PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 05: Cory Conacher #89 of the Tampa Bay Lightning comes to the aid of teammate Vincent LeCavalier #4 by checking Zac Rinaldo #36 of the Philadelphia Flyers on February 5, 2013 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)

This meeting between rivals the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Philadelphia Flyers was much more animated than the first one of the season. During the pregame, many hockey pundits described this match up as a playoff game. That quality was definitely justified. The game was tight checking, physical, and downright dirty at times. This game featured everything a hockey fan could ask for.

The intensity was felt right from the opening faceoff. The Flyers were able to gain some momentum in the offensive zone but were repeatedly denied by great shot blocking and a fascinating performance from Anders Lindback. The Lightning survived the early flurry and responded with their own. As the physical play escalated, tempers rose with it. Flyer’s center Zac Rinaldo and Lightning forward B.J. Crombeen dropped the gloves. Rinaldo had already won the fight after landing a big punch on Crombeen, but he continued to throw punches, landing two before Crombeen was finally flat on his back. This article will not debate whether or not Rinaldo crossed the line, that can be left for the comments section. Simply stated though, Rinaldo landed punches after Crombeen was down and defenseless, which seemed to upset fans on Twitter and the players themselves. However, not much else was actually said or shown after that fight. The period ended with no goals and three minors, none of which were malicious.

The second period started with a Lightning power play. The Lightning did not score on the power play. Moments later, Steven Stamkos was momentarily left wide open in the slot amongst a maze of players. The puck ended up on his stick and he fired it off the crossbar. We all know how hockey works, so many of us were not surprised when the Flyers were able to come back and score on the very next chance. However, most fans were surprised to see Tom Sestito slipping the puck past Lindback for the goal. This was his first goal since December 23, 2010, coming 4:25 into the second period. The remaining 15 minutes of the period was filled with checking and defense. There were no penalties handed out, and anxiety was building on the Lightning team as scoring chances were missed or stopped by a hot Ilya Bryzgolov. The middle frame ended with the Flyers hanging on to a 1-0 lead.

The Lightning made a great push as the third period began. We have seen the Lightning put together some great third periods in each of the 8 games the team has played so far, so this was no surprise. However, it seemed as though the Flyers could do no wrong defensively. Whenever the defense broke down, Bryzgolov was there to sweep up the mess. Finally, the Lightning were able to tie the game at 1. As the puck became stuck down low amongst five players against the boards, forward Benoit Pouliot was left all alone in front of Bryzgolov and beat him high on the stick side for the goal. The tie was short lived however, as Sestito struck yet again about 1:40 after Pouliot’s tally. Sestito finished off a 3 on 2 rush with virtually the same move he used to scored his first goal. Just five seconds after the puck was dropped to resume play, Maxime Talbot and Vincent Lecavalier had some words for each other. The two bumped chests and then dropped the gloves. Most say this one was a draw between the two players, with a victory to Lecavalier only through his cheap shot at the end of the fight. Regardless of the actual terms of the fight (again, I will only discuss in comments if approached) most Lightning fans were once again made at least a little nervous to watch Lecavalier throw his hands, which are usually used for scoring, at another player’s face. As valiant as it may have been, Lecavalier’s offensive skill would have been much more useful than his fight as the game winded down. The Lightning would go on to lose the game by a score of 2-1 in the most intense game of the season thus far.

Want to speak on the fights? Use the comments or tweet me @Gabriel0430.

HockeyFights.com

PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 05: Zac Rinaldo #36 of the Philadelphia Flyers and B.J. Crombeen #19 of the Tampa Bay Lightning fight in the first period on February 5, 2013 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Crombeen vs. Rinaldo

Lecavalier vs. Talbot

Note: Crombeen was taken out of the game for precautionary reasons.

Injuries has absolutely nothing to do with what happened tonight… We’ve said that every single game that we’ve played that time is short here and obviously we’re not taking good advantage of it. – Panthers Head Coach Kevin Dineen

TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 29: Tomas Kopecky #82 of the Florida Panthers reacts as members of the Tampa Bay Lightning, including Benoit Pouliot #67 and Tom Pyatt #11 celebrate a goal at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on January 29, 2013 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)

So the Panthers came into Tampa Bay yesterday riding a four game losing streak. Their last loss to the Philadelphia Flyers should have been more than enough motivation to come out with an impressive performance against in-state rivals. However, the Lightning came out and extended their own winning streak to four games, doing it in rather simple fashion. Stamkos began the scoring on the power play. After a series of heavy hits given to the Panthers by the Lightning, Panthers defenseman Ed Jovanovski was tripped by Lightning forward B.J. Crombeen. Crombeen had Jovanovski lined up for  an open ice hit, but Jovanovski made an attempt to avoid the hit. As a result, he tripped over Crombeen’s knee, but defenseman Keaton Ellerby took no exception to it. Ellerby went after Crombeen, instigating the fight (for which he was penalized for. Also notable, Ellerby has a visor on his helmet.) and throwing a few punches before Crombeen had a real chance to defend himself.

From there, the Lightning were able to take advantage of momentum. Ellerby took a heavy amount of penalty minutes, including 2 minutes for instigating, 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct, and a 10 minute misconduct penalty, all added onto to the default 5 minute major for fighting. Crombeen only took the original tripping penalty, plus his 5 minutes for fighting. The Lightning went to work on the powerplay, and Steven Stamkos scored on a second chance rebound, after being stopped by Jose Theodore in close. Although the Panthers were able to come back and score a confusion-induced goal on Anders Lindback after he mishandled the puck, the Lightning were able to retaliate rather quickly to ensure the momentum did not go the way of the Panthers. 1:25 after the Panthers’ goal, Cory Conacher scored after being sent into the zone just ahead of the Panthers’ defense by a hard pass from Victor Hedman at the defensive blueline. Conacher was taken down illegally from behind by Mike Weaver but Conacher was still able to slide the puck into the net for a 2-1 lead.

TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 29: B.J. Crombeen #19 of the Tampa Bay Lightning fights Keaton Ellerby #4 of the Florida Panthers at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on January 29, 2013 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Lightning tallied a goal again in the second period, when Dana Tyrell flipped the puck towards Tom Pyatt who was crashing the net. The puck went off of Pyatt’s glove and into the net. The play was quickly reviewed and the goal stood as a good one. A little over midway through the period, Conacher made a move in the offensive zone to beat a Panthers defenseman, but was called for what many described as a questionable holding penalty. It seemed as neither Conacher nor Theodore saw it as a penalty. Conacher picked up the puck and beat a fully attentive Theodore. Fortunately for Theodore, the goal was waved off because of a holding call to Conacher. The Lightning went on to kill the penalty, and scored a goal (this one allowed) when Pyatt found Tyrell camped in front of Theodore from behind the net. Tyrell fired it up over Theodore from in close for his first goal of the season, and also his first goal since the 2011 season. Tyrell was sidelined last season for knee surgery. The Lightning would end the period leading 4-1, marking the first time the Lightning outscored their opponent in the second period this season (2-0 last night).

The third period was rather quiet. Vincent Lecavalier scored after a nice passing sequence from Conacher and Benoit Pouliot that ended on Vinny’s stick. The Lightning gave up a shorthanded goal not too long afterwards, which may have been the only negative on the night for the team. The Lightning now have 10 points, 3 more than the Winnipeg Jets (2nd in the Southeast division). The Lightning are 2nd in the Eastern Conference, only one point behind the 1st place Boston Bruins.

Follow me on Twitter: @Gabriel0430