Flyers squander two-goal lead in loss to Cutter Gauthier and the Anaheim Ducks
The Flyers' lead was built by power-play goals, but the Ducks tied it in the second before taking a two-goal lead of their own. Matvei Michkov added his second goal of the day to make it 5-4.
Compared to the first two meetings of the young rivalry between the Anaheim Ducks and the Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena, this one was a little less electric.
But it still had its fireworks.
Cutter Gauthier, once a top Flyers prospect, was booed and jeered throughout, beginning when he left for warmups.
The Flyers had won four consecutive games against the Ducks following the trade in which Gauthier went to the Ducks and defenseman Jamie Drysdale came east, but couldn’t come away with a win on Saturday. The Flyers lost, 5-4, ending the overall winning streak — after starting the season winless in nine — at three games.
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Anaheim scored three times on 15 shots in the middle frame, with Flyers coach Rick Tocchet saying he thought his squad “got loose.” The hometown team did push in the third, scoring once on 11 shots.
Matvei Michkov cut into the Ducks’ lead in the third period with his second goal of the game, jamming home a loose puck that hit Porter Martone in front on a Noah Cates shot. The Flyers also had a 40-second six-on-four to end the game after Jamie Drysdale was hooked on a waived-off icing.
Flyers’ power play is electric
Skating in his third game of the season and the fourth of his short NHL career, Hunter McDonald made an impact. The Western New York native entered the game with 10 hits in 11 minutes, 39 seconds of action, and before the Saturday matinee was 14 minutes old, he added two more — both on Sam Colangelo in 10 seconds.
His second hit, a crushing, clean blow in the offensive zone along the boards, drew a minor on Colangelo as he punched McDonald in the face when he got up. The Ducks forward kept going at McDonald, who kept his hands down until he shoved Colangelo to get away.
A.J. Greer then instigated a fight against McDonald, giving the Flyers a full two-minute two-man advantage. The Flyers scored twice to take a 2-0 lead.
Eighteen seconds into the five-on-three, Michkov found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season. Trevor Zegras skated the puck into the left circle — his new spot — and gave it back to Drysdale at the point with Martone atop the crease and Tyson Foerster by the left post.
Drysdale quickly sent it down to Michkov at the bottom of the right circle. The Russian winger carried it up and around, curling between the circles as a double screen was set by Martone and Foerster. He fired the puck past Ducks goalie Lukáš Dostál for his fourth power-play goal in 13 games, matching last season’s total across 81 games.
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Sixty-three seconds later on the five-on-four, the teenage Martone extended the lead to 2-0.
Zegras put a shot on goal and chipped the long rebound back down the boards to Martone. He sent it back to Zegras and then over to Travis Sanheim as he skated into the left circle. The alternate captain, with his head up, sent a seam pass to Martone as he crashed back door.
The goal is Martone’s third of the season and second on the power play. He needs one more goal to match his total last season in nine games. Zegras now has 10 points on the season and seven in the past four games.
The Flyers have scored a power-play tally in four straight games.
Quack attack
Across the first two periods, the Ducks put 21 shots on goal, beating Flyers goalie Joseph Woll three times. According to Natural Stat Trick, Woll allowed two goals on four shots from high-danger spots, with the third from a mid-danger area.
The first goal by Anaheim cut into the Flyers’ 2-0 lead after a miscue between Nick Seeler and Woll in the second period. Gauthier picked up the loose puck behind the net and fed Leo Carlsson — of offer-sheet fame — as he crashed down the middle of the ice. There were boos when the primary assist was announced.
Less than five minutes later, Greer tied it as his shot off a Tim Washe rebound hit the right post and the skate of Woll. It looked like Sanheim had cleared the puck before it crossed the line, but it was ruled a goal after video review.
Judd Caufield tied it, 3-3, just over a minute after the Flyers retook the lead when he jammed at an Alex Killorn centering pass. It caused the puck to pop up and over Woll.
Things seemed to settle after that as Woll robbed Gauthier twice with 12 seconds left in the middle frame. The 2022 Flyers draft pick got the puck back door, and Woll made a sliding left pad save before flashing the leather on his rebound attempt.
But two minutes into the third period, Tristan Luneau gave the Ducks their first lead of the day with a bad-angle shot that squeezed through Woll. Beckett Sennecke made it 5-3 on an Anaheim power play, tipping in a Carlsson pass from atop the crease.
The Flyers power play was unable to score on the next five opportunities, but one was 49 seconds in the first and another 41 seconds at the end of the game.
Finding Tyson Foerster
In his first 11 games, Foerster registered one goal on 25 shots — and three shots came Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres after he missed a game because of a right hand injury from blocking a shot.
The Flyers need to get Foerster, a winger who entered the season with 61 goals in 195 games, going. Maybe an unexpected shorthanded tally can do just that.
With the game tied 2-2 and captain Sean Couturier in the box for roughing, Sennecke couldn’t handle the Seeler clearing attempt at the right point. Foerster picked up the puck, crossed with Cates, and headed down the right boards as they created a two-on-one.
Carlsson was the lone Duck back and went spread eagle to take away the pass, forcing Foeterster wide. But the Flyers forward was patient, got his stick around Carlsson and sent it through Dostál’s wickets to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead.
Breakaways
Defenseman Simon Benoit was a healthy scratch after playing against Buffalo. Defenseman David Jiříček and forward Michael Bunting were healthy scratches for the second straight game. … Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen returned after missing 10 games with a hand injury from blocking a shot in the second game of the season. In a corresponding move, forward Garrett Wilson was sent down to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League after clearing waivers.
Up next
The Flyers return to action on Tuesday at home against former Flyers Emil Andrae and Cam Talbot and the Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m., NBCSP). They head to Washington on Wednesday for the first of four meetings against the Capitals in Alex Ovechkin’s final NHL season (7:30 p.m., TNT, TruTV, HBO Max, NBCSP+).
