Scott Laughton makes impressive Flyers history after 1st career 4-goal game
12/13/2024 02:11 PM
Scott Laughton was the unlikely hero for the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, scoring all four goals for his team in a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Wells Fargo Center. Although two of them were into an empty net, it was the first time the 30-year-old has achieved the feat.
The veteran also made impressive franchise history in the process, tying the Philadelphia record for most goals in a game. John LeClair achieved the milestone in October of 2002, per NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. It has happened 17 times in the history of the franchise.
“It’s pretty cool,” Laughton said afterwards, per Kimelman. “Two empty-netters but I know they all count. I think 100 goals, you don’t look at it really but I’ve been in the league a long time [12 seasons] and it’s hard to score goals in this league. To score 100 is pretty cool to me, pretty special. I know it’s not much compared to some guys but it feels pretty cool to get that.”
Laughton scored his 99th, 100th, 101st and 102nd goals against the Red Wings, surpassing the 100-goal milestone in his ninth full National Hockey League season.
“He’s probably the best teammate you can ask for,” captain Sean Couturier said of Laughton after the triumph. “He means so much to us. He plays throughout the lineup in different roles, in different situations. It’s not always easy but he always has a great attitude and thinks about the team first and does whatever he can to help the team so it’s nice to see him rewarded tonight.”
Lauthon scored his first goal halfway through the second period, and made it 2-0 early in the third period while shorthanded. He deposited a couple of empty netters, at 18:53 and 19:47, respectively.
With that, the Flyers have won consecutive games in regulation for the first time since late October.
Are the Flyers a playoff team in 2024-25?
Now 14-12-4 and occupying the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, the Flyers look like they’ll at least be battling for a playoff spot all campaign long.
With five wins in eight games dating back to November 27, this is starting to look like the club that almost went wire-to-wire in a postseason slot in 2023-24. Although it ended disappointingly last year, this does look like a roster that is good enough to compete in a crowded Metropolitan Division.
“I think it was just a matter of being patient, not opening up and trying to be a liability defensively,” Couturier said of Thursday’s win. “It was that kind of game where it’s who’s going to open up first. Thought in the second [period] we took over and had a lot of quality [offensive] zone time and chances.”
Cam Talbot, in his first game back after missing four because of a lower-body injury, made 32 saves for Detroit (11-14-4).
“He was unbelievable,” Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin said. “Big save after big save. Someone that’s meant that much to our team, we can’t really have his first game back be a game like that, giving up odd-man [rushes] and backdoors. He bailed us out but we’ve got to bail him out.”
With some momentum on their side, the Flyers will look to make it three straight wins against the Wild in Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.
The post Scott Laughton makes impressive Flyers history after 1st career 4-goal game appeared first on ClutchPoints.
