Takeaways from Flyers’ 4-2 win over Blues: Scott Laughton breaks through, Noah Cates returns, and more

At least one Philadelphia team won on Monday night.

The Flyers capped a three-game road sweep with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. The Orange and Black have won four straight and have moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Here are some takeaways from the win.

This road trip was a much-needed reset for a trio of Flyers. Two games after Tyson Foerster ended his 16-game goal drought at the Minnesota Wild, and one game after Cam Atkinson ended his 26-game scoring slump with two goals against the Winnipeg Jets, Scott Laughton joined the party with his first goal in 10 games.

Laughton, who just barely missed a feed from Travis Sanheim while shorthanded in the first period, finally broke through just over a minute into the second. On an offensive zone entry, Sean Walker found Garnet Hathaway, who put the puck on Joel Hofer. The rebound popped right out to a trailing Laughton, who was there to bury it.

» READ MORE: Should the Flyers be worried about Tyson Foerster’s lack of goals?

It was fitting that the Flyers, who are among the top teams in the NHL in rush chances, got the ball rolling off the rush.

Laughton almost added an assist later in the period, muscling Brandon Saad off the puck in the corner and setting up Hathaway in the slot, but Hofer made the stop.

Noah Cates returned to the lineup on Monday after missing 22 games with a broken foot. He didn’t show much rust. Cates was active in puck battles, notched a takeaway in the second period, and jumped back in on the penalty kill.

Coach John Tortorella limited Cates’ usage in his return, though. He finished with 12 minutes, 14 seconds of ice time, ahead of only Nicolas Deslauriers.

In the last game Cates played on Nov. 25, Tortorella moved him from center to the wing. Cates responded well to the position change, with what Tortorella called his best offensive performance of the season. However, with Sean Couturier sitting out a second straight game with an injury, Cates slotted back in at center against the Blues. While he didn’t have many opportunities on the draw, he won 3 of 4 on the night.

» READ MORE: Flyers GM Danny Brière talks Cutter Gauthier trade, Jamie Drysdale, and more

This marked the third game in four nights for the Flyers, but watching them, you wouldn’t know it. The 28 stops from Carter Hart certainly helped, but the Flyers played with some jump from the start. The Orange and Black were responsible for 72.22% of the scoring chances in the first period, according to Natural Stat Trick.

They didn’t show any quit, either. The Blues tied things up, 1-1, in the second with an Oskar Sundqvist power-play goal, but Ryan Poehling put the Flyers back ahead with just over six seconds remaining in the period.

Once again, the Flyers converted off the rush. Poehling dropped the puck back to Egor Zamula and then crashed the net to bat the rebound from Zamula’s wrister over the goal line.

The Flyers have won two games in a row without Couturier, who leads all forwards in ice time, and new blue-line acquisition Jamie Drysdale.

» READ MORE: Cutter Gauthier breaks his silence on trade from Flyers

Before they begin a four-game homestand, the Flyers have two days off in a row for the first time since their Christmas break.

Owen Tippett was everywhere.

In the first period alone, in just 3:59 of ice time, Tippett peppered Hofer with five shots to lead all skaters. He finally found the back of the net on his 10th shot of the night, and it was a beauty.

He dangled through two Blues defensemen and roofed it, backhand, over Hofer, for his fourth goal in five games and what proved to be the game-winner.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Tippett had six individual scoring chances in the game, the most of any Flyer.

The Flyers will host the Dallas Stars on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP).