The Trentonian (Trenton, NJ)

After Flyers storm back, Lightning win in overtime

- By Anthony Sanfilippo

PHILADELPH­IA >> Anthony Cirelli saved the day for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After becoming the first team in NHL history to cough up a four-goal lead in the final 10 minutes of a game, Tampa Bay escaped with the win when Cirelli scored 1:47 into overtime to lift the Lightning to a 6-5 victory over the Philadelph­ia Flyers on Saturday.

Cirelli outmuscled Wayne Simmonds to gain position in front of the net and beat Calvin Pickard with a top-shelf wrist shot. It was his fourth goal of the season.

“He’s a pretty strong guy so he was battling pretty hard,” Cirelli said. “Luckily at that last second I kind of pulled it across my body and had a little bit of room to get a quick shot off and it went in.”

Tampa Bay opened a 5-1 lead 9:08 into the third on Brayden Point’s fifth goal in two games. But Philadelph­ia rallied behind two goals by Travis Konecny and Simmonds tied it with 3:32 left in regulation, beating Louis Domingue while lying on his back.

“It was a weird game,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “We were up 5-1 and I don’t think the game felt like we were up 5-1. It started getting physical there, it kind of gave the crowd a little bit of life. Then they started getting breaks that they probably deserved, so from a coach’s perspectiv­e, it’s probably one you’re not too happy with, but I’m sure the fans were pretty entertaine­d.”

The Lightning won for the sixth time in eight games. Adam Erne had a goal and two assists in his first career three-point game, and Point scored twice after he had a natural hat trick in Thursday’s 4-3 victory at Pittsburgh.

James van Riemsdyk had a goal and two assists for Philadelph­ia, which has dropped three in a row. Sean Couturier had a goal and an assist, and Pickard had 20 stops while subbing for the injured Brian Elliott.

Tampa Bay jumped in front with three goals in the second after a scoreless first period. Erne scored a power-play goal on a slick give-and-go play with Yanni Gourde at 6:02. Cedric Paquette and Point also scored to make it 3-1 heading into the third.

Van Riemsdyk got Philadelph­ia on the board on the power play. The Flyers finished with three power-play goals after they scored three times with the man advantage in their previous 15 games.

It was van Riemsdyk’s first goal since he signed with Philly in free agency, returning to the organizati­on that drafted him after spending six seasons in Toronto. He recently returned to the lineup after missing six weeks with a knee injury.

The Flyers’ rally began with power-play goals by Konecny and Couturier. Konecny scored again before Simmonds’ eighth of the season capped the four-goal outburst in 6:04.

Claude Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehe­re each had two assists for the Flyers. It was the ninth multipoint game for Giroux in Philadelph­ia’s first 20 games.

“I mean we got a point out of it,” Gostisbehe­re said. “I don’t know if we had any business getting a point tonight, but you know it shows the true grit of our team.”

NOTES >> The Lightning have scored seven times in their last 11 power-play opportunit­ies . ... Point has 14 goals and 24 points this season . ... Giroux picked up an assist on van Riemsdyk’s goal for his 700th career point. He is the 237th player in NHL history to reach the total . ... Van Riemsdyk played in his 200th career game as a Flyer. The first 196 came between 2009-2012.

UP NEXT

FLYERS >> Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night.

 ?? TOM MIHALEK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman, left, holds on to the stick of the Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds during the second period Saturday in Philadelph­ia. Hedman got a two-minute penalty on the play.
TOM MIHALEK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman, left, holds on to the stick of the Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds during the second period Saturday in Philadelph­ia. Hedman got a two-minute penalty on the play.

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