VOORHEES, N.J. – There are plenty of reasons why the Flyers suddenly find themselves back in legitimate contention for a playoff spot.
A three-game sweep in California has fueled optimism that the Flyers might still have enough time in their last dozen or so games to pull off this longshot proposition.
Leading that tear on the West Coast was Owen Tippett, who caught fire and produced at both ends of the ice during wins over Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose.
A right wing throughout his career, he even took some shifts at center due to the absence of the injured Sean Couturier.
Plus, he scored shorthanded, set up some other goals at even strength and seemed to be pushing the offense when necessary.
As for his time at the pivot, Tippett shrugged his shoulders during a post-workout media session at the Flyers Training Center on Monday.
He had walked up to coach Rick Tocchet late in the San Jose game and offered his services even though he had rarely played the position in his NHL career.
At one point the Flyers were even using defenseman Emil Andrae as the fourth-line center.
“Obviously, given our lineup the last couple games we knew someone was going to have to step in,” Tippett said of his brief tenure in the middle. “Andrae was playing there and he’s a defenseman. It was just in the flow of the game.”
Naturally, Tippett was a little concerned about taking faceoffs in the defensive zone. A bad loss there can result in a Grade A scoring chance.
“It was just a cool story,” Tippett said. “In our system, it’s all about communication and who is low anyway.
“I didn’t think too much of it. If you’re first back (into the defensive zone), you’re the low man and you’re playing the center position anyway. That’s just kind of how I looked at it.”
Tippett leads the Flyers in shorthanded goals with three. He’s taken his penalty killing to another level this year.
“I think the last time I kind of did it (PK) was junior,” he said. “It was always something I always wanted to do because I thought I could be good at it. Play a little more, keeps you in the flow of the game, too.
“I’m happy to be able to contribute whenever I can.”
As for the team’s success – 5-0-1 in their last six games, plus a seven-game road winning streak – there have been a number of factors.
“I really like our energy,” Tippett said. “It wasn’t set up (three games in less than four days) to have the best legs. A tough back-to-back, travel. I think it just goes to show that everyone here is pushing toward the same thing.”
Tippett has 13 games to score a possible five goals which would give him a career-high of 29. It would also be his third time over the 25-goal mark.
Plus he can play a physical game when the situation calls for it.
“It’s his consistency since the start of the year,” Tocchet said. “There are not many lulls in his game. I’ll be honest, he’s had to drive some lines himself. It’s hard to find guys like that.”
Tocchet said the Tippett move to center was born out of necessity.
“At San Jose, there were nine or 10 minutes left,” Tocchet said. “And ‘Devo’ (Christian Dvorak) was dead, (Noah) Cates was in the box. Trevor (Zegras) just came off the ice. I said, ‘I need a center here.’ And ‘Tip’ looks at me and says, ‘I’ll play center.’ Just like that.
“I thought that was a cool moment. I go, ‘Ok, go out there.’ We kind of laughed. He went out there and played center a couple times. That was a pretty cool moment.”
>Cates keeps rolling
Besides Tippett, Noah Cates also had a big trip, scoring an OT winner and getting into a fight.
With 38 points, he’s already tied his career high. He needs one more goal to tie his career high of 16 (set last season) and his plus-19 leads the Flyers by a considerable margin.
When Tocchet was named coach last year, he knew he was getting a good player in Cates. But maybe not this good.
“I’m not surprised,” Tocchet said. “I’ve only been here a short time but he’s one guy who comes every day and tries to get better. Great character.”
Cates made his presence felt with the coach earlier in the year when he centered a line with Tyson Foerster (injured) and Bobby Brink (traded to Minnesota).
Now he’s working some of his magic with Matvei Michkov.
“He’s continued to be a constant for us,” Tocchet said. “He’s a pretty structured guy, tries to do the right thing. They were out there in the last couple minutes (vs. San Jose) and it’s a testament to both of those guys, the chemistry they’ve been having.”
Cates sounds like he’s taking all this in stride. He’s a team-first guy and tries to help any way he can.
He admits he was struggling in January but things have picked up since the Olympic break in February.
“I think it was kind of a mental reset at the break,” he said. “I had a tough January and we knew how important the games were going to be after the break. Got a week of rest, had a training camp, got back to some systems. We’ve been aggressive since then.”
Almost all players go through a letdown period in the dog days of January. Cates was no different.
“I think a lot of stuff leads into a lack of energy,” he said. “And jump. That’s where my game kind of starts. Winning battles. After the break, I got more aggressive. Got to the D-zone quicker.”
>Injury update
Sean Couturier, Denver Barkey and Luke Glendening all skated on Monday but their availability remains day-to-day.
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