The goals were going to pile up for Owen Tippett eventually, and the timing for it couldn't have been better for the Philadelphia Flyers now that they are.
The 24-year old winger, who soared to new career highs with steady ice time and a sharper game last season, hadn't quite one-upped that yet in this one, but the pieces were there.
Of course, there was his lethal wrist shot, which hasn't gone anywhere, and then his size (at 6'1" and 210 pounds) to the benefit of shielding pucks, but a key aspect Tippett wanted to keep working on was making more plays with his legs.
And boy did the results in those efforts show Monday night in St. Louis, when he recovered a loose puck in the neutral zone then made a nasty deke past the Blues' defense to get to the net and tuck the backhand shot home.
The goal, which will be on highlight reels across hockey all week, gave the Flyers a lead late in the third that they held on to in a 4-2 win, completing a three-game sweep of a Midwest road trip as they return back home to Philly on a four-game win streak and all with first place in the Metro Division within reach – just two points separate the Flyers and Rangers as of Tuesday afternoon.
And for Tippett individually, he has four goals across the Flyers' past five games and is up to 16 on the season. He's had a presence all over the ice, averaging 15:49 a night through all 44 of Philly's games, and has generated shots in bunches. He had 10 of them Monday night in St. Louis alone.
The big thing now though is that they're finally starting to find the back of the net, and he's been doing better of late at making sure those shots do get to the net.
"Like I said the other night, if he hits the net more, he'd probably have five or six more goals right now," head coach John Tortorella said of Tippett postgame. "He's one of those athletes that develops on his own. He has a chance to be a really good player."
And he's getting there, just as the Flyers need it too.
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The team is coming back home to South Philadelphia after a grind of a road trip that required playing three games in four nights and saw Sean Couturier (minor injury) and new defenseman Jamie Drysdale (illness) sit out for the latter two.
Still, they cranked out wins against a tough Minnesota Wild team, a surging Winnipeg Jets squad, and a down but not-so-easily dismissed St. Louis Blues club.
They're pressing into late January, and remaining very much up there in an Eastern Conference playoff picture that is steadily taking form.
If this is real, and the Flyers are going to make a push, then they're going to need offense from every part of the lineup, Tippett – with his shot and better use of his skating – especially.
"I think I'm doing a better job at kinda using my legs to put myself in that scenario," Tippett said of his ability to generate chances. "Obviously with that, it opens up plays for not only shots, but other passes and other plays going up the ice.
"I think it's one of those things where the more confidence you have and the more confident you are with using your legs to get into certain scenarios instead of getting it out of your hands as fast as you can, it can go a long way."
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