VOORHEES, N.J. – Funny how just one split-second instance might change the way a player sees the rest of his season.
Owen Tippett went into Saturday’s game against Edmonton having not scored a goal since Jan. 14, a stretch which included five games off due to injury caused by a collision with New Jersey defenseman Brenden Dillon on Jan. 29.
There was some doubt as to whether Tippett would be a hundred percent for the Oiler game because he had been still wearing a no-contact jersey for the three practices after the 4 Nations Face-Off break last week.
Any fears were alleviated just 1:45 into the second period. Tippett pickpocketed a puck, started a power rush down the left side past defenseman Brett Kulak and ripped a highlight reel backhand shot high over goaltender Stuart Skinner’s right shoulder.
Later in the period, Tippett would score again and things were certainly back to normal.
The line of Tippett, Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov ended up scoring four of the Flyers’ goals in a 6-3 win at the Wells Fargo Center.
After Monday’s practice at the Flyers Training Center, Tippett indicated the first goal could help restore some confidence in his offensive game.
“It’s just a matter of me playing my offside (he’s a righty shot) coming into the net,” Tippett said. “It’s just a mix of coming with speed, the guy’s on your back and just trying to get the puck up as fast as you can.”
Also, coach John Tortorella said the first Tippett goal was impressive.
“Just one hell of a shot,” Tortorella said. “Just seeing him take off, great stick, everything about the play was a good play.
“I can understand what he’s saying. When you miss that much time. . .I think he was a little inconsistent even before his injury. To have him come back and score and to have that line play the way it did, I think it helps all three of them.”
In addition to Tippett’s two goals, Couturier got one of his own for career goal number 200.
This victory was crucial because the Flyers still have a lot of ground to make up if they want to crawl back into the playoff picture again.
“It’s huge,” Tippett said. “Anytime you come off a break like that you want to have a good start. To get a win like that against Edmonton, it’s a good confidence boost.”
The upcoming schedule won’t be doing the Flyers any favors. After a pair of games against a Pittsburgh team which is in the same boat as the Flyers, the March slate includes a home-and-away with Central Division-leading Winnipeg, Carolina, New Jersey, NHL No. 1 team Washington, Dallas and Atlantic Division-leading Toronto.
“We all want to finish this last stretch really strong,” Cam York said. “Our energy level (against Edmonton) was better. All areas of our game I thought improved. We’ll have to continue to play that way the rest of the way here.”
The Flyers were finally able to dress a full lineup. Ryan Poehling, Tippett, Egor Zamula and Rasmus Ristolainen came off the injury list; new Flyer Jakob Pelletier finally cleared U.S. customs and Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim and goaltender Samuel Ersson were all back from the 4 Nations tournament.
It just made for a more sure-of-themselves group. A far cry from their recent slump of 2-6-1, including a franchise-record three straight shutout losses.
“There’s confidence through our lineup throughout the game,” Noah Cates said. “They (the Oilers) came back a couple times but we didn’t let it get to us. We just played simple and grinded it out for the full 60 (minutes).”
>4 Nations experience helpful
Tortorella and Team USA came ever so close to the top prize in the 4 Nations event. In the title game, they lost to Canada in overtime, 3-2, last Thursday.
Regardless of the outcome, it was a memorable experience for Tortorella, who served as an assistant coach to head coach Mike Sullivan.
“It was a blast,” Tortorella said. “I wish we were on the other end of it in the final game. There were plenty of conversations that you can incorporate in your game. That’s the greatest part of it.”
>New players helpful
Both Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko, who scored his first goal as a Flyer against Edmonton, are making good first impressions on Tortorella.
“All the reports we’ve gotten are they’re two really good guys,” the coach said. “Energy. And you can see it right away. I think that’s going to be an easy thing for them to be joined in. For this time of year, to get new blood in and the energy that they both bring, I think it’s a really good time for our club.”
