Friday, 4 a.m.
No wonder the Tampa Bay Lightning are headed in the wrong direction.
The wrong guys are driving the bus.
The Lightning’s latest slump continued Thursday night in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Bolts have now scored four goals in three straight losses, none of them by the Usual Suspects.
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Nikita Kucherov? Brayden Point? Jake Geuntzel? Brandon Hagel? Anthony Cirelli? Nick Paul? None of them have scored a goal in the skid. (Kucherov missed Thursday's game with illness).
Instead, the Bolts got a goal from Gage Goncalves. He’s got four on the year. They got a goal from Zemgud Girgensons. He’s got two. They got a goal from Cam Atkinson. He’s got four.
Things were this way in January, too, when the Bolts lost their way. But they had a 10-1-1 record in a dozen games before the streak, and seemed to be making a late-season charge.
“We had 15 even-strength shots on goal for the game,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We had the puck way to much to just have that. The boys are working. It’s like the harder they work, not much is getting done. We left a lot of plays on the table.
“In the end, it’s a bitter taste in our mouths to come away with one point.”
Backup goalie Jonas Johannson stopped 26 of 29 shots in a losing effort.
Bobby Brink had two goals for the Flyers.
Tampa Bay plays in Boston on Saturday night at 7 p.m.