Lightning does strike twice as Flyers drop rematch

PHILADELPHIA – New game, same result.
After Saturday night’s 7-2 blowout loss to Tampa on home ice, the Flyers vowed they would do better in Monday night’s rematch.
It didn’t happen.
The Lightning raced to a 3-0 lead, then cruised to a 5-1 victory over Philadelphia in the second half of a rare back-to-back home set, marking just the second time this season the Flyers have lost two straight games in regulation time.
Both Washington and Pittsburgh were idle, so the Flyers hung onto their slender edge for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Flyers were sort of treating this as a learning experience to see where they stood up against one of the league’s top teams.
So what did they learn?
Well, judging by the comments of several players and their coach, there’s still a considerable amount of work to be done.
“I think these are those games where you look at what you can do better,” Nick Seeler said. “I guarantee we’re going to have a good meeting here. It’s what I’ve been saying, it’s consistency, it’s game management. It’s the little things really good teams do consistently that allows them to be successful.”
Case in point: The Flyers gave the puck away 19 times in this game. Tampa Bay? Just nine.
“We’re a young group,” Seeler said. “We’re getting a lot better. This one’s in the rearview. We just need to have a great game in Buffalo (on Wednesday). Get two points and get back on track here.”
Sean Couturier also was blunt in his assessment of the two games. The Flyers’ penalty kill wasn’t great, allowing two goals on three opportunities; the team took too many penalties (12 for 46 minutes) and the offense wasn’t there against Tampa’s second-string goaltender.
“Two tough games for us,” Couturier admitted. “Two good challenges. Obviously we have a lot of work to do to get to that level. They’re a pretty experienced team that plays the right way and sticks to their game plan. Something we can learn. I believe in this group that we can get there. Just have to put in that work and get to that level.”
Several of those dozen penalties could fall into the classification of “lazy.” That’s not something you want to do against a high-flying outfit like Tampa. Killing so many penalties can be exhausting.
“Special teams need to be better,” Couturier said.
Next up are a couple road games against the Sabres and Pittsburgh. Can the Flyers get things back on track?
“I think so,” Couturier said. “All year we’ve done it. I still believe if we had played better, we could have made it a tighter match.”
Coach Rick Tocchet is not one to dwell on losses, as long as the effort is there. He’s aware Tampa’s talent level is above that of the Flyers.
“It’s a good hockey team over there, a good measuring stick,” Tocchet said. “You can’t be frustrated, you just got to keep working. Let’s face it, their best players are very good. There’s a level that we have to find some of our guys to get, too. That’s what we’re going to try to get to every day.”
As for special team breakdowns, Tocchet got right to the point.
“On our power play (scoreless in three attempts), it’s nerves,” Tocchet said. “We just got to relax. That’s my job. Get these guys to relax just a little bit.”
Tocchet is calling on his top players to play a more responsible game when they head out for a two-game trip starting Wednesday in Buffalo.
“We’re going to have to play a smarter game,” Tocchet said. “We have too many guys giving up too many turnovers. Especially our high-end guys. If you’re going to turn pucks over, you have to score. We’re giving up turnovers but we’re not scoring. If you’re going to play risky, you better score.”
A pair of goals in the second period got the Lightning off to that three-goal edge before the Flyers were able to respond.
Jake Guentzel’s 20th goal of the season just 33 seconds into the middle session made it 2-0. Then, after Rodrigo Abols took a foolish penalty behind the Tampa net, the Lightning scored again. Brayden Point put a shot behind goalie Dan Vladar on the power play, then headed off to the locker room after he appeared to be injured.
The Flyers finally scored on an unassisted goal by Christian Dvorak but the Lightning cashed in on a power play with 29 seconds left in the period on a Brandon Hagel goal.
Like the game on Saturday night, the Flyers surrendered a goal before the fans could get settled in their seats.
But unlike that game, the Flyers tightened things up defensively for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes.
A scramble in front of the net led to the Lightning’s opening marker. Pontus Holmberg wound up with the puck just below the left hash marks and connected just 1:10 after the opening whistle.
Philadelphia didn’t have to contend with Tampa’s top goaltender, Andrei Vasilevskiy, but No. 2 netminder Jonas Johansson was equally tough in this match.

>Michkov slump continues

Matvei Michkov’s offensive slump continues. He has scored only one goal since Nov. 29 and is now a team-worse minus-6.
What’s the problem?
“I’d like to see him separate in the corners,” Tocchet said. “He’s easily checked. We have to keep working with him. He’s got to get a little bit more separation, skate away from people. It looks like he’s kind of stuck in mud sometimes.”

>Short shots

The injured Bobby Brink has been skating but still wasn’t ready to play in this game. Also, defenseman Jamie Drysdale finished up a week-long stint on injured reserve. He’s eligible to return from the week-long layoff on Wednesday.