What a night for the veteran.
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 Flyers history.
“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.”
Laughton scored his first goal halfway through the second period, and made it 2-0 early in the third frame while the Flyers were short handed. He deposited a couple of empty netters late in the stanza, 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 spot 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.”
With some momentum on their side, the Flyers will look to make it three straight wins against the Wild in Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. Puck drops just past 2:00 p.m. ET for the cross-conference matchup.
