Scott Laughton, Carter Hart Help Flyers Soar Past Jets

The Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Winnipeg Jets at the Wells Fargo Center.

Two days removed from a comeback, overtime victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Philadelphia Flyers began a three-game homestand by playing host the Winnipeg Jets. This marked the second and final meeting between the two squads, with the Flyers vying for a season series split while the Jets were looking for the sweep. Carter Hart got the nod from Alain Vigneault between the pipes and opposed Connor Hellebuyck.

The Flyers took that whole “bad start” thing and said to heck with it, scoring the game’s first goal just over minutes after the puck was dropped to take an early 1-0 lead. Scott Laughton was responsible for the contest opening tally, taking a pass from Ivan Provorov on the left circle and banking the shot off of the post to beat Hellebuyck. Laughts didn’t stop there, either, earning his second tally of the period around seven minutes later, giving the Flyers a 2-0 advantage that they would carry through one frame of work. Hellebuyck didn’t have his right pad fully down on the ice while moving around in the crease, allowing what was originally a pass intended for Tyler Pitlick turned into Laughton’s 12th of the season, which tied for his career-high set back in 2018-19.

Winnipeg was all over Philadelphia during a large portion of the second, carrying a 10-1 shots on goal advantage at one point in the period. Fortunately for the Flyers, Hart was up to all of it, negating some dangerous chances from the Jets to keep it a 2-0 game. Sean Couturier went on to reward his goaltender’s excellent play, increasing Philadelphia’s lead to three capitalizing on a loose puck in the slot. However, Josh Morrissey was able to keep the Jets alive with a goal late to put the Flyers lead back at two going into the third.

Philly saw their lead shrink further in the starting stages of the third courtesy of Patrik Laine, who scored on a Jets power-play with a rocket of a one-timer to make things much more interesting in the final period of regulation. The Flyers pushed back, though, netting their fourth goal of the day a few minutes later off of a deflection from Pitlick. That goal eventually served as the game sealer, with Philadelphia walking away as the 4-2 victors.

While they could’ve been a bit better defensively, I thought this was a solid overall win for the Orange and Black. The Flyers were able to get off to a good start, which is something they’ve struggled with this season, and really never looked back, keeping Winnipeg within an arms reach all day. Laughton, Hart, and Justin Braun led the way for Philly, as Laughts and Braun combined for five points while Hart saved 27 of the 29 shots he faced.

The Flyers are now 35-20-7 on the year! Next game is Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks.