Cirelli extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:00 of the second period, tapping in a centering pass from Hagel with his backhand on a 3-on-2 rush.
“There were too many odd-man rushes, that’s not on the [defense],” Tocchet said. “In the second [Tampa Bay] had eight odd-man rushes. That’s on the forwards.”
Hagel added an empty-net goal at 19:45 of the third period for the 3-0 final. He has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past two games.
“I think it was a tight-checking game, not many shots on both sides. The difference, I think, was our line was inconsistent without the puck,” Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. “We needed to be better. We cost [us] two goals tonight, and that was the difference. It doesn’t matter who we play or what kind of game we play, we have to be ready to play any kind of game and find ways to win.”
Tampa Bay played without forward Brayden Point and defenseman Erik Cernak. Cooper said before the game that Point, who was injured during a 5-3 win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday, is “dicey” to play against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Cernak, who also was injured against the Capitals, is going to miss “significant” time.
“We’ve played great defense the past few games,” Vasilevskiy said. “Obviously, our [defensemen] are Syracuse-ish (Tampa Bay’s American Hockey League affiliate), but as you can see, obviously they are good players, and as long as you execute the game plan, we’ll be just fine.”
NOTES: Vasilevskiy is 16-4-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and six shutouts in 22 games (21 starts) against the Flyers. … Kucherov has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak.