The Philadelphia Flyers did not have a great second period in Tampa Bay on Thursday night, giving up three goals to a white-hot Lightning team to face a three-goal deficit heading to the third period.
They did however have the best play of the night, and arguably one of the best goals of the NHL season, thanks to captain Claude Giroux’s 13th goal of the season.
You can check it out in the video above.
Not only does Giroux dangle through four Lightning defenders on his way to the goal, but what really makes this play is the little stick-lift on Lightning defender Ryan McDonagh to give him just enough room to finish the play and make the last move he needed to score.
The Flyers may not be having the season they want (or the game they want on Thursday) but that goal is a thing of beauty no matter the situation.
Update: The Flyers scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of the third period to tie the game, 5-5.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.