The Philadelphia Flyers returned home Tuesday night to start up a four-game homestand. It started with a matchup against the Anaheim Ducks. Dan Vladar got the start in net. Nikita Grebenkin entered the lineup as Matvei Michkov got injured last game. It was a game that meant a lot to Trevor Zegras, and he proved it. He’d score two goals and helped the Flyers seal a five-to-two victory. Unfortunately, Bobby Brink and Jamie Drysdale left with injuries. The orange and black improved to 22-12-7 on the season.
Brink took a huge hit from Jansen Harkins at the 2:38 mark of the first period that would knock him out of the game. Noah Cates stood up for his teammate and dropped the gloves with Harkins. Both players got five-minutes each for fighting, but Cates received an instigation penalty and game misconduct. This gave the Ducks their first power play.
Cutter Gauthier took advantage in his return to Philly at the 4:15 mark of the first. He took a pass from Jackson LaCombe and put a slapshot off the far post and in past Vladar from the top of the right circle. 1-0 Ducks. LaCombe and Troy Terry tallied assists.
The Ducks got their second power play at the 4:21 mark of the first period as Zegras was called for high-sticking. The Flyers did a nice job of blocking shots and clearing the puck down the ice. Vladar had to make a big save on Pavel Mintyukov from in front, however.
The Flyers got their first power play at the 8:09 mark of the first as Terry got called for high-sticking. They had a few good looks and managed to get three shots on net, but Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal had all the answers.
Zegras tied the game up at one for the Flyers at the 10:22 mark of the first period. He took a nice pass from Christian Dvorak and put a snapshot over the glove of Dostal from just below the right circle. Dvorak and Travis Konecny picked up assists.
The Ducks got caught with too many men on the ice at the 12:49 mark of the first. This gave the Flyers their second power play. Harkins served the penalty. The Flyers capitalized thanks to Zegras. Cam York fed Zegras with a nice pass to the right circle, and Zegras put a wrist shot past the glove of Dostal. This made the score 2-1 Flyers. York and Sean Couturier were given assists.
Beckett Sennecke was called for hooking at the 18:08 mark of the first period, which gave the Flyers their third power play. They’d fail to capitalize on this opportunity. The Ducks did their job of clearing the puck down the ice and blocked a few shots. Only one shot on net was recorded.
The Flyers took a 3-1 lead just 1:15 into the second period courtesy of York. His wrist shot from the blue line made it all the way past the blocker of Dostal and in. It looked like it was deflected, but it wasn’t. Assists were given to Nikita Grebenkin and Cates.
Ross Johnston made a huge hit on Jamie Drysdale at the 2:39 mark of the second. Johnston would get called for interference and got a game misconduct. Drysdale wouldn’t return to the game. This gave the Flyers a five-minute power play. The Flyers had plenty of chances in the offensive zone, but couldn’t get anything past Dostal. Dostal allowed some big rebounds that the Flyers couldn’t get to.
Leo Carlsson got called for interference at the 9:23 mark of the second period. This gave the Flyers their fifth power play. Dostal had to come up with big saves on York and Rasmus Ristolainen, and the Ducks did their job of clearing the puck down the ice to waste time.
Travis Sanheim gave the Flyers a 4-1 lead at the 14:40 mark of the second. Cates won the faceoff back to Sanheim. Sanheim then put a slapshot past the glove of Dostal from the high slot. Cates received the lone assist.
9 seconds into the third period, Couturier was called for tripping. This gave the Ducks their third man advantage. Alex Killorn got the Ducks within two on the power play. Terry found Killorn in the slot, and he put a snapshot past Vladar. 4-2 Flyers. Terry and LaCombe tallied assists.
Garnet Hathaway and Radko Gudas dropped the gloves at the 7:51 mark of the third after Hathaway made a big hit on Ian Moore. Both players got five-minutes each for fighting. Not many punches were landed. Just a whole bunch of arm wrestling.
The Flyers got their sixth power play at the 8:14 mark of the third period as Jacob Trouba was called for elbowing. Soon after, Chris Kreider got called for high-sticking. This gave the Flyers a two-man advantage. Dostal made saves on Ristolainen and Konecny, and the Ducks blocked a few shots. They looked better on the power play than on the two-man advantage.
Gudas was called for elbowing at the 15:46 mark of the third, which gave the Flyers their eighth power play. The Flyers didn’t record any shots on net, and Vladar had to make a big save on Killorn while shorthanded.
The Ducks pulled Dostal with 1:54 remaining in the third period in favor of the extra attacker, with them down by two. It backfired, however, as Grebenkin scored an empty-netter at the 18:46 mark. Sennecke turned the puck over at center ice, and Grebenkin put a wrist shot into the empty net from just inside the blue line. The goal was unassisted. This gave the Flyers a 5-2 lead.
Flyers went one for eight on the power play and only killed off one of the three Ducks’ man-advantages.
Vladar saved 16 of 18 shots, giving him a .889 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Gauthier (20) (Power Play) Assists: LaCombe (19), Terry (28)
Zegras (16) Assists: Dvorak (17), Konecny (24)
Zegras (17) (Power Play) Assists: York (15), Couturier (19)
2nd Period:
York (3) Assists: Grebenkin (7), Cates (13)
Sanheim (5) Assists: Cates (14)
3rd Period:
Killorn (4) (Power Play) Assists: Terry (29), LaCombe (20)
Grebenkin (3) (Empty Net) Assists: none
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