TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Owen Tippett scored the tying goal in the final minutes of regulation and then scored the decisive shootout goal as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday night.
Travis Konecny also scored in the tiebreaker for the Flyers. Ivan Fedotov stopped 20 shots during overtime and then denied Gage Gonclaves and Victor Hedman in the shootout to earn his first NHL victory.
The win was just the fifth in 14 games for the Flyers, who entered the night tied with Nashville for the fewest points in the league.
Nikita Kucherov scored his 11th goal of the season for the Lightning, who have lost four in a row. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 30 saves and failed to become the 40th goaltender in NHL history to reach 300 career wins.
Vasilevskiy appeared to be on the verge of reaching the milestone when Tippett scored from the left circle with 4:16 remaining in regulation.
Takeaways
Flyers: Rookie Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch after playing the team’s first 13 games. Coach John Tortorella called the move “just part of the process” in the 19-year-old’s development. Michkov is second on the Flyers with 10 points (four goals, six assists), but has just one assist in his last five games.
Lightning: At home, after losing three of four games on a tough road trip, Vasilevskiy was excellent before the Flyers finally broke through.
Key moment
The Flyers were rewarded for their perseverance. Tippett’s goal in the third period came on a shot from the left circle that appeared to catch Vasilevskiy.
Key stat
The Flyers, struggling to score, defeated the Lightning 31-24.
Next
Flyers visit Florida on Saturday and Lightning host Winnipeg next Thursday.
