Tippett’s hat-trick bodes well for the future while Flyers put Sabers to flight originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Owen Tippett hit his first NHL hat trick of his career and the Flyers overwhelmed the Sabers 5-2 Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
The 24-year-old winger made hats rain after scoring with a dirty breakaway in the third period.
“When I got that break, I tried to stay calm,” Tippett said. “It was pretty cool.”
Needing a morale-boosting win, John Tortorella’s side were able to earn one emphatically, improving to 1-1-0 in their seven-game home season.
Joel Farabee and James van Riemsdyk each scored their 10th goal of the season.
The marker for Farabee snapped his streak of 26 straight games without a goal. Breathe a sigh of relief at the 23-year-old winger.
Ten different flyers registered one point. Kevin Hayes and Tony DeAngelo each had two assists. Tyson Foerster scored his first NHL point of his career with a assist.
“I’m happy they’re getting a result here,” said Tortorella. “Many have contributed”
With the win, the Flyers (25-32-11) matched their win and score from last season’s long and dreadful 25-46-11 campaign. Tortorellas Club has 14 games left in the season.
The Flyers are 2-0-0 this season against the Sabers (33-29-6) and have beaten them 9-2. The clubs will meet one last time in just over two weeks at the Wells Fargo Center.
• Tippett started this season without a multiple-goal game in his NHL career.
He has three multiple-goal games this season and has 21 points overall in the season.
“Who knows what happens to some of the older guys around here,” DeAngelo said with a smile, “but I’ll tell you what, this guy’s gonna be around for a long time.”
Tippett’s strength and speed make an impressive mix.
“I go on Instagram, I feel like every summer I see him doing jumps or something, it’s kind of crazy,” Farabee said, laughing. “He’s so explosive. You can see that in his skating. I’ve never seen a guy break out of the D-zone. Honestly, the way he moves out there is incredible. If he keeps going like this, he’ll only get better. If that confidence wanes, he’s a pretty hard player to stop.”
Tippett was arguably the Flyers’ biggest asset of 2022-23. He joined the Flyers from the Panthers last March The Claude Giroux acts and looks like a real piece of the future.
“I don’t think the players care who they traded for or whatever,” Tortorella said. “I just think he’s growing. He gets more chances here. Florida was pretty crowded with some obnoxious people when he was there. You just never know when an opportunity will arise.
“I just think he gained confidence. It’s so important for an athlete, in any sport, how they feel about themselves. I think he’s feeling pretty good.”
On Friday night, Tippett scored one on the power play and two on even strength.
“I like the goals but I think he added power to his game,” said Tortorella. “In the last game he puts it in the net two or three times. I want him to keep working on that and not just relying on his shot. Like that powerplay goal, that’s just a great shot. I want the other part of the game too because I think he’s capable of that.”
• The Flyers are in the process of rebuilding and are focused solely on development for next season. But some wins don’t hurt.
They had lost 16 of their last 20 games (4-12-4), a stretch in which they scored just 2.05 goals per game.
While this win didn’t help their NHL draft lottery chances, it’s good for a team’s confidence as they try to build something.
Wins now can help for the future. And there hasn’t been much that’s positive about the Flyers over the past few weeks.
“We have to try to fix everything – our discipline and keep working hard and trying to find a way to win,” said Tortorella on Friday morning. “When you’re developing people and trying to find a way to teach them how to become professionals, it’s important to win. That’s why they put on the uniform. So it was very frustrating for everyone.”
The Flyers had not scored five or more goals since Jan. 17.
• Carter Hart received plenty of running support and finished with 36 saves on his return from the flu.
The second goal he allowed came with 0.4 seconds left and the Sabers on a power play.
Both of Victor Olofsson’s goals for Buffalo were in advantage.
The Sabers averaged 3.66 goals per game, the third-most in the NHL. But they also allowed 3.61.
The Flyers have kept Buffalo star Tage Thompson scoreless in two encounters. The 6-foot-6 winger has 42 goals and 45 assists in 68 games this season.
Craig Anderson, the 41-year-old Sabers goaltender, stopped 17 of the Flyers’ 22 shots.
• Wade Allison returned to the lineup after missing the last three games with an undisclosed injury.
Tortorella was very honest about the 25-year-old winger’s propensity to get injured.
As the Flyers continue to evaluate who will be part of the future, Allison has a good opportunity to end this season on a high.
If he plays well through the finish line, he’ll have a solid sample size of bottom-six effectiveness heading into an uncertain offseason for the Flyers.
• Travis Konecny put his best in Friday morning’s recovery from an upper-body injury. Here’s the latest on him and Sean Couturier.
• The Flyers are back in action on Saturday as they host the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes (5 p.m. ET/ESPN+, Hulu).
Tortorella’s club is 2-10-0 in the second game of two straight sets.
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Source : sports.yahoo.com