Andrei Vasilevskiy
Andrei Vasilevskiy posted a shutout for the second straight game and the Lightning showed a real commitment to defensive play and taking away virtually everything the Flyers could have brought to the table. There was simply no room to operate, no room to execute and when the Flyers were able to pump the puck deep, they could not win the races because the Lightning were perfectly placed.
Through 44 games, the Flyers had not been shut out all season, but Andrei Vasilevskiy handed the Flyers their first as the Lightning claimed their 10th straight win, 1-0, on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers next opponent was one of the bigger disappointments in the NHL a month ago, but since then, the Tampa Bay Lightning have risen to second place in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the league in points, due in large part to a current nine-game winning streak that they will bring to Philadelphia on Saturday night.
If Thanksgiving is the marker for being in a playoff position, the Flyers did more than just settle for being among the contenders at the holiday. They padded the margin and made a move further up the standings to cap off a historic month.
The Metropolitan Division, featuring Flyers captain Claude Giroux, came away victorious at the 2019 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose on Saturday night, defeating the Atlantic Division in the semi-finals and the Central Division in the championship game.
In almost a carbon copy of the first meeting between the two teams in November, the Flyers somehow managed a frantic rally to get the game tied after trailing by three goals and earn a point. But, yet again, they coughed up the chance at the second point almost immediately, as Alex Killorn scored 18 seconds into overtime to give the Lightning a 6-5 win on Thursday night.
The Flyers gave the Tampa Bay Lightning a run for their money in November, erasing a 5-1 lead in under seven minutes to force overtime, before ultimately suffering the defeat. Tampa has some help back in netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy and is also fresh off the break.
We’re at roughly the quarter-point of the NHL season, and the difference between contenders and pretenders is just as murky as it was before the year even started.
Erik Karlsson is finally traded, Tyler Seguin signs mega-deal and Steve Yzerman steps down as Lightning GM. More about these stories in Around the NHL.
Flyers eventually break through to beat Lightning Embed from Getty Images Game Events [Mouse-over image for goal details]
