Coming into Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Stars, it felt like the Philadelphia Flyers were facing a true test. A visitor that was destined to be a Stanley Cup favorite and had a bevy of young talent mixed with vital experienced, appeared to be a team that was dangerous enough to contend for the top of their division and eventually go on to find some success in the postseason.
But when they came and stepped on to the ice of the Wells Fargo Center, all they got was a barrage of offense and were on the backs of the backs of their heels for the next hour of action.
The Flyers ended up winning 5-1 and had a 43-15 shot on goal advantage, which is absolutely insane. It was pure domination in every sense of the word and it wasn’t a boring game either. It restored a feeling that this team is a damn good team.
And that feeling was only supplemented by the fact that Owen Tippett scored perhaps one of the best goals we have seen from a Flyer in a very long time.
To put the nail in the coffin, Tippett — having scored already once before in the game — came charging at young blueliner Thomas Harley like a bull on speed. Instantly, his game plan was set. You can see the moment Tippett even comes close to some defensive coverage, he pulls the puck to the inside, letting Harley go closer to the middle of the ice, and then the Flyers winger uses that shift in the gap to spin on his backhand, to the outside, and then just pop one over the shoulder of the Stars netminder. And it was from the faceoff dot! The faceoff dot!
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