The Philadelphia Flyers (36-24-12) picked up a massive two points in Detroit, defeating the Red Wings (39-26-8), 5-3, behind a hat trick from Owen Tippett. The Red Wings, playing on the second half of a back-to-back, stuck with John Gibson in net for the second straight night, a decision the Flyers took advantage of early.
After building a commanding 4-0 lead, the Flyers let things slip in the third period as Detroit stormed back to make it 4-3. Still, Philadelphia regrouped when it mattered most and sealed the win late.
1st Period
The tone was set right away, with Denver Barkey delivering a big early hit on Ben Chiarot.
At 4:07, the Flyers struck first and fast. Tippett opened the scoring on the team’s first shot of the game, capitalizing on a Red Wings miscue at center ice. Trevor Zegras picked up the loose puck and found Tippett, who beat Gibson clean with defenders trailing behind him. This goal continued a strong trend for the Flyers, who have now scored first in four straight games, a big turnaround for a team that was sitting dead last in the league in opening goals not too long ago, but has since worked its way up to tie with a couple of others.
2nd Period
Detroit had an early opportunity to swing momentum when Jamie Drysdale was sent to the box for interference at 7:12, but the Flyers handled the penalty kill well. Dan Vladař came up with a key save on Patrick Kane, and the Flyers were able to keep the Red Wings off the board.
At 12:22, the Flyers doubled their lead and it started all the way from their own end. Vladař settled the puck behind the net and moved it to Drysdale, who quickly got the breakout going. Barkey carried the puck up ice with confidence, smoothly working his way around Carter Mazur before sliding it over to Tippett, who had just entered the zone. Tippett wasted no time, ripping a shot past Gibson to make it 2-0.
The Flyers kept the pressure on, and it paid off on the power play. After Dylan Larkin was called for high-sticking at 15:48, it took just 20 seconds for Philadelphia to capitalize. Travis Konecny fired the initial shot, which deflected off Matvei Michkov in front, and Noah Cates was right there to clean it up and bury it, extending the lead to 3-0.
Late in the period, Emil Andrae was sent off for tripping at 18:19, and Detroit thought they had finally broken through moments later on a goal from Moritz Seider. However, after review, the play was ruled offside due to Alex DeBrincat entering the zone early, wiping the goal off the board and preserving the Flyers’ three-goal cushion heading into the third.
3rd Period
The Flyers successfully killed off the remainder of Andrae’s penalty to start the period and nearly added to their lead less than a minute in. Christian Dvorak appeared to make it 4-0 after a feed from Alex Bump, but the goal was overturned after it was determined Bump had entered the zone offside before the puck.
Still, it did not take long for the Flyers to get that fourth goal back. After Mason Appleton was sent to the box for roughing at 6:05, the Flyers’ power play struck again.
At 7:19, Owen Tippett completed the hat trick in highlight-reel fashion. Carrying the puck up ice with speed, Tippett weaved his way through multiple defenders, slipping past Emmitt Finnie, Justin Faulk, and Chiarot, before going one-on-one with Gibson and beating him clean to make it 4-0.
The goal marked Tippett’s second hat trick of the season, while Drysdale picked up an assist to record the 100th point of his NHL career. Konecny picked up the secondary assist on the goal.
That would be the end of Gibson’s night, as Cam Talbot entered in relief. From there, the momentum began to shift.
At 8:21, tensions rose as Michkov and Marco Kasper were both sent off for roughing. Later, at 11:49, David Perron was assessed a misconduct and ejected from the game, adding to an increasingly frustrated Red Wings team.
Detroit finally broke through at 13:43. Faulk dumped the puck in along the boards, and it took a favorable bounce right to Appleton, who was left alone in front and beat Vladař to make it 4-1 on the Red Wings’ 22nd shot of the game.
At 15:10, DeBrincat cut the deficit to two, finishing off a clean passing sequence from Kane and Seider. Then, with Talbot pulled for the extra attacker, Detroit struck again at 16:14, as Lucas Raymond opted to shoot instead of pass and buried it to suddenly make it a one-goal game.
What had been a dominant 4-0 Flyers lead quickly turned into a tense 4-3 situation.
But with 1:04 remaining, the Flyers finally put it away. Sean Couturier finished off an empty-net goal, his third straight game with a goal.
Where the Flyers Stand
The Flyers did exactly what they needed to do: pick up two points in regulation against a team they are chasing.
Philadelphia now sits at 84 points in 72 games, just two points behind Detroit (86 points), with a game in hand. The Ottawa Senators, also at 86 points, lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving the Flyers additional help.
Elsewhere, both the Pittsburgh Penguins at 88 points in 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division and Columbus Blue Jackets at 87 points holding the second Wild Card spot lost, helping tighten an already crowded race. The New York Islanders at 89 points in 2nd place in the Metropolitan picked up a win, keeping them ahead, but the gap is closing.
Up Next
The Flyers return home for the second half of their back-to-back on Sunday, hosting the Dallas Stars at 7pm/ET. Dallas is also coming off a game Saturday night, meaning both teams will be on equal footing in terms of turnaround.
