The Tampa Bay Lightning were certainly a tough test this season for the Flyers.
Aside from the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins, the Flyers toughest test will likely be the Tampa Bay Lightning. They were the only team the Flyers did not record a win against this season.
They did have one more game left against Tampa. The season had been paused on the day they were supposed to play the Lightning.
Both games against Tampa were rare losses for a team that was on a hot stretch since the beginning of January. And the first loss against the Lightning came at the hands of a fluke goal.
Andrei Vasilevskiy did play a huge role as he stopped all 23 shots sent his way. It was his second straight shutout and Tampa’s 10th win in a row.
The Flyers had won five games in a row on home ice at that point. Despite Tampa out-chancing Philly, it turned out to be a close game until the end.
Pat Maroon scored the only goal of the game. After the puck was dumped in, Matt Niskanen tried to swat it away. It hit Maroon and gave him an easy opportunity in tight on Carter Hart.
The Flyers had their chances on the power play, one late in the third period. But they could not beat the Lightning goaltender.
It would be a different story in their second meeting, but the same result.
While the Flyers did manage to beat Vasilevskiy multiple times, they could not escape their deficits. Tampa had a 3-0 and 4-1 lead throughout a large portion of the game.
The Flyers did try to force a late comeback. James van Riemsdyk and Claude Giroux grabbing goals midway through the third. But Nikita Kucherov spoiled their attempt as he grabbed the empty netter in the final minute.
It was once again another game where the Flyers tried to turn on the pressure after it was too late. For the second time, Tampa earned their 10th win in a row. Vasilevskiy’s personal point streak moved to 21 games.
That moved his record to 19-0-2 in the last 21 games. He has been a big reason for the Flyers struggles against Tampa. And for good reason. He is one of the top goaltenders in the league.
So he will be a tough test once again when the Flyers take on the Lightning during round robin. This games holds a little less weight as Philadelphia has already earned a spot in the playoffs.
But it will still have that type of atmosphere as the teams play for first round seeding. And especially since they haven’t beaten Tampa since 2017.
Tampa has been another top team in the Eastern Conference for the past few years. The Flyers won’t be the only one gunning for them in the postseason.