Observations and sudden thoughts as Scott Laughton and Flyers ground the Jets
Laughton was a force, and Carter Hart made 27 saves as the Flyers again won at home to climb within three points of first place.
Observations, thoughts and stats from the Flyers’ victory Saturday over Winnipeg, the 1,200th home win in team history.
Home sweet home. The Flyers improved to 21-5-4 at home, which makes their chase for a top-two seed in the Metro even more compelling. Last season, they were 19-18-4 at the Wells Fargo Center.
What it means. Coupled with losses by Pittsburgh and Washington, the Flyers are three points back of second place, pending Washington’s result with New Jersey. Amazingly, they are closer to first place than being out of a playoff spot.
Nuts two you. Scott Laughton scored twice in the first nine minutes, and nearly notched his first career hat trick with an empty-netter. The headline, at least for him, was coming back after blocking a rocket shot from Nathan Beaulieu midway through the second period. Laughton’s new best friend is whoever it was who invented the protective cup. Whew.
Third line production. Tyler Pitlick added a redirected goal after Laughton won a faceoff cleanly. They were each plus-3 on the day. Linemate James van Riemsdyk did not have a point and was plus-1.
Oskar Lindblom visited. “It makes everybody feel good when he comes around and there is no doubt that we’re all behind him and his teammates are obviously checking up on him on a regular basis and so is the whole staff,” said coach Alain Vigneault. But to see him [in person] is beautiful."
Jim2K. The Flyers saluted athletic trainer Jim McCrossin for his 2,000th career professional game.
You bet. It’s admittedly arcane, but the sharp bettors will remind us it’s profitable. The Flyers last eight periods have gone over the standard line of 1.5. The 4-2 final, however, snappeda five-game streak of the full-game going over. The line there was 6.5, so Laughton wasn’t the only one looking for that empty-net goal at the end.
Depth perception. Rookie Joel Farabee did not have his best game and was bumped down to the fourth line midway through the third period because of it. Michael Raffl skated alongside Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny. Afterward, Alain Vigneault seemed to indicate the move was temporary, but having a steady and versatile vet such as Raffl is a luxury.
The last word. “Teams that improve during the season are the ones that get [into the playoffs]. And we are improving. We are getting better and, in that [top] line, those three veteran players are playing the way that you have to play to win and to win against good opponents in tight games.” - Vigneault on Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek.