The Philadelphia Flyers can no longer be considered a surprise.
They’re clearly for real.
The Flyers dismantled the Dallas Stars 5-1 on Thursday and will now look for their sixth win in a row when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon.
“Coming into this game, I think we kind of talked that we wanted to make a statement,” said Morgan Frost, who had two assists. “I think most of the league knows that they’re one of the top teams in the league and I think we came out flying. So it’s nice to see.”
The Flyers dominated from start to finish and outshot the Stars 43-15. Owen Tippett scored two goals while Sean Walker and Cam Atkinson added one goal each. Scott Laughton also scored on a penalty shot.
In the end, the Flyers proved once again that they can compete with any team in the league.
“I think we were well prepared in what they do and how good they are, how deep they are,” Laughton said of the Stars. “I just think our sticks in the neutral zone, breaking up plays, creating turnovers and going the other way. It’s hard to play against when you play a three-quarter ice game like that and create chances for yourself.
“Guys have got confidence right now and it’s been fun to watch.”
Atkinson has three goals in the last three games after going through a 26-game streak without scoring. Joel Farabee registered an assist to extend his points streak to four straight.
The Avalanche arrive in Philadelphia having split the first four games of their road trip.
Colorado defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, while losing to the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Thursday.
Nathan MacKinnon and Miles Wood each scored one goal for the Avalanche. Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev stopped 26 shots.
“First period, it was obvious (Boston) had lots of jump,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of falling behind 3-1. “We just didn’t get going to win any races, to check the puck back, or kind of check it with their eyes and not with their legs, and they capitalized.”
For much of the season, the Avalanche have controlled tempo. Against the Bruins, it was the opposite.
“We got off to a pretty slow start obviously,” Colorado forward Logan O’Connor said. “All it takes against a good team is 10, 15, 20 minutes. We get down early and against a good team like that, away game for us, it’s always going to be tough to come back.”
Defenseman Cale Makar echoed similar thoughts.
“It’s tough. The game is kind of like a marathon,” Makar said. “You don’t always want to be chasing the leader. For us to be chasing from behind, it’s not what we want to do.”
Bowen Byram (lower body) and Artturi Lehkonen (neck) participated in the morning skate Thursday but were held out of the lineup. Coach Jared Bednar said that they could return to the lineup against the Flyers but a decision hasn’t been made yet.
–Field Level Media