Tippett has hat trick, Flyers hold off Red Wings late push in 3rd period

DETROIT -- Owen Tippett had a hat trick and the Philadelphia Flyers hung on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 5-3 at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

Tippett also tallied an assist, Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale each had two assists, and Dan Vladar made 31 saves for the Flyers (36-24-12), who have points in eight of their past nine games (7-1-1).

“Honestly, it’s a feel thing,” Tippett said. “When you are feeling good, you are playing with a lot of confidence. I think everyone in here would say that getting one early makes the rest of the night easier.”

Philadelphia is five points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with two fewer games played than the Columbus Blue Jackets, who currently hold the bid.

Mason Appleton, Alex DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond each scored, while Moritz Seider and Patrick Kane each recorded two assists for Detroit (39-26-8), which has lost three straight at home and three of four overall. John Gibson made 17 saves before being replaced by Cam Talbot at 7:19 of the third period. Talbot saved all four shots he faced in relief.

“We’re not getting tricked by the three goals at the end of the night,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “This was a disappointing response to getting a big win (5-2) last night in Buffalo.”

Detroit remains tied with the Ottawa Senators, with one fewer game played, at 86 points and one point out of the second wild-card spot in the East.

“You can’t get behind 4-0 and expect to come back,” DeBrincat said. “You can’t have games like that at this time of the season.”

The Red Wings trailed 4-0 with 6:17 remaining in the third period, but scored three goals in 2:31 to cut it to 4-3 with 3:46 left to play.

Appleton triggered Detroit's surge with a snap shot from the left dot under the glove of Vladar to make it 4-1 at 13:43, and then DeBrincat ripped a wrist shot over Vladar's stick at 15:10 to pull the Red Wings within 4-2.

With Talbot pulled for the extra attacker, Raymond got Seider's pass off the left wall and skated around the left circle before putting a snap shot past Vladar at 16:14 to bring Detroit within one, 4-3.

“I don’t want to knock the Philadelphia Flyers, because they just drilled us, but they were done too when it was 4-0,” McLellan said. “If the game was 3-1, none of that would have ever happened.”

Sean Couturier's empty-net goal at 17:56, however, put an end to Detroit's comeback attempt for the 5-3 final.

“I loved that game for 55 minutes,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “There were some things late that we need to shore up, but that’s for another day. This was a huge win for this hockey team.”

The Flyers took a 1-0 lead at 4:07 of the first period when Trevor Zegras took advantage of Seider’s neutral zone turnover to send Tippett in on a breakaway. Tippett slid the puck between Gibson’s pads for his 25th goal of the season.

Tippett scored his second of the game to make it 2-0 at 12:28 of the second period. He took a pass from Denver Barkey in the high slot and squeezed a low wrist shot through Gibson’s pads and over the line.

“He’s been unbelievable,” Tocchet said of Tippett. “He’s as good as it gets in the League right now.”

Noah Cates scored his career-high 17th goal of the season to make it 3-0 at 16:08 on the power play. Konecny put the puck on the net with a shot from the left circle that was tipped in front by Matvei Michkov, and Cates was able to shove the puck over the line.

Seider appeared to score Detroit’s first goal of the game at 18:36, but the Flyers successfully challenged that the play was offside.

“I’m not frustrated by that - we broke a rule,” McLellan said. “If the linesman had seen it, the play would have been dead long before we scored.”

Forty-two seconds into the third period, Flyers center Christian Dvorak looked to score, but the goal was overturned for offside.

Tippett finished his third career hat trick with a power-play goal to make it 4-0 at 7:19. He skated in on the rush down the right side and put a snap shot bar down over Gibson's glove. He has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past nine games, and the goal prompted Gibson to be replaced by Talbot in relief.

“He’s been an absolute game-breaker for us,” Drysdale said of Tippett. “You saw all of that on display tonight.”

NOTES: Tippett’s four points matched a career high, which he has achieved three other times. His most recent four-point game was Jan. 23, when he also had three goals and an assist in a 7-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche. … Red Wings forward Carter Mazur played 10:06 in his second NHL game, more than a year after his debut on March 6, 2025, when he sustained a season-ending upper-body injury on his second NHL shift against Utah Hockey Club.