Flyers top Lightning in shootout win

TAMPA, Fla. - James van Riemsdyk did not think. He just reacted.

After watching Tampa Bay defenseman Randy Jones stick his knee out on a dangerous hit against teammate Claude Giroux just 7 minutes into the game, the usually docile van Riemsdyk took exception.

Van Riemsdyk, still 21, is not well versed in the art of fighting. It's not allowed in college hockey, while most NHL players learn by dabbling with trial and error in juniors.

No matter.

Van Riemsdyk wasn't about to let Jones get away with a move that could potentially cause a serious injury to Giroux, one of the Flyers' top scorers.

Van Riemsdyk was not only first on the scene, but also first to react. He dropped his gloves - admittedly a stunning visual for most of his teammates - and traded jabs with Jones before wrestling the experienced defenseman to the ice in his first career NHL fight.

But it was what happened after that - the goal that came exactly 29 seconds after van Riemsdyk served his 5 minutes - that changed the Flyers' luck against Tampa Bay this season.

Van Riemsdyk scored on a beautiful, blind backhand pass from Giroux - perhaps his way of saying thanks - to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead, and also added an assist in the second period to spark the Flyers to an eventual 4-3 shootout win in front of 16,950 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"I thought he had a great game," coach Peter Laviolette said. "That's what we needed from him. Yeah, I guess [I'm] a little bit [surprised]. But it was really good to see.

"I thought it was kind of a cheap hit, and for him to jump in there like that, I think that says a lot about him and where's he come. He was physical, he was skating, he factored into the game offensively. It was good."

It was van Riemsdyk's first career "Gordie Howe" hat trick, which consists of a goal, assist and fight.

Defenseman Kimmo Timonen, of all players, scored the shootout's deciding goal in the seventh round of the breakaway competition to secure the Flyers' second point in the standings. It was the second longest shootout the Flyers have participated in since it was introduced in 2005.

"It was definitely unusual," Timonen said. "I've got one move, and that's my move. It worked."

It was the first time the Flyers triumphed over Tampa Bay in four tries this season, saving the win for their last meeting of the regular season.

"You don't take it lightly any time a team has taken all three games against you," van Riemsdyk said. "We're glad we were able to get something against them."

More importantly, as Laviolette put the game in perspective, the Flyers were able to increase their lead over the second-place Lightning to five points in the Eastern Conference standings. The Flyers have still not lost consecutive games since Dec. 20-28.

"I think for me, the separation between first and second was more important as opposed to just getting one on the board against them," Laviolette said. "Because they're right there, I think it's important."

Last night, the Flyers were able to beat the Lightning at their own game. Rather than fall into their 1-3-1 neutral zone trap setup, the Flyers defensemen would patiently hold the puck inside their own zone and wait for a forward to loop around and reverse the side of the ice to enter the zone with speed and dance their way through the waiting defenders.

"That's their system," Timonen said. "That's why they win games, they're a very good hockey team. I think we were really patient with the puck, which was key."

"I thought we controlled the puck and made the moves and got in the position which we wanted," Laviolette explained. "Eventually, they had to change their forecheck in the neutral zone so I thought it was effective."

For long stretches, last night's matchup between the East's top two teams was a chess match. But rather than ensure the one point, like some teams do, and play it conservative late in the third period, the Flyers continued to go for Tampa Bay's jugular.

In a fitting way, it mirrored van Riemsdyk's fearlessness in the first period - even if the fight wasn't van Riemsdyk's original intention.

"It just kind of happened," van Riemsdyk said. "When you see a guy get hit like that, you never want to see it. Me and a guy like 'G' are pretty close off the ice, and that kind of translates on the ice, too. So when you see a guy like that get hit, you want to stick up for him. I don't know what the odds would be if someone bet on me [fighting] in Vegas, but I guess it'd be pretty unlikely."

Brian Boucher has stopped 11 of 14 shots in shootouts. He was 6-for-7 against Tampa Bay last night, with Dominic Moore getting the only goal on a low, blocker-side shot . . . The Flyers are 2-3 in shootouts this year . . . Newest Flyer Kris Versteeg missed his shootout attempt with a diving stop from Dwayne Roloson . . . Darroll Powe's second-period penalty-shot snipe, which gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead, was his second successful career penalty shot - though it didn't help him get selected for the shootout.

For more news and analysis, read Frank Seravalli's blog, Frequent Flyers, at

www.philly.com/FrequentFlyers. Follow him on Twitter at

http://twitter.com/DNFlyers.