Steven Stamkos registers his 1,000th career point as Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Flyers, 4-1

Going up against the high-scoring Tampa Bay Lightning, who rank seventh in the league in goals per game (3.45), the Flyers needed goalie Carter Hart to bring his best Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center to keep their low-scoring offense in the game (2.43 goals for, 32nd).

Hart, save for a late, leaky goal, showed up. The majority of the team, however, vanished when it mattered most.

While Hart made 23 saves, the Lightning handed the Flyers a 4-1 defeat thanks to two goals from center Nick Paul, one from center Ross Colton, and one from defenseman Ian Cole scored consecutively. In his first game back from a right hand injury, winger Travis Konecny scored the Flyers’ lone goal in the third period.

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The Flyers hung in there with the 2019-20 and 2020-21 Stanley Cup champions in the first period, creating eight scoring chances to the Lightning’s 15, according to Natural Stat Trick. However, the Flyers cratered in the second period and were outshot, 17-2, and outscored, 2-0. They found themselves pinned in their zone at one point, in which defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen had a four-minute shift.

“After they had that one shift, I’m not sure how long it was, we couldn’t gather ourselves,” coach John Tortorella said. “We didn’t have someone or a group to turn it around with a shift of our own. We just never got our feet underneath us after that one shift. It’s momentum swings, and it’s a great lesson for us.”

Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy looked sharp and denied 21 of the Flyers’ shots on goal. The Flyers worked hard, but hard work couldn’t overcome the skill from the likes of Lightning winger Corey Perry, center Brayden Point, and captain Steven Stamkos, who registered his 1,000th career point on a secondary assist on Paul’s second goal.

The Lightning’s fourth-ranked power play (28.57%) made the Flyers pay for their first infraction when defenseman Travis Sanheim was called for tripping against Point late in the first period. While the Flyers cleared the puck twice from their zone, the Lightning managed to set up with roughly a minute remaining on their man advantage.

Tampa Bay’s second unit — including Perry, Paul, and winger Alex Killorn — ran a crisp passing play, ending with Paul scoring from the low slot to put the Lightning up, 1-0. The Flyers were called for three minor penalties total, including a careless interference penalty on Zack MacEwen for bulldozing Lightning winger Brandon Hagel in the neutral zone. The Flyers killed two of the Lightning’s three power-play opportunities.

Hart was tested just seven minutes after puck drop when he made a left pad save on Stamkos. Killorn tried to beat Hart on the rebound, but Hart robbed his tap-in attempt with a glove save.

The Flyers floundered in the second period when they allowed two goals — a Paul tap-in and a Colton clean-up of a Perry rebound. But Hart ensured the deficit wasn’t worse. Early in the frame, he denied Perry off the rush when he made a sliding save across the crease. Hart made 21 saves through the first two periods.

Halfway through the third period, Hart’s strong night took a dip when he let in an ugly goal. Cole’s dump-in took a bounce off of the end boards and squeaked past Hart and the right post to put the Lightning up, 4-0.

“It was probably just a misread by me,” Hart said. “Bounces off the boards, off the side of the net, off my skate and in. So might be, maybe Ian Cole’s prettiest goal of his career. It was a fluky bounce. It happens. Is what it is.”

The Flyers welcomed Konecny back to the lineup after he missed the last six games with a right-hand injury. They sorely missed that hand, which helped create some much-needed offense for the Flyers against the Lightning. Late in the first period, Konecny won a battle for the puck along the boards in the offensive zone and set defenseman Tony DeAngelo up for a one-timer from the point, but Vasilevskiy made a right pad save.

In the second period on their second penalty kill of the night, Konecny had a shorthanded opportunity all alone on Vasilevskiy, but his backhander sailed wide of the net. Konecny got going in the third period and scored the Flyers’ only goal from the right circle off of a cross-ice feed from Sanheim. But Konecny and the Flyers couldn’t change the momentum in the second period when they desperately needed to do so.

“I think there’s guys that can change the momentum,” Konecny said. “It’s just tough when you’re giving the top line on the other side that much time and space to move around. Because they’re going to do the same thing. They’re going to get the momentum for their team.”

The Flyers continue their homestand on Saturday when they face off against the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).