PHILADELPHIA — Owen Tippett’s overtime marker in the Philadelphia Flyers’ 5-4 comeback win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center capped off a career evening. Along with his three assists in regulation, it was the first time the 25-year-old has ever had a four-point night.
And while his breakaway score and subsequent one-pump center ice celebration was the highlight, ending the Flyers’ three-game losing streak, it was evident early in the game that the speedy winger had his most important asset — his legs.
In the first period with the game still scoreless, Tippett broke in on a two-on-one with Travis Konecny. He received a pass from the Flyers’ leading scorer in prime position only to be stopped by Elvis Merzlikins, with the loud thump of the puck squarely hitting the leather pad reverberating throughout the arena.
Tippett didn’t sulk. Instead, he turned his attention toward Cole Sillinger, who had the puck on the wall in the Blue Jackets’ defensive zone. Tippett aggressively zipped over to Sillinger and laid him out, upending the young center before making his way to the bench for a line change.
“Right from the start as soon as you feel your legs, it kind of drives the rest of it,” Tippett said. “Felt good coming into the night, and happy to finish it off.”
Tippett sleighed. #CBJvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/WHaJng78rL
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 22, 2024
While the game was generally sloppy through two periods, the Flyers managed to get their record back to 15-15-4 with a chance to go back over .500 before the Christmas break when they visit the Penguins on Monday.
Trailing 2-0 entering the third period, the Flyers came from behind in the final frame to win a game for a league-leading seventh time. Tippett was the primary reason why.
His assist on Morgan Frost’s goal at 6:53 of the third, getting the Flyers on the board, was world-class. He cut through the slot and drew a pair of defenders with him before reversing the puck at an impossible angle to a wide-open Frost, who easily slammed it into an empty net.
“That play was pretty special, the vision for that,” Frost said.
☃️ FROSTY SZN ☃️#CBJvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/tIiEVzdgPp
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 22, 2024
Tippett got the primary helper on Frost’s second goal of the night, too, tying the game at 3-3. After bringing the puck into the offensive zone, Tippett had the awareness to body defender Damon Severson off the puck, allowing Frost a shooting lane to lift it through Merzlikins at 11:51.
In overtime, Tippett took a feed from Noah Cates and undressed Merzlikins on a backhand, prompting a bench-clearing celebration with his teammates.
Since Nov. 30, Tippett is tied with Konecny for the Flyers team lead with 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in 10 games. Coach John Tortorella is lately seeing the player that seemed to take some gigantic steps last season, but then struggled to get going this season.
“I think he’s had his legs here for the past couple of weeks,” Tortorella said. “I’ve got to get him his ice time because I think he’s about ready to really take off.”
Perhaps most encouragingly is that Tippett, still a pure shooter, has shown flashes of becoming a better playmaker, too. Considering he’s signed longer than anyone on the team with an eight-year extension kicking in this season, that’s something Tortorella hopes to see continue.
“I think that needs to be his next stage as far as becoming a better player,” said the coach. “The younger guys need to keep getting better each year. I think that’s a big part of him getting better, not just being a shooter, but a guy that can make a play.”
While Tippett’s play was encouraging, playing mostly with Frost and Konecny on a line that Tortorella indicated will likely stay together for at least another game, and others like Cates and Bobby Brink gave the Flyers some strong minutes, there remain some issues that are going to have to be cleaned up.
Defensively, Jamie Drysdale had a tough night, turning the puck over on Columbus’ first goal and getting outmuscled at the front of the net on their third. Now that Emil Andrae is surprisingly back in Lehigh Valley, Drysdale will have to carry the water on the back end as a mobile, puck-moving defenseman.
Goalie Sam Ersson also has yet to find his game since returning from a groin injury. Two of the four goals he allowed were particularly egregious, as he turned the puck over behind the net on the Blue Jackets’ second, and failed to pick up Jake Christiansen’s distance shot on their fourth.
In five games since he’s been back, Ersson is 2-3-0 with an .830 save percentage and a 3.85 goals-against average. Those numbers bring back visions of his late-season collapse in 2023-24.
“I feel like I’ve got to find a way to come up with more big saves,” Ersson said. “Today I let in a couple s—ty ones, to be honest. The guys, they bailed me out, scored a bunch of big goals. … I’ve got to keep working here a bit and (get) back to where I want to be.”
Tortorella gave Ersson credit for a breakaway stop on Dmitri Voronkov with 23 seconds left after Konecny inadvertently gave the puck away, but also agreed with Ersson’s suggestion that he’s got to make more stops on what should be routine shots than he has been lately.
“We need more saves at key times and we haven’t gotten it,” Tortorella said. “Since Sam has been back, that’s what’s happened. (He) knows.”
The Flyers will have one more chance to collectively get right as a group before the break when they face an up-and-down Penguins team they are already jockeying with for position.
Thanks to an improving Tippett, they at least won’t have to face the specter of a five-game losing streak before the holiday.
“You can see he’s getting there, ready to play like he did most of last year when he got going,” Tortorella said.
(Photo: Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)
