Betts, who entered Thursday tied for the team lead at plus-three, said "it's starting to look that way" when asked if he might have to miss a lot of practices until the knee shows improvement. His surgically repaired shoulder, meanwhile, has not given him any problems.
"There will be times I'll have to practice. After this game [Saturday against Pittsburgh], we have four days where we don't play, so obviously I'll have to practice somewhere, sometime," he said.
With Betts leading the way, the Flyers killed 16 of 18 penalties in the first three games.
Goalie carousel
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said he didn't plan to alternate goalies each game, but that's exactly what has happened early in the season.
Rookie Sergei "Bob" Bobrovsky started the first and third games, while veteran Brian Boucher started the second and fourth games. Bobrovsky figures to get the nod Saturday against Pittsburgh, the team he defeated in the opener, 3-2.
The 'other' ex-Flyers
While most of the attention was placed on Simon Gagne's return Thursday night, Tampa Bay also had two other former Flyers in its lineup: right winger Steve Downie and defenseman Randy Jones.
"We're all good friends, and it makes the transition a little easier when you're playing with some guys that you played with before," said Jones, who is in his first season with Tampa.
Downie has blossomed since being sent to Tampa with Steve Eminger and a fourth-round pick in 2008 for Matt Carle and a third-round selection. He scored 22 goals last season and led the Lightning with a plus-14 rating.
"This is a special place to play. This is where it all started for me," Downie said before setting up the game's first goal, by Steven Stamkos, with 4 minutes, 49 seconds left in the opening period.
- Sam Carchidi
