Owen Tippett scores game-tying and game-winning shootout goals to lift Flyers past Lightning
After replacing an injured Aleksei Kolosov in the lineup, Ivan Fedotov finished with 22 saves on 23 shots, earning his first NHL win in the process.
TAMPA, Fla. — No Matvei Michkov. No Aleksei Kolosov. No problem.
The Flyers skated away with a 2-1 shootout victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, snapping a two-game losing streak.
Owen Tippett tied things up with under five minutes to go in regulation to send the game into overtime. Streaking down the left side, he put a backhander over Andrei Vasilevskiy and under the bar, giving him goals in consecutive games for the first time this season. After Travis Konecny got the Flyers on the board in the shootout, Tippett sealed the deal.
Before the game, coach John Tortorella announced that Michkov was a healthy scratch. “It‘s part of the process,” he said. Kolosov was scheduled to start but sustained a lower-body injury during the team’s morning skate.
» READ MORE: Matvei Michkov will be a healthy scratch in Tampa. ‘It’s part of the process,’ says John Tortorella
So in went Ivan Fedotov, who last played on Oct. 23 and wasn’t even the backup for four straight games until Sam Ersson got hurt last Saturday. In his first three starts of the season, Fedotov struggled and allowed four or more goals each time.
The time off appears to have helped Fedotov get sharp and find his game. He made 22 saves on 23 shots and looked comfortable between the pipes. At 6-foot-7, he used his big body to slide across and make saves, including one on former Flyers forward Cam Atkinson and then sliding to his right to stop a Michael Eyssimont shot.
In the shootout, he stopped Gage Goncalves and Victor Hedman, who each tried to go five-hole, and earned his first career NHL win.
Nikita Kucherov made it 1-0 with 45 seconds left in the opening period. The reigning Art Ross Trophy winner, awarded to the NHL‘s points leader , carried the puck out of his end. He turned defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen around by the Flyers blue line, outraced him and Sean Couturier, and made Fedotov bite before scoring on a wraparound. Couturier got to the right post, but Kucherov jammed it through his stick.
Breakaways
Defenseman Erik Johnson was also a healthy scratch. … Konecny got an assist on Tippett’s equalizer. … Forward Anthony Richard made his Flyers debut in place of Michkov. He was recalled on Wednesday when Ryan Poehling was placed on injured reserve.
Up next
The Flyers head farther south in Florida for a matchup with the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday (6 p.m., NBCSP).