5 Observations: Flyers Shock Tampa as Carter Hart, Noah Cates Shine

Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella is trying to establish a hard-working identity for his new hockey team.

Being tougher to play against on the road is part of the standard he is attempting to create.

So far, so good.

For the second straight game, the Flyers erased a 2-0 deficit and won. This victory on Tuesday night, however, was even more eye-opening.

For one, it was on the road.

For another, it was against perennial power Tampa Bay.

Flyers 3, Lightning 2.

City of winners, eh?

Rookie center Noah Cates stole the puck and scored on a turnaround shot from the high slot with 7:16 left, snapping a 2-2 tie and capping the stirring comeback at shocked Amalie Arena.

The hustling Cates stole the puck from two players during an amazing sequence that produced the game-winning goal.

The Flyers, who are tied with Carolina atop the Metropolitan Division, ended a 10-game losing streak to Tampa.

Stunningly, the Flyers are 3-0 for the first time since 2011-12. They had no wins last season when trailing by two goals. In three games his year, they have two such comeback victories.

It was the home opener for the Lightning (1-3), who blew a 2-0 lead.

Just 66 seconds into the third period, James van Riemsdyk scored on a power-play deflection to knot the score at 2-all. The Flyers’ power play, which was last in the NHL last season, has a goal in each of the first three games.

Here are five quick observations:

THE FLOOD CATES ARE OPEN.#PHIvsTBL | #FueledByPhilly pic.twitter.com/SKMhOpKISS

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 19, 2022

1. The Flyers are playing with grit, responding to demanding coach John Tortorella.

They fell behind for the third straight game, but a fight by Nick Deslauriers (see below) steadied them and put the wheels in motion.

They were badly outshot (39-24), but Carter Hart was brilliant and the Flyers were oh-so-opportunistic. Scott Laughton (seven hits), who started the comeback with a second-period goal, and Zack MacEwen (five hits) played major roles.

“This group should close the game out, and we didn’t,” Tampa coach Jon Cooper told reporters.

2. Carter Hart brought his “A” game.

The 24-year-old goalie made several difficult saves early. Less than two minutes into the game, Brayden Point got around rookie defenseman Egor Zamula and went in alone, but Hart stopped him from close range. Point had a great chance from the slot later in the period that Hart denied.

Hart took a 2-0 record, a 2.00 GAA, and a .940 save percentage into the game. But Tampa has a much more explosive offense than the first two opponents, New Jersey and Vancouver.

Without Hart’s superb play, the Flyers would have faced a 4-1 deficit heading into the third. Instead, it was just 2-1 and they had a chance.

Hart stopped 24 of 26 in the first 40 minutes. All told, he stopped 37 of 39.

Oh, and he outplayed all-world goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

“Those defensemen are crazier than me, blocking shots with less gear,” Hart said, referring to Tony DeAngelo’s block late in the game.

Hart notched his first career win over Tampa; he is now 1-5-1 vs. the Bolts.

.@NHLFlyers’ No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft. https://t.co/xSHrzmWPLz

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) October 19, 2022

3. Steven Stamkos is still lethal after all these years.

The Lightning have a slew of big-time offensive weapons. No one is more dangerous than Stamkos.

Stamkos, who is in his 15th season, was front and center Tuesday. He scored on a pair of one-timers on second-period power-play shots from the left circle. The goals were 2:47 apart, and snapped a scoreless tie.

In four games this season, Stamkos, 32, has six goals.

The Flyers were getting dominated in the second period before Vasilevskiy allowed a fat rebound that Laughton deposited. That sliced the deficit to 2-1 with 9:17 left in the stanza. A little over a minute later, Vasilevskiy robbed Hayes from point-blank range.

But Hayes would set up van Riemsdyk’s power-play goal early in the third.

4. The Flyers were in a passive, defensive shell to start the game.

Unlike in their first two games at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers were on their heels at the start. That was a familiar sight last season, when they were just 11-25-5 on the road. No NHL team had fewer road victories.

In the first eight minutes, Tampa had a 7-1 shots domination, and only Hart’s strong goaltending kept the game scoreless.

“We were so tentative early on,” Tortorella said in an in-game interview on ESPN. “We were just watching them play.”

5. Nick Deslauriers injected some life into the Flyers.

Deslauriers and Tampa’s Pat Maroon, a former Flyers farmhand, got into a bout with about 11 minutes left in the first period. The Flyers’ left winger got in more punches. More importantly, he seemed to wake up the Flyers, who held Tampa without a shot for almost the next nine minutes.

“Nick has done that the first couple games and sparked us,” Tortorella said. “That was a big play for us.”

And a bigger victory.

Breakaways

Zamula’s assist on Laughton’s goal was his first NHL point. Zamula and defensive partner Nick Seeler were each plus-2. … Veterans Justin Braun and Corey Perry got into a second-period bout. … Noah Cates drew a hooking penalty on Stamkos to set up JVR’s power-play goal. … Travis Sanheim had three hits and three blocked shots. … Joel Farabee fired a team-high four shots and had three hits … MacEwen, recalled from the Phantoms on Tuesday, played in his first NHL game this season. He started the game on the fourth line and moved to the third line in the second, switching with Tanner Laczynski. … The Flyers play the Panthers in Florida on Wednesday