3 Takeaways From the Flyers' Loss vs. Lightning

The Philadelphia Flyers had a night to forget in Tampa Bay, as they fell 7-0 to the Lightning on Saturday.

The Philadelphia Flyers had a night to forget in Tampa Bay, as they fell 7-0 to the Lightning on Saturday.

Ejections, fights, a football score in a hockey game...this game seemed to have everything except a Flyers goal, and does not inspire a ton of confidence as they prepare to return to Philadelphia for their next home stand.

NHL head coaches getting ejected from games is not a very common occurrence, but, if it was going to happen to anyone, it only seems right that it happened to John Tortorella. After having some choice words for one of the referees, Tortorella was told to leave, but the Flyers head coach refused to comply and continued to hurl profanities at the officials. 

To have the Flyers already be that frustrated and throwing all decorum to the wind just halfway through the first period shows how defeated they were early on in the game, and only spelled out trouble for the rest of the game.

The Flyers got themselves into plenty of scrums against Tampa Bay, but it's definitely not who fans would have predicted to drop the gloves. 

First, there was Nic Deslauriers—kind of a given at this point.

Then, more unexpectedly, there was captain Sean Couturier, who got into his first fight in six years.

And the scrap that nobody saw coming—Cam Atkinson dropped the gloves for the first time in his 12-season career.

Despite the fisticuffs, it seemed like nothing was working to light a fire under the Flyers to get any pucks in the back of the Lightning's net. Their performance still lacked any sort of energy, and the Lightning were sure to take advantage of it.

The Flyers' defense just can't seem to catch a break. Travis Sanheim suffered a knock that left him hobbling off the ice (but he still managed to log nearly 30 minutes of ice time), leaving the Flyers with just five defensemen for part of the night. 

Philadelphia's defensemen have been dropping like flies lately, and as evidenced by the performance tonight, they're feeling the effects of their significant absences. There are many key elements missing from the blue line, and the disappointment and frustration is leaking into all parts of the Flyers' lineup on the ice.

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