PHILADELPHIA – If you’re trying to find a real bright spot in a fairly dismal finish to the Flyers’ season, look no farther than Bobby Brink.
The third-year player registered the second two-goal game of his three-year career on Thursday night and added an assist on Ryan Poehling’s goal in the second period as the Flyers ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-3 shootout win over Tampa Bay at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers got goals from Matvei Michkov and Owen Tippett in the shootout.
Brink had a four-point (goal, three assists) game against Pittsburgh a couple weeks ago.
But for the season, he was stuck on just eight goals going into the game and pretty much everyone agrees he should have about twice that many.
Coach John Tortorella deserves some of the credit for Brink’s success in this game, even though his decision to switch Travis Konecny onto the Noah Cates-Tyson Foerster line in Brink’s usual spot was more about trying to get Konecny going. Brink ended up with Poehling and Olle Lycksell.
“Bobby’s been playing good period,” Tortorella said. “He just hasn’t finished, he hasn’t scored. Finds a way to score (tonight), makes a nice play on Poehls’ goal.”
The coach likes the way Brink has improved his overall game.
“He’s taken a huge step in development,” Tortorella said “The part for me is how hard he plays away from the puck. He’s a good match for Tyson and Cates. I need to get TK (Konecny) going. That’s why I switched that. But he (Brink) is such a good match with them (Cates, Foerster).
“And he works so hard away from the puck. That helps. You look at his eight goals coming into this game but he ends up with a ton of chances. Just hasn’t finished. He’s taken that huge step, how he carries himself.”
Brink doesn’t take anything for granted. Maybe that’s what makes him such a popular player on the roster.
He was honest when asked if the line change made a difference.
“No,” he said. “You’re not going to score every game – some games you’re going to get two. Kind of just stay even-keeled. Those two guys, Cates and Foerster, are great to play with. But ‘Lycky’ and Poehls played great today. Made life easy on me. Sometimes when the pucks are going in, you just look better out there.”
Added Poehling: “I just think we were connected. Bobby makes a ton of plays. But we were connected all night. In the neutral zone we were on top of them, creating turnovers. He (Brink) is way more consistent now. He does all the little things right, which is super-important. His offensive skills are some of the best I’ve seen.”
Ex-Flyer Cam Atkinson’s goal at 3:50 of the third period pulled the Lightning even at 3-3.
Brink, a 2019 first-round draft pick, scored his second goal at 10:55 of the second period to pull the Flyers even at 2-2. The former NCAA Division I scoring champion took a pass from Sean Couturier, rushed in and flipped a backhand shot past goaltender Jonas Johansson.
Then, with time running down in the period, Brink took control in the left corner and slid a pass to Lycksell. In turn, Lycksell spotted Poehling open at the far post. Poehling deked his way past Johansson with 58.9 seconds left on the clock.
The teams exchanged goals in a somewhat evenly played first period.
Tampa got on the board first via a power play. Gage Goncalves tipped in a Yanni Gourde entry at 8:29 while Poehling sat in the penalty box due to a delay of game infraction.
The Flyers got that one back on a nice tic-tac-toe play. Lycksell ignited the play with a pass to Poehling, who crossed the blue line and spotted Brink open in the right circle. Brink’s shot hit the mark past Johansson at 14:20.
Just 15 seconds into the second period, Tampa took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Zemgus Girgensons with a shot past Sam Ersson.
>Good win for Ersson
After a few rocky outings, Ersson looked more composed in this game, much to Tortorella’s relief.
“For a goalie to get a win against that team, it will help him,” the coach said.
Ersson’s goals-against average is hovering right around the 3.00 mark, which keeps him in respectable standing.
>Tortorella happy for Atkinson
After the game, Tortorella admitted he wasn’t happy when his old protégé, Atkinson, scored in the third. He actually coached Atkinson for eight seasons, including a six-year stint in Columbus.
“I wasn’t happy at the time but we win the game,” the coach said. “I’m happy he scored but he was on for two against. So I’m happy after the game. We have a little bit of history. Great to see him.”
>Short shots
The Flyers complete their seven-game homestand on Saturday when the Carolina Hurricanes drop by the Wells Fargo Center. After that game, the Flyers hit the road for a five-game road trip. . . Atkinson received a nice ovation from the WFC crowd when the Flyers posted a “Thank, you Cam” message on the center scoreboard during the first period. Atkinson played two seasons in Philadelphia (143 games) and registered 36 goals/78 points. For his career, he has 252 goals/488 points. . .The Lightning played without leading point getter (92) Nikita Kucherov, who was unable to go due to illness. . .Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen did not play due to an undisclosed injury.
