Tampa Bay Lightning Defeat Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3

The Tampa Bay Lightning have now won three straight after winning 5-3 over the Philadelphia Flyers last night. Martin St. Louis scored the eventual game winner, while Steven Stamkos netted his 53rd goal of the season. Tampa's first goal was created off a turnover by the Flyers while they were on the power play in the neutral zone that saw Ryan Malone break in and rifle a shot top corner.

Tampa now sits in 11th place in the East with just seven games left to play. The Lightning are also seven points out the eighth and final playoff spot. They will need to leap over the Winnipeg Jets (78 points), Buffalo Sabres (84 points) and the Washington Capitals (84 points). While they still have a chance to make the postseason, the door is closing quickly, and they will need some help on the scoreboard from other teams as well.

Their remaining schedule from NHL.com goes as follows:

Date	Opponent
March 27	Boston Bruins
March 29	New Jersey Devils
March 31	Winnipeg Jets
April 2	Washington Capitals
April 4	Montreal Canadiens
April 5	Toronto Maple Leafs
April 7	Winnipeg Jets

Crucial games will be against the Jets and Capitals. Without winning these games, the Lightning will not make the playoffs. That being said, they nearly need to win all their remaining games in order to make it.

All these games as winnable, but Boston and New Jersey will be tough opponents. Tampa has won the last two out of three meetings with the Bruins this season (5-3 and 6-1 respectively), so they should be able to keep their playoff hopes alive when they meet them tonight.