Tampa Bay Lightning Shutout Philadelphia Flyers 7-0
The new Lightning players gave the team an immediate boost on Saturday night.
© Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports - Tampa Bay Lightning Shutout Philadelphia Flyers 7-0It felt as though we were watching a different Lightning team on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. Fans finally saw a glimpse of the dominant team they know and love from just a few years back.
Victor Hedman took control quickly, putting the Lightning on the board less than two minutes into the first period.
“To have that quick start, that helped us, but at the same time, it’s not going to be like that every game, so we’ve just got to make sure that we believe in ourselves and believe in what we can do,” said Hedman. “We showed that we’re a good team.”
On a night when the 2004 Stanley Cup-winning Lightning team was honored, there was a boost of energy from the fans and a sense of nostalgia at Amalie Arena.
Flyers coach John Tortorella, who also coached the 2004 Lightning team that was being honored, only lasted a little over 10 minutes before receiving a bench minor and game misconduct.
Darren Raddysh had five assists, setting a franchise record for defensemen and making him the 33rd NHL defenseman since 1950 to record five assists in a single game.
After joining the team just 24 hours prior to puck drop, newly acquired forward, Anthony Duclair had the primary assist on the Lightning’s second goal and later scored his first goal in a Lightning sweater.
“Obviously, all of these games count and you want all these points so down the stretch, so just really excited to be here. Been thinking about this moment for a little bit now since I got traded, so I’m just happy with the way the night went,” said Duclair.
Matt Dumba, who said his flight landed in Tampa at 2pm on Saturday, immediately added strength to the Lightning blue line, logging 20:04 of ice time. His impact is much needed after the loss of Mikhail Sergachev.
“I had to get the body going, just kind of talk myself into that, but coming to a team like this, it’s so exciting,” said Dumba. I was pumped for the opportunity to play.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for his second shutout of the season and 34th overall. Nick Paul, Conor Sheary, Brayden Point, Anthony Duclair and Brandon Hagel all scored for the Lightning, who are 2-4-1 in their last seven home games.
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