point-blank shots, and rebound attempts, making one final save with under two seconds to go to preserve the lead. Hart made 37 saves on 39 shots in all, while his teammates helped the cause by blocking 16 shots in front of him.

Training camp may be over, but tryouts aren’t. Veterans and young guys have to fight for their spots, even within a game. Tortorella proved that in the Flyers’ most sluggish start yet.

MacEwen, who was called up Monday to play on the fourth line, came out with “a little fire in his belly,” according to Cates, and moved up to the third line. He took two penalties but also contributed three shots on goal and seven hits. Tortorella said he wasn’t that surprised because MacEwen had been slowly improving over the course of camp. When the team sent him to the AHL, Tortorella fully expected to call him back up.

The bottom six weren’t the only ones subject to Tortorella’s tinkering. He moved Joel Farabee up to play with Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny on the top line while Scott Laughton moved to Morgan Frost and Wade Allison’s line. Laughton’s earlier goal had been set up by a pass from Frost to Egor Zamula, with Laughton burying the rebound from the Russian defenseman’s initial shot.

“We were flat and there was no rhyme or reason on what the lines [were],” Tortorella said. “I just threw it against the wall. And I came up with four lines.”

His shuffle helped, though, Laughton said. The fresh look helped them break through the sluggishness and gave them just enough jump to emerge with a win.

The Flyers head to Sunrise, Fla., to play the Florida Panthers in the second game of their back-to-back. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m.