Flyers sweep road trip, move into 2nd place of tight Metropolitan race

Flyers sweep road trip, move into 2nd place of tight Metropolitan race originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

A four-game homestand awaits the Flyers and one would think they'll have some good crowds at the Wells Fargo Center.

With a 4-2 win Monday night over the Blues, the Flyers swept their three-game road trip.

Owen Tippett scored a highlight-reel, game-winning goal with 5:33 minutes left in the third period at Enterprise Center. The power forward dangled around Justin Faulk and backhanded a shot top shelf.

Joel Farabee iced the game with an empty-netter.

The Flyers (24-14-6) got secondary scoring with goals from Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling.

John Tortorella's club has won four straight and climbed past the Hurricanes into second place of the competitive Metropolitan Division. Carolina has a game in hand, though, and it's still early in the race.

But since Nov. 10, the Flyers have gone 19-7-5 for 43 points. Only the Jets have more points over that span with 44.

The Flyers face the Blues (21-19-2) again March 4 in Philadelphia.

• There have been a couple of stark differences in the Flyers this season compared to the last couple of years.

Responding to losses and winning on the road.

On the three-game trip, the Flyers outscored their opponents 10-5. They did it without Sean Couturier for two of the games.

They already have more road wins than they did all of last season. They improved to 14-6-4 away from the Wells Fargo Center. Last season, they went 13-20-8.

And after the Flyers suffered a season-worst fourth straight loss by coughing up a lead to the Blue Jackets at home, they've won five of their last six games. Stopping skids from spiraling has been a sign of growth for the Flyers.

• Carter Hart stopped 28 of St. Louis' 30 shots. He picked up two of the three wins on the trip.

The 25-year-old has surrendered three or fewer goals in 18 of his 23 decisions. He has a .912 save percentage on the season.

Hart made a big-time stop on Jordan Kyrou early in the first period to keep the game scoreless. The Flyers then got to work and put pressure on the Blues.

In the second period, he robbed Kyrou again to maintain the Flyers' 1-0 lead.

St. Louis scored its second goal on an odd play. As a pass hit an errant stick on the ice, Brandon Saad collected it and quickly shot it past Hart, which tied the game at 2-2 early in the third period.

With only 1:41 minutes left in the middle frame, the Blues cracked Hart on their third power play opportunity.

But the Flyers countered with under seven seconds left in the period. Poehling skillfully batted a rebound out of midair and into the net to regain the Flyers' lead at 2-1.

The Flyers never trailed and really got after St. Louis backup Joel Hofer, who faced 41 shots and stopped 38 of them.

• After missing 22 games because of a broken foot, Noah Cates was back in the Flyers' lineup. His return was timely as Couturier (undisclosed injury) and Jamie Drysdale (illness) remained out for a second straight game.

Cates played 12:14 minutes and was solid. He won three of his four faceoffs and had a couple of shots.

• Tippett finished with 10 shots and Nick Seeler blocked eight shots.

• Kevin Hayes played against the Flyers for the first time since being traded a day before the NHL draft last summer. The 31-year-old was no longer viewed as a fit for the Flyers, who had a rebuilding offseason under new general manager Danny Briere.

Against his old club, Hayes went scoreless, had two shots and was even in plus-minus through 13:49 minutes.

• The Flyers come home to host the Stars on Thursday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

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