PHILADELPHIA \u2013 The Philadelphia Flyers (22-13-8) had no answer for Nikita Kucherov and his four-point game as the Tampa Bay Lightning (27-23-3) piled on for a four-goal third period on Saturday night, beating the Flyers 7-2 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. <\/p>\n
Garnet Hathaway and Owen Tippett scored for the Flyers. Nikita Kucherov, Nick Paul, Gage Goncalves, Brandon Hagel, and Yanni Gourde scored for the Lightning. <\/p>\n
The Flyers gave Tampa Bay a good fight for the first two periods, but the Lightning just buried Philadelphia in the third period. Philly was without two of its better goal-scorers; against a team as hot as the Lightning, you need everything you have. The Flyers could not finish strong. <\/p>\n
Here is how we got to the final score <\/p>\n
Read More: Flyers Game 43: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Lightning<\/a><\/p>\n Flyers play tough, Lightning still build a two-goal lead<\/p>\n Well, it did not take long for the Lightning to do what they do best: score goals. Brayden Point beat Denver Barkey in a puck battle along the boards while the Flyers were trying to clear the zone. Point (17) found Nikita Kucherov (21) on the doorstep, who ripped a one-timer past Sam Ersson. <\/p>\n It took 1:49 into the game for Tampa Bay to take the 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n However, it did not take long for an unlikely goal-scorer to even the score. <\/p>\n Garnet Hathaway (1) got his first of the season, redirecting a Noah Juulsen (5) slap shot to tie the game at 1 just under 2:30 after the Kucherov goal. <\/p>\n However, the Lightning\u2019s superstar responded with his second goal of the game just 1:50 later. Kucherov (22) scored from the lower half of the left-side dot. Again, his goal was assisted by Point (18) and Charles-Edouard D\u2019Astous (12), regaining the lead for the Lightning 2-1. <\/p>\n The first power play of the game belonged to the Flyers after Brandon Hagel got called for interference. A new unit consisting of Cam York, Christian Dvorak, Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, and Owen Tippett was deployed. It was the best the team\u2019s power play looked all season. <\/p>\n However, even after a daunting minute-plus in the offensive zone, Philadelphia could not score, keeping the game 2-1 in the Lightning\u2019s favor as the first period expired. <\/p>\n In the second period, the Flyers hung well. It was a physical game in Philadelphia, both sides engaging in some extracurriculars, and each team trading possessions. <\/p>\n For as lopsided as the matchup felt heading into the game, the Flyers held their ground in a tough middle frame. <\/p>\n However, they could not keep the second period clean, as Nick Paul (5) cleaned up a loose puck in front, giving Tampa Bay the 3-1 lead going into the third period. <\/p>\n