Tampa Bay Lightning’s Young Guns Lead the Way to a 4-2 Win Over the Philadelphia Flyers

Once again, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s “Young Guns” were crucial players in the Lightning’s 4-2 Broad Street Knockout of the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

March 18, 2013; Tampa FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat (74) is congratulated by center Tyler Johnson (63) and Tampa Bay Lightning center Dana Tyrell (42) after he scored a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Tampa Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Lightning went back and forth with the Flyers tonight in terms of Shots on Goal. While the race for Shots on Goal was ultimately won by the Flyers (30-27), the Lightning made the most of their opportunities and ultimately came up with the win.

As I have always said, “Quality over Quantity.”

On the faceoff front, the Lightning were able to edge the Flyers with 34-26.

The Lightning struck first tonight when LW Ondrej Palat fired one past Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov at 6:38 in the first period with assists from Dana Tyrell, who was recently recalled from the Syracuse Crunch, and Sami Salo.

A little over 6 minutes later, Flyers center Maxime Talbot would answer with a goal of his own against Lightning goaltender Anders Lindback. However, this tie up would not last long. A little over 3 minutes later, the Lightning would answer with a goal of their own with a Tip-In by Tom Pyatt from a shot by newly called up center Tyler Johnson and defenseman Victor Hedman.

The only goal in the second period would come from the Flyers captain Claude Giroux. This was his ninth goal of the season. This would tie the game at 2 goals apiece.

However, the third period would belong to the Tampa Bay Lightning. There were 2 more goals to be had by the Lightning in the third period. The first of which would come at 9:25 when Teddy Purcell would net his 6^th goal of the season off of a tip in from a shot by Keith Aulie and Steven Stamkos. This would ultimately be the Game Winning Goal.

But wait, there’s more. The next goal would be a milestone moment for Steven Stamkos. With an empty net for the Flyers, Stamkos would net his 200^th career goal. Stamkos reached this milestone at 23 years and 41 days old. The only players to reach this goal faster were The Great One Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Dale Hawerchuk respectively.

In case you missed it, here is Stamkos’ 200^th goal.

The Lightning went 0 for 4 on the Power Play tonight. In the first period, the Flyers would see only one penalty, and this was to defenseman Braydon Coburn for Holding. The second would see penalties to Scott Hartnell and Zac Rinaldo; Hartnell for Roughing, and Rinaldo served a bench minor for Too Many Men on the Ice. The only penalty to the Flyers in the 3^rd would come at the hands of Nicklas Grossmann for Holding.

On the flip side, the Lightning were 4 for 4 on the Penalty Kill. In the first period, the Lightning had to kill 2 penalties from Sami Salo; one for Delaying the Game, and the other for Hooking. In the second, the only Lightning penalty went to LW Ryan Malone for Interference. In the third, they had to kill a penalty to defenseman Radko Gudas for Tripping.

Playing it By the Numbers:

–       Winning Goaltender Anders Lindback blocked 28 of 30 Shots on Goal for a Save % of .933

–       Losing Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov blocked 23 of 26 Shots on Goal for a Save % of .885

–       Tyler Johnson has scored a total of 3 points in the 3 games he has played this season.

–       4 of the players recently called up from the Crunch earned points in tonight’s game.

–       Lightning defenseman Matt Carle led the team in Time on the Ice with 30:06.

Fan Reactions:

Notable Quotables:

"What I like the most is that they got a late goal in the third period off one of our turnovers, and instead of coming back in the third and feeling sorry for ourselves and looking back and being stuck in that moment, we were looking forward. That’s what we talked about between the second and third period and the guys did it. It’s easy to say, but with all the bad things that have been happening for a while where it didn’t turn our way it’s hard to do, and the guys have done that. I’m really proud of the guys.”"

– Coach Guy Boucher on the team’s ability to not lose focus and move forward.

"That’s pretty surreal. I just did an interview, and someone told me about that. It’s obviously pretty special to be in a group with those guys. I can’t thank my teammates and the coaching staff for the opportunity. I’m just trying to take advantage, and hopefully this big win for our team tonight creeps us back into the playoff race and we can gain some confidence from it.”"

– Steven Stamkos on scoring his 200^th goal tonight and joining the elite group of players who made it there before.

The Wrap Up:

The Tampa Bay Lightning came out tonight and played a solid 60 minutes of hockey. From start to finish, you could see that their minds were on the game, and that they were ready to win.

The young players that have been brought up from the Syracuse Crunch this season continue to impress. As I said earlier, 4 of those players score points in tonight’s Broad Street Beatdown. Tyler Johnson is shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with. He has only played 3 game in the NHL and he already has 3 points to his name.

During the game, both Victor Hedman and Ryan Malone were sent down the tunnel to the Lightning locker room for various injuries. The injury to Malone came off of a vicious, and dare I say illegal hit from Zac Rinaldo. Initially, it looked like a legit hit, but after watching it a few times, it seems like Malone has hit on the back of the neck and sent flying. Time will tell if anything will come from this, namely what we like to call a Shanaban.

With the Carolina Hurricanes losing to the New York Rangers tonight, they are currently tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the lead in the Southeast Division. The Lightning are currently 5 points out from the Canes and Jets. However, with the Lightning’s win tonight over the Flyers, they are sitting in the 11^th spot in the Conference, and only 5 points out of that coveted 8^th place position needed to make the post season this year.

If the Lightning can maintain their focus, and can continue to play like they have in the last 2 games, I see the post season as a very viable option for the Lightning’s future. With the pressure of Stamkos’ 200^th career goal no longer looming over his head, and the fire of the Lightning’s young guns, I see very bright things for the Lightning in the near future.

Next up, the Lightning will travel to Canada for a showdown with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. With the Maple Leafs sitting in the 6^th slot in the Eastern Conference, this is an important game for the Bolts. They will need to acquire as many points as possible if they hope to stay on course.

But like I said, with the fire of the Lightning Young Guns blazing, and the striking power of Steven Stamkos, I truly believe where there is a will, there is always a way.

What do you think of tonight’s Broad Street Beatdown? How many goals do you think Stamkos can reasonably score this season? Is he on track to win the “Rocket” Richard Trophy yet again this year? Let us know what you think in the comments below. We may even use one of your comments in our next Bolts by the Bay article.

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