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Thursday, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia were tied 7-7 after two. Not the Buccaneers and Eagles, not the Devil Rays and Phillies, but the Lightning and Flyers were deadlocked after a furious first 40 minutes that saw both starting goalies replaced. Nate Thompson scored the only goal in the third period to give the Lightning an 8-7 victory, as the Flyers lost their second straight contest.

Steven Stamkos had a hat trick and two assists for the Lightning, with his final goal tying the game at seven with just over a minute left in the second period. Stamkos now has an NHL-leading 19 goals in 19 games. Martin St. Louis also had a five-point night for Tampa, assisting on all threee Stamkos goals and two others. Right wing Nikolay Zherdev was the only Flyer with three points, scoring twice.

The two teams combined for nine goals on 24 total shots just in the first period. The Flyers blew three two-goal leads (2-0, 5-3 and 7-5). Flyers rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been dominant for most of the season, but was pulled after letting in four goals on 11 shots. “Of course it’s very tough when you’re pulled out of the game, but this is life, this is the game, and it will happen again,” the Russian netminder said through a translator. The only other time the Flyers had scored seven goals and lost was a February 1984 game they dropped 9-7 to the Hartford Whalers.

The Lightning improved to 10-7-2, good for second place in the Southeast Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers (12-6-2) remain in first place in the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers will try to break their two-game losing streak on Saturday as they travel to face the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals. The Caps beat Buffalo 4-2 on Thursday for the second straight win.