|
 "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.
[to top of second column] |
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.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
