Hedman, a Norris Trophy finalist this year, decreased as he spun around to skate backward at the Tampa Bay blue line with Pitlick driving up the best wing. Hedman then got up slowly and broke his stick while heading down the tunnel to the locker space.
” You hate to see any of your teammates have to leave a game. Undoubtedly, we understand the significance and the function that Heddy uses our group,” Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “It was hard to see however weve got to roll with what occurs.”
Tampa Bay will go into the first round of the playoffs as the Easts second seed.
The Flyers, who got in round-robin play as the Easts fourth seed, relocation on to the first round next week and face the 12th-seeded Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal upset Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 4 video games of their best-of-five initial round series. Philadelphia and Montreal have actually divided their previous 6 playoff meetings, and the groups meet for the very first time given that the Flyers defeated the Canadiens in five video games of the 2010 East finals.
Novice Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice, and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Saturday night to clinch the Eastern Conferences top seed through the playoffs.
” Its a little frustrating due to the fact that we feel like were going in the ideal instructions and to lose some of the star power we have,” stated Cooper, keeping in mind the Lightning are likewise without captain Steven Stamkos and played Saturday minus Hedmans protective partner Jan Rutta. “Weve got to circle the wagons.”
The Lightning will face the winner of the best-of-five initial round series between eighth-seeded Toronto and ninth-seeded Columbus, which will be figured out in Game 5 on Sunday. The Lightning were swept by the Blue Jackets in a first-round meeting in 2015, and after Tampa Bay won the Presidents Trophy. The Lighting and Maple Leafs have never fulfilled in the playoffs.
Aube-Kubel, who has seven goals in 45 profession NHL games, enjoyed his very first career NHL two-goal trip by staking the Flyers to a 2-0 lead by scoring less than seven minutes apart in the first duration.
Stamkos has been out given that sustaining a lower body injury before the start of training camp last month. Cooper would only list Rutta as being unsuited to play.
Joel Farabee had a goal and help, Tyler Pitlick scored into an empty web with 1:20 left, and Carter Hart stopped 23 shots for the Flyers, who completed 3-0. Philadelphia didnt permit more than one goal in also beating Boston and Washington, and out-scored its opponents by a combined 11-3.
His 2nd goal began a 2-on-1 break throughout which he converted Sean Couturiers pass from the extreme right.
The Lightning not just dropped the game in completing preliminary round-robin play with a 2-1 record, Tampa Bays star defenseman Victor Hedman did not return after appearing to twist his ideal ankle while going down untouched midway through the first period.
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Coach Jon Cooper didnt have an update on Hedmans status or just how much time he might miss out on, though acknowledged his possible loss would develop a noteworthy hole in the Lightnings lineup.
” We bent a bit. We didnt break, a great deal of it thanks to Carter,” Vigeneault stated.
Farabee then sealed the success by one-timing in Gostisbeheres enter the ideal circle to put the Flyers ahead 3-1 with 5:38 left in the second duration, and 10 minutes after Johnson scored a power-play objective.
Tyler Johnson scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 26 shots. Tampa Bay was coming off a 3-2 win over Boston on Wednesday, and also had a 3-2 shootout win over Washington.
A Lightning turnover in their own zone led to Aube-Kubel standing in front and deflecting in Shayne Gostisbeheres shot from inside the blue line 7:40 in.
” Theres a young guy that figured out what it would consider him to dip into this level,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault stated of Aube-Kubel. “He is worthy of the ice time and he deserves to be playing right now.”
Vigneault also credited Hart for making 2 clutch conserves on Lightning sniper Nikita Kucherov, who got behind the Flyers defense twice in the opening seven minutes
Gostisbehere had a two-point trip in making his playoff launching after sitting out the very first 2 video games
The Lightning will deal with the winner of the best-of-five initial round series between eighth-seeded Toronto and ninth-seeded Columbus, which will be figured out in Game 5 on Sunday. The Lightning were swept by the Blue Jackets in a first-round meeting last year, and after Tampa Bay won the Presidents Trophy. NOTES: Flyers RW Jakub Voracek did not play for an undisclosed factor. … Lightning made one rosrter modification from Game 2, with D Zach Bogosian returning to the lineup and D Jan Rutta scratched. … Vasilevskiy appeared in his 36th career playoff game, tying Ben Bishop for the most in team history.
Lightning: Face Columbus or Toronto in very first round of playoffs next week.
NOTES: Flyers RW Jakub Voracek did not play for an undisclosed factor. … Lightning made one rosrter modification from Game 2, with D Zach Bogosian returning to the lineup and D Jan Rutta scratched.
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Flyers: Face Montreal in preliminary of playoffs.
