Brayden Point scored the Lightning’s only goal in the shootout as they fell to the Flyers 4-3 Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center, their third straight loss.
Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov scored in the shootout, and Bobby Brink had two goals for Philadelphia, which earned its first two points on its current homestand after dropping the first five games in regulation. Ryan Poehling had the other goal for the Flyers.
Michkov and Point scored the only goals in the first three shootout rounds. Tippett then beat Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson with a shimmy, and Flyers goalie Sam Ersson stopped Oliver Bjorkstrand to cap the win.
Point said the Lightning didn’t have enough of a shooting mentality in the game.
“We didn’t have a lot of zone time, especially in the first two periods,” he said. “I think we had seven shots in each period, so that’s not what we wanted. We’ve got to be better than that.”
Gage Goncalves, Zemgus Girgensons and Cam Atkinson scored for the Lightning (37-23-5), who picked up a point for pushing the game past regulation.
“In the end, we left a lot of plays on the table,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “Ultimately, you do that when the game’s in the balance, that’s what happened. We lost the extra point.”
The Lightning took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Goncalves in the first period. After Tampa Bay entered the zone, Ryan McDonagh faked a shot and sent the puck to Yanni Gourde in the left faceoff circle. Gourde turned and sent it to Goncalves at the right post for the tap-in.
Brink tied the game at 1 later in the period after Olle Lycksell made a strong play to poke the puck away from Goncalves and then out-battled him to take control along the boards. Lycksell broke out with Poehling, and they had a give-and-go down the left wing before Lycksell made a saucer pass to Brink in the right circle. Brink took the puck off his skate and fired it shortside for his ninth goal of the season.
After Girgensons put the puck past Ersson 15 seconds into the second period, Brink tied it up again. Sean Couturier out-battled Nick Paul for the puck deep in the Flyers zone and skated up the ice before sending a cross-ice pass to Brink streaking down the right side. Brink got past the Lightning and beat Johansson on the backhand.
The Flyers scored again with 59 seconds left in the period. After getting the puck out of their end, Tippett pushed it along the left wing boards to a flying Brink, who chased it down into the corner. Brink turned and fed Lycksell, who found an open Poehling in front. The center buried the puck around the out-of-position Johansson.
“That should never happen, that goal,” Cooper said. “That’s one of them chasing the puck down and there’s three of us, and all of a sudden within five seconds it’s them all alone at our net. It’s inexcusable.”
Atkinson received a video tribute for the two seasons and 36 goals he scored for the Flyers, then turned those appreciative cheers into boos when he tied the game at 3 early in the third period. It was his first goal in 22 games.
“That was when we needed it, and no better player for it to come from than Cam, who played here and got a great ovation from the fans,” Cooper said. “So, great for him, but in the end it’s a bitter taste in our mouth here to come away with just one point.”
Atkinson was recalled Wednesday from AHL Syracuse, due partly to the uncertain status of right wing Nikita Kucherov.
Kucherov, who did not play the entire third period of Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina, was scratched Thursday due to illness.
“I think we have to be a little bit better at shooting when we have opportunities,” Atkinson said, echoing Point. “I think that’s kind of what kicked us a little bit.”
