Owen Tippett missed Flyers' 2nd-round playoff series with internal bleeding
Owen Tippett missed the Philadelphia Flyers' second-round playoff series because of internal bleeding suffered in the team's first-round series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Tippett said he was cleared to travel and skate with the team but was unable to play in any games during Round 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Flyers were swept by the Canes but received a standing ovation from the fans after a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 4.
During his end-of-season press conference Tuesday, Tippett said he didn't feel right toward the end of the Penguins series but wasn't sure exactly when the injury happened. He said it would have been around Game 6.
Tippett said he doesn't need surgery for the internal bleeding, but it's still "day-to-day."
"It's something you can't really mess around with," Tippett said. "Although staying on the ice kept me at peace a little bit, it was tough knowing that I was fully able to kind of function, but it was more waiting to get the OK from the doctors. Ultimately, never got to that."
Tippett also confirmed he was dealing with a sports hernia separate from the internal bleeding since the beginning of the playoffs.
When asked if surgery is an option for that issue, Tippett said he and the Flyers' brass are "still trying to figure that out."
"I hope not, but again, I think [Flyers general manager] Danny [Briere] is going to touch on a lot more things on Thursday," Tippett said.
The 27-year-old Tippett was the Flyers' leading goal scorer in the regular season with 28 markers and had a goal and an assist in six games in the orange and black's first-round win over the Penguins.
In the Flyers' 3-0 Game 2 win over the Pens, Tippett turned in a highlight reel assist on Garnet Hathaway's shorthanded goal in the first period. Tippett self-passed the puck off the sideboards, deked Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, fell to a knee, got up, faked a shot and then delivered a perfect pass to Hathaway, who easily deposited the puck into the net.
In Game 3, Tippett scored a goal and was credited with 11 hits in the Flyers' 5-2 win over Pittsburgh.
Tippett said he's confident he'll make a full recovery and be ready for Philadelphia's training camp in September.
The Flyers were without Tippett for the entire Carolina series and lost Noah Cates for the series after the center suffered a lower-body injury in Game 2.
Philadelphia is holding its exit interviews Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The players are talking at the team's practice facility in Voorhees, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Head coach Rick Tocchet is scheduled to speak Wednesday, and Briere on Thursday. The press conferences will be streamed live on the Flyers' X account.
