Flyers depth has big night in rout of Penguins

Since returning from the Four Nations break, the Penguins have had a rough time. They've allowed 19 goals in their last three games, and in every loss, they have given up five or more goals. Thankfully, the Flyers were the ones who scored six goals for the second straight game in a 6-1 victory.

The offense has come in bunches for Philadelphia in their last two games. And while it was the top players who shined in the win over Edmonton, the team's depth came to play against the Penguins.

Owen Tippett did score for the second straight game, though the game was out of reach by then. Matvei Michkov collected two assists, giving him 41 points on the season and five in the last two games. Sean Couturier also grabbed an assist on the late goal by Tippett. That was the trio that shined against Edmonton.

But this time, it was Noah Cates, Bobby Brink, and Tyson Foerster who broke free. The trio has developed strong chemistry together, allowing John Tortorella to keep the line together for as long as he can. After Rasmus Ristolainen opened the scoring for the Flyers, it was the above line that factored in on the next four goals.

Cates grabbed the first of two goals over halfway through the opening period. It was a much-needed offensive breakout for Cates who had gone 11 games without a goal. Jakob Pelletier would make a nice tip at the line to a streaking Brink, later earning his first point with the Flyers. The latter chipped it over to Cates who took another stride or two before ripping off the past and past Alex Nedelijkovic.

His second goal was part of a three-goal period for the Flyers. Already up 3-1, the Flyers held the puck in the offensive zone and whipped it around the zone. After Foerster's initial shot created chaos in front of the net, Brink got a stick on it before Cates followed up on the rebound. The trio wasn't done as they cashed in on another goal 10 seconds later.

This one gave Brink his fourth point of the night and first goal in seven games. He only had two points in his last 11 games before Tuesday night. It came off a face-off win following Cates' goal. Brink was in the right place at the right time as he took the pass at the backdoor from Cates and tipped it in. With four points, Brink set a new career-high of 27 points. Coming into the game, he had already tied his total from last season.

Foerster grabbed the secondary assist on both of those goals after he scored just under six minutes after the Penguins made it a 2-1 game. His goal featured some nifty passing from Jamie Drysdale and Brink. All Foerster had to do was rip off his shot from the left dot. Nedelijkovic had no chance of getting across to stop it. Foerster has three goals in his last five games and is inching close to a new career-high in goals and points with a strong finish.

If this trio has any more games like this, they can all enjoy new highs. And the Flyers can enjoy a few more wins.