Tippett toe-ing the line: Flyers winger a scratch threat as Canes series blows in

RALEIGH, N.C. -- When the Flyers kick off the Eastern Conference semifinal against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, they might be without one of their top forwards. 

Owen Tippett had not been on the ice since Wednesday's Game 6 victory over Pittsburgh. Then, on Saturday, he took the ice for an optional morning skate with a handful of regulars, the probable healthy scratches and the Black Aces.

It's known by now that Tippett has been playing through an undisclosed injury, so maybe the morning skate was just a chance for him to get his skating legs going again in time for Game 1. 

But the longer the skate went on, the longer Tippett stayed out. When the rest of the regulars left the ice, Tippett remained. And he remained for a while - until well after both buses returning to the team hotel had left the arena. 

Owen Tippett still on the ice long after the skate with a handful of the scratches. Makes me wonder what his status is for tonight. pic.twitter.com/jIompDo3Yc

— Anthony SanFilippo (@AntSanPhilly) May 2, 2026

That's not usually a good sign. Players who plan on being in the lineup aren't usually skating for upwards of an hour at a morning skate. 

According to a team source, Tippett is a game-time decision, but when you start putting the puzzle pieces together, it's looking more and more doubtful that he will play. 

On Friday, the Flyers ran a line with Alex Bump in his place on a line with Trevor Zegras and Porter Martone during practice. 

When a question after the practice was asked about Bump being a placeholder for Tippett and the possibility of Bump coming out of the lineup as a result, head coach Rick Tocchet insisted that Bump isn't coming out of the lineup.

If Bump isn't coming out, then why wouldn't he skate with Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov at practice, especially since the line had a solid Game 6 together?

Him moving up to take Tippett's spot and Foerster moving onto the third line with Garnet Hathaway rejoining the fourth line was a way of the Flyers getting the units practicing together just in case Tippett wasn't going to be ready. 

Usually, on a game day, it's a look-and-see how a player feels in the morning, and if he's truly a game-time decision, he comes off the ice around the same time as the regulars and then gives a final determination after pre-game warmups. 

What's not the norm is a long morning skate, with scratched players, that incurs a lot of skating. 

Wonder about Owen Tippett’s status tonight. He’s still out here with the presumed scratches getting in extra skating. He was not made available after skate. So we’ll see.

Alex Bump was not at optional morning skate, a sign that he’s playing tonight. pic.twitter.com/LkKmWL72M0

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) May 2, 2026

Without Tippett, the Flyers are bereft of their fastest skater who is also a power forward who has ramped up his physical play. 

Before the game, Tocchet said the Flyers are going to have to try to match Carolina in the skating department, since they are a fast team.

"They play a certain way and they're not going to venture too far off it," Tocchet said. "You're going to have to be really good along the walls, body position, breakouts too. 

"There's a way of beating their pressure but we've got to find it. You've got to skate. You have to have a skating game to match their speed because they're really good off the rush."

Sounds like all the things Tippett does well. And if he can't go, it'll be a blow for the Flyers.