Garrison nets winner in OT as Lightning defeat Flyers

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[October 09, 2015]  TAMPA, Fla. -- Defenseman Jason Garrison not only gave the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers with his goal in overtime Thursday at Amalie Arena, but he also made NHL history with the first goal in the new 3-on-3 overtime format.

"It's hectic ... it's fun -- you got a taste of it. Kind of up and down, chance after chance," said Garrison, who also scored in regulation, giving him two goals after scoring just four in 70 games last season.

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.

"That's another new one for me -- a bunch of firsts tonight," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "I don't think I can remember a game where we stopped two penalty shots, one in overtime. We don't even get to talk about Garri unless Bish comes through the way he did."

The new overtime format -- which can lead to dueling breakaways with so few players on the ice -- drew mixed reviews. Cooper called it "lunacy" for its sheer chaos, and Bishop called it a "gong show," saying he prefers the shootout as a fairer way to determine a winner in a tied game.

The third period was a defensive stalemate that ended 2-2. The teams combined for just three shots in the first 14 minutes of the period. The Lightning finished with just three shots in the period -- one in the final 15 seconds -- and the Flyers had six.

"I thought everyone bought in tonight and everyone played the same way," said Flyers center Scott Laughton, whose penalty shot was stopped in overtime. "I thought it was a good effort tonight and we have to build on it."

Tampa Bay grabbed momentum at the end of the second period, tying the score 2-2 with a power-play goal with 1:38 left as right winger Ryan Callahan took a rebound on a long shot by defenseman Victor Hedman and poked it behind Flyers goalie Steve Mason.

Hedman and left winger Jonathan Drouin were credited with assists. It was Drouin's second of the game.

Philadelphia scored two goals in a span of 1:49 earlier in the second period, turning a 1-0 Lightning lead into a 2-1 Flyers advantage.

The go-ahead goal was scored on a power play by center Brayden Schenn, who poked a rebound past Bishop with 7:57 left. Philadelphia got the power play on a tripping penalty against Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman.

Tampa Bay outshot the Flyers 13-3 in the second period, but Philadelphia got goals on two of their three shots.

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The Flyers didn't have a shot on goal for the first 10 minutes of the second period, then scored on their first shot, tying the score 1-1 with 9:46 left as center Scott Laughton fed trailing right winger Matt Read for the goal, beating Bishop between his legs.

The Lightning had jumped ahead just 1:25 into the second period when Garrison fired a long shot past Mason. Callahan and Drouin were credited with assists on the goal.

The teams had played to a scoreless tie in the first period, with the Flyers outshooting the Lightning 13-10. Philadelphia had the best opportunity when a penalty shot was called for hooking on a breakaway, but right winger Claude Giroux missed the shot wide after beating Bishop.

Tampa Bay nearly scored again just a minute after their first goal. Left winger Ondrej Palat had a breakaway, but Mason made the save to keep the score 1-0.

Russian defenseman Evgeny Medvedev, 33, made his NHL debut for the Flyers

"The atmosphere has been great, but everything is pretty fast-paced," he said through a translator. "I still need to learn a lot and to be faster. I guess it's the adaptation period but everything is going to be great."

 



NOTES: Tampa Bay played without C Cedric Paquette, who took a puck off his left leg in preseason, and D Nikita Nesterov, who was a healthy scratch. ... Philadelphia had two former Lightning players as scratches, C Vincent Lecavalier and D Radko Gudas, as well as C Sam Gagner. ... The lone addition to the Lightning lineup from last season is F Erik Condra, who played in his 300th career NHL game.

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