Anthony Duclair had a goal and an assist in his Tampa Bay debut, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots and the Lightning exploded with four first-period markers in jolting the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 on Saturday night.
Acquired from San Jose on Thursday, Duclair slotted at right wing on the second line with center Anthony Cirelli and left winger Steven Stamkos and had a power-play assist.
Vasilevskiy recorded his 22nd win of the season and 34th career shutout.
In the high-scoring first, Hedman (two goals, assist) and Conor Sheary scored at even strength. Nicholas Paul and Brayden Point (assist) registered power-play goals as the Lightning led 4-0 just 10:49 into the teams’ third meeting.
Darren Raddysh notched five assists — a franchise record for a defenseman — and Nikita Kucherov’s point streak reached eight games with two helpers as Tampa Bay won the season series 2-1-0.
With two assists, Stamkos became the first Lightning player with 300 career multi-point outings.
Matt Dumba had a fight and was plus-1 in his first Tampa Bay appearance.
The club’s NHL-best power-play unit went 3-for-4 against Philadelphia, which owned the No. 1 penalty kill.
Flyers goalie Felix Sandstrom made eight saves in relief of starter Samuel Ersson, who surrendered four goals on 15 shots and was removed after the final one.
After a pregame ceremony celebrating the franchise’s 2004 Stanley Cup championship, Tampa Bay turned the arena’s festive tone into a fast lead.
Hedman wristed home his first goal at 1:49 from the high slot. Then on their first power play, the Lightning won a scrum around Ersson five minutes later as Paul shoveled in his career-high 18th marker.
At 9:10, Sheary scored his third goal and Point potted his 33rd just 1:39 later on another power play for a 4-0 lead.
Following Point’s goal, angry Flyers coach John Tortorella — who was the 2003-04 Lightning’s head coach — was charged with a game misconduct and ejected from the match, though he shook his head no repeatedly and refused to leave for at least a minute.
Midway through the second, Dumba dropped the gloves and had a brief fight with Sean Couturier, but Duclair was the newcomer with the best moment, tapping in his 17th goal from Stamkos at 15:41.
In the third, Hedman’s second tally, his 12th overall, and Hagel’s 23rd on the power play completed the scoring.
–Field Level Media
