5 Takeaways: Torts Sends Message to 2 Flyers in Loss

The Philadelphia Flyers were trying to win back-to-back games Tuesday for the first time in nearly two months.

Tampa Bay had other ideas.

The Lightning snapped a five-game losing streak as they defeated the Flyers, 5-2, at Amalie Arena.

Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov each had two goals and three points for the Bolts (38-21-5), who scored three times on the power play.

“You can’t take six penalties,” coach John Tortorella said. “Can’t take three in the first period.”

On the power play, the Lightning were 3 for 6, while the Flyers were 0 for 3.

The Flyers (24-29-11) were coming off a workmanlike 3-1 win over Detroit, but they started a challenging three-game road trip on the wrong skate. Philly has lost nine of its last 11.

Here are five quick observations:

1. Coach John Tortorella sent a message to Travis Sanheim and Joel Farabee.

Sanheim had an awful first-period shift that finished when he tripped Steven Stamkos and went to the penalty box. Farabee, who is goal-less in his last 23 games, committed tripping and boarding penalties in the first. They both led to Tampa power-play goals.

Both players were benched for the entire second period, when Tampa took control.

Tortorella put them back in the game in the third period. After the game, he said he wanted to “see if they’d answer the proper way.”

Both played well in the final period.

2. How did the refs miss this penalty?

Tampa’s Brandon Hagel gave Farabee an open-ice shot to the head in the first period. No penalty was called.

In Farabee’s next shift, you could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears. The winger, incensed that a penalty wasn’t called earlier, promptly boarded Erik Cernak with 22 seconds left in the first.

The penalty carried into the second period, and Kucherov cashed in with the Bolts’ second power-play goal of the night. That made Tampa 2 for 3 on the power play in the game — and 5 for 9 against the Flyers this season

Staying Frosty in Florida. #PHIvsTBL | #FueledByPhilly pic.twitter.com/JtDlDut7Dq

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 8, 2023

3. Center Morgan Frost needed that early goal.

Tortorella has challenged Frost over the last five weeks, saying he is taking notes on who will be on the team in the future.

Frost had gone six straight without a goal and had one tally in the last 17 games before he struck early in the first period.

Taking a slick feed from Farabee, Frost (five shots) scored from the right circle as he beat Andre Vasilevskiy with a high shot to his blocker side.

Less than two minutes later, however, the Lightning struck while on a power play.  Killorn tapped in Kucherov’s perfect goal-mouth feed to make it 1-1 with12:22 left in the first.

York uncorks one. #PHIvsTBL | @camyork2 pic.twitter.com/wfYgpg3ouj

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 8, 2023

4. Cam York makes amends.

York got outmuscled in front of the net, and New Jersey native Ross Colton scored to give Tampa a 3-1 lead with 11:14 left in the second. The Lightning soon made it 4-1 after Hart fell down behind the net and scrambled back but wasn’t in position as Killorn (19th) scored his second of the night.

The Philadelphia Flyers got to within 4-2 as York’s point drive twas tipped by Brendan Lemieux past Vasilevskiy. (The goal was originally credited to York.) A short time later, York (three blocked shots) drew a penalty on Steven Stamkos.

5. Lemieux is making a favorable impression.

Lemieux, 26, has been one of the Flyers’ best players in his two games with the team.

Acquired with a fifth-round pick in the trade that sent Zack MacEwen to Los Angeles last week, Lemieux had five hits and was plus-3 in his Flyers debut, Sunday’s 3-1 Sunday win over Detroit.

On Tuesday, he ended a 37-game goal drought and had four hits.

Breakaways

Late in the game, Tony DeAngelo hit Tampa’s Corey Perry with his stick in a, uh, private area. DeAngelo got a five-minute major and a game misconduct for spearing. Kucherov scored on the ensuing power play. … Owen Tippett had an assist and continued to buzz around the net; he had 12 shot attempts, including nine on goal. … Vasilevskiy made 33 saves. “We had some good chances; we just can’t freakin’ score,” Tortorella said. … In the first period, Tampa had a 15-7 shots domination and won 84.6% of the faceoffs. … Philly has gone 21 straight games without consecutive wins. … Kucherov has points in 22 straight home games. … The Flyers went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the third straight game. … Tampa was without the injured Victor Hedman, one of the NHL’s best defensemen. … The Flyers play Thursday in Carolina (42-12-8).