Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Flyers Fans are well aware of the excitement level in this town when the Ducks show up to play the Flyers. Wednesday night the Flyers were in California to face their unlikely cross country rivals and it did not disappoint. It was a close hard hitting Flyers win in overtime.
At the first stoppage of play the organization ran a Trevor Zegras highlight reel and the fans gave him a warm round of applause. Zegras was gracious, rising to his skates, and tapping on his heart. It was his first game back in Anaheim since being traded by the Ducks to the Flyers.
That was all very nice and classy, and well deserved, but that’s not what we stayed up for so let’s go.
Philly vs Anaheim
Our old friend Radko Gudas was not available for this contest. He’s currently serving a 5 game suspension for going knee to knee with Auston Matthews.
In many ways the mood in the rink was very different than when the Ducks come to Philly. In fact, there were plenty of Flyers Fans on hand wearing their gear and making noise every time Cutter Gauthier touched the puck.
First Blood
The Flyers got on the board first. Cam York passed from the side of the net to Luke Glendening in front who snapped it home just 2:41 into the match.
Owen Tippet has been playing some inspired hockey as of late. He had a dominant shift towards the end of the 1st period that drew some attention. Tippet used his speed and determination to turn a foot-race into a breakaway. He made all the right moves but hit iron with a backhander. Seconds later he leveled Jackson Lacombe in front of his own bench. Clean took him out, good stuff.
Gettin chippy wit it
Matvei Michkov got into some rough stuff with Pavel Mintyukov. Mintyukov dropped the gloves and Michkov blew him off and skated away. The officials figured out a way to even up the penalties.
The Penalties expired seconds before the 1st period ended. Michkov and Mintyukov used that time to catch up a bit after leaving the box.
The Flyers continued to dominate even strength play into the 2nd period. They were taking too many penalties but did not end up paying the price.
The Flyers took a two goal lead when Owen Tippett scored his 23rd goal of the season. He picked up a rebound from Travis Sanheim and tapped it in 7:53 into the middle period.
Cutter Gauthier was responsible for the Flyers 3rd power-play of the night. As he put a high stick into the face of Travis Sanheim. The Flyers actually created some nice chances but could not get one past Lukas Dostal.
Seconds later the Flyers got their 4th opportunity with the man advantage. That lasted all of 45 seconds before Michkov got back into it with Mintyukov earning himself two minutes in the box. The Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power-play keeping their last place ranking intact.
As the 4-on-4 came to an end it was Mintyukov to Gauthier right in front making a quick move and beating Dan Vladar to cut the lead in half with just 38 seconds remaining in the 2nd period. It was Gauthier’s 35th of the season.
The 3rd period started right off with plenty of yapping and chirping, good chances at both ends of the ice, and some fine goaltending. It was hard hitting wide open hockey. Fun to watch. Eventually it came to a head as Nick Seeler squared off with Jansen Harkins. Seeler got the better of him for sure.
The Ducks controlled the play for much of the third period. They were attacking with numbers and Vladar needed to be sharp. The Flyers were breaking in on individual efforts and it was getting them nowhere. At one point they went over ten minutes without a shot on goal.
The Ducks pulled their goaltender with two minutes and change left in regulation. With the extra skater on the ice and a ton of traffic in front of the Flyers net Leo Carlsson ended up with the puck at the far side of the Flyers net with plenty to shoot at. Gauthier picked up the secondary assist.
The Ducks had tied the score at two with 1:44 on the clock. This game was going to overtime.
OT
The overtime session was loose and wild. Back and forth, 2-on-1s both directions. Sometimes a little sloppy but a whole lot of fun to watch.
The final tally was also not very pretty. Noah Cates and Michkov 2-on-1. Michkov whiffed on a shot. The puck went behind the net to Cates who tried to put it back out front. The puck pinballed off a Ducks skate and into the net giving the Flyers the overtime win and two desperately needed points.
Not so fast
It was the Flyers first shot on goal of the overtime 2:17 into the session. After the goal was scored the Flyers headed up the tunnel. The crowd started pouring out towards the exits. But the Ducks stayed on their bench. The goal was going to be reviewed to check for an offsides on the entry. It was a quirky ending as the announcement was made. The goal would stand. Flyers win 3-2.
Dan Vladar was solid yet again stopping 35 of 37 shots.
Next Up: The Flyers are in LA Thursday night to faceoff against the Kings 10:30 East Coast time.
Extra Credit: This was probably the most orange hockey game you will ever see. The Flyers were wearing their white and orange away uniforms. The Ducks were wearing Orange shirts, pants, socks, and hats. They looked like when you let a little kid dress themselves.
About Author
