Vasy, Top Line Shine for Bolts in 4th Straight Win
- Michelle Gordon
- Nov 24, 2025
- 2 min read
The Tampa Bay Lightning came into tonight on a 3-game winning streak after a gutty performance on the road in Washington Saturday night. Tonight, the fiesty Philadelphia Flyers came into town for a visit. They've been hot as of late, but Andrei Vasilevskiy shut them down with the Bolts' first shutout of the season. The top line was clicking contributing to all 3 Tampa Bay goals.
Top Line Gets Things Started
The injury plagued Tampa Bay Lightning took to the ice tonight to face off against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Bolts were without three of their top defensemen tonight as Erik Cernak joined Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh on the list of D-men unable to play tonight.
With Brayden Point also out of the lineup, Anthony Cirelli centered the top line in between Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov. That line clicked towards the end of the first. At 15:34, Kucherov fed the puck to Emil Lilleberg at the point. Lilleberg (probably hearing Phil Esposito screaming, "Shoot it!!") fired the puck on net, and Hagel was right there to deflect it in. With the tip-in, Hagel became the third Bolt to reach double digits in goals for the season.
Top Line Strikes Again
The second period was pretty uneventful for the first 16 minutes. But then, the top line clicked again. After a flurry of activity in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy in the Lightning zone, Kucherov got to the loose puck and found Hagel streaking up ice. Cirelli joined Hagel on the rush and positioned himself in front of the Flyer net. Hagel waited patiently for goaltender Samiel Ersson to commit to the shot from him but then passed it beautifully right onto the stick of Cirelli. Cirelli made no mistake in tapping home his 9th of the season.
Fighting to Close It Out
The Philadelphia Flyers were a determined bunch in the final frame. They have been hot as of late having won their last 2 games and climbing into a wildcard spot. They threw everything they had at the Bolts. But Tampa Bay did not sit back on this lead. The Bolts created several scoring chances of their own and their defense was equal to the task, stealing pucks, doling out hits, battling for the puck, blocking shots, and just grinding it out in general. For his part, Vasilevskiy covered for every minor mistake his team made in front of him.
With time winding down, Kucherov passed to Hagel, and Hagel found the empty net to put the Bolts up 3-0 with under a minute remaining in regulation.
In the end, the Lightning held on for their first shutout of the season. With the win, the Bolts (after their 1-4-2 start) have catapulted into first place in the Atlantic Division. Following that miserable beginning, they are a sparkling 12-3.
Three Stars
Andrei Vasilevskiy-- stopped all 20 shots
Brandon Hagel-- 2 goals, 1 assist
Nikita Kucherov-- 3 assists
Up Next
The Bolts have one more game before Thanksgiving. They'll face off against the Calgary Flames Wednesday night at Benchmark International Arena. The game is scheduled for 7pm.
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