With puck drop rapidly approaching on Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes, it’s looking like the Flyers might begin their second round series down a significant player: 27-year-old winger Owen Tippett.
At the optional morning skate in Raleigh, Owen Tippett stayed on the ice late with the other presumed scratches. Typically, that indicates a player is likely to sit for the night. Combined with the fact that during Friday’s practice, Tippett sat out and Alex Bump skated with Trevor Zegras and Porter Martone, Tippett being out for Game 1 seems like a distinct possibility. Garnet Hathaway also drew back into the fourth line on Friday’s practice, indicating perhaps more than just a maintenance day for Tippett.
Wonder about Owen Tippett’s status tonight. He’s still out here with the presumed scratches getting in extra skating. He was not made available after skate. So we’ll see.
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) May 2, 2026
Alex Bump was not at optional morning skate, a sign that he’s playing tonight. pic.twitter.com/LkKmWL72M0
Stylistically, this matchup is a clear opportunity for Owen Tippett to be a difference maker. It goes without saying, but the Flyers are clear underdogs in this series versus the Canes. The name of the Hurricanes’ game is to come at you in waves, roll four lines of scoring depth, dump-and-chase, and possess the puck like no other team does. They are also a really high-end skating team, and that’s really not the Flyers’ style outside of Tippett.
To beat the Canes, you’re likely not going to beat them at their own game. In the Flyers’ case, the recipe for success for this series probably looks something like this: Survive the waves of attack from Carolina via strong defensive structure and Dan Vladar, and be opportunistic as ever through the neutral zone and on the rush. That sounds a lot like what Owen Tippett is excellent at, a perfect opportunity for Tippett to make an impact.
Unquestionably, losing Tippett in this type of series is not ideal. Against a team like the Penguins, losing Tippett for a game or two might not have been the end of the world. That was a different type of series than one against the puck-dominant Hurricanes, and you look at the rest of the Flyers lineup and wonder where that gamebreaking ability might come from without Tippett.
Maybe that comes from a guy like Travis Konecny, but he’s banged up himself and doesn’t possess the straight-line speed that makes Tippett so dangerous. Porter Martone hit a bit of a wall in the second half of the Penguins series. Matvei Michkov looked better in Game 6, but if the Penguins series was any indication, Michkov is probably going to struggle against the relentless forecheck of Carolina. Alex Bump looked phenomenal in Games 5 and 6, so maybe he can make a surprising impact as well. Tyson Foerster struggled throughout the entirety of the Penguins series, and calling him a gamebreaker would be extremely generous anyways. The Flyers defense doesn’t have any true gamebreakers either, even if Travis Sanheim has been exceptional through the playoffs so far. Perhaps the gamebreaking ability is most likely to come from Trevor Zegras, who has shown in various stretches this year to have that level of high-end talent.
It was always going to take a Herculean effort to beat the Hurricanes in four of the next seven games. Considering Tippett was at the optional skate this morning, this isn’t likely to be an injury that holds him out the entire series. Also, considering the Flyers’ quick turnaround from Game 6 on Wednesday to Game 1 tonight, you’d have to think Tippett is a guy that really needed a few more days of rest. The NHL starting the Flyers just three nights after Game 6 really benefits the Hurricanes, as Tippett is likely more probable for a Sunday/Monday start. The Flyers obviously shouldn’t push a player for Game 1 of a series, as Tippett being in good health is going to be so important as the series goes on.
Still, the margin of error for the Flyers in a playoff series against Carolina was quite small in the first place, and losing Tippett for Game 1 does not help their chances whatsoever. The chances of an upset, especially in Game 1, will get significantly smaller without Tippett’s gamebreaking ability. They are going to need someone to step up to beat the Hurricanes, and for at least one game, the Flyers are short of one player who has the ability to do so.
