The win undeniably helped everyone quickly forget about the heartbreaking end to last season. R.J. Umberger made a nice move to find Scott Laughton, who left a little tip pass for Read, who beat Bishop through his 5-hole. Such a night is something the Lightning has come to expect from the 6-foot-7 Bishop, who has become the franchise’s backbone and most important player, especially when it comes to making another Stanley Cup run. It was an issue that plagued the Flyers last season, that they were rarely able to provide the support that the top line needed to succeed, the early signs are most definitely impressing.
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In a matchup against the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Flyers did not look overmatched through three periods of play.
Lightning center/team captain Steven Stamkos is officially entering his previous year under contract. That deed is still undone.
The Lightning seemingly have all the pieces in place to return to the Stanley Cup Final this season, but that’s easier said than done. “I have a full confidence that Steve will figure out the deal with Stammer”. “We’re not too anxious about what everyone on the outside is saying”. With defensemen Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn caught out of position, Palat did everything possible to slow the streaking Giroux. The Flyers played well and so did the Lightning. Read scored the Flyers’ first goal of the season and Brayden Schenn knocked in a Ben Bishop rebound behind the crease for the second score, both goals assisted by Umberger.
At 6:31 of the period, after Flyers’ defenseman, Nick Schultz, was forced to wrap up the hard-working Palat, the Lightning went to work on their second power-play.
“You have to have a good power play at the right time”, Filppula said.
Unfortunately, the Lightning power-play appeared rusty and somewhat disorganized and yielded 2 short-handed shots to Philadelphia. If a penalty carries over from regulation, the teams will play at 4-on-3. The teams combined for just three shots in the first 14 minutes of the period. Apply the same shootout rules as in previous years. At the time Ron Hextall had said, ” There’s obviously a lot of space and I think once there is one scoring chance at one end, typically if you don’t score it goes back the other way. The third line had a great game against one of the fastest teams in the league, that’s a positive for sure.
Jason Garrison was the overtime hero with his second goal of the game at the Amalie Arena on Thursday. Although his 82-point pace will not continue, his effort and zest on the ice reiterated to Flyers management and coaches that he belongs in the National Hockey League.
The action all started in the first period of the game.
The Lightning hope a few tweaks will result in a top-10 caliber unit this season.
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The Lightning (1-0-0) raised the banner for their Eastern Conference championship, then watched as goalie Ben Bishop escaped two penalty shots, one blocked in overtime just before Garrison’s game-winner. His $5 million annual salary has been reduced to a $950,000 cap hit this season, due to his waiver and subsequent demotion to the American Hockey League.
