Ed Snider would be proud.
The crowd brought it. The Flyers brought it.
On what would have been the founder and late owner’s 93rd birthday, in front of a sellout crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and with the faithful amped up, the Flyers dominated the Anaheim Ducks 5-2. It was their second straight win and fifth in the past seven games.
In between boos and words not safe for print, former Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier struck first for the Ducks with a power-play goal, celebrating with a “mark it” reaction. But the Flyers answered with four straight goals.
Trevor Zegras, who was acquired from the Ducks in June and has been off to a red-hot start with his new club, scored twice past goalie Lukáš Dostál in the first period — each from the same spot.
The first came at even strength, when Christian Dvorak, who signed a five-year extension on Monday, kept a bouncing puck in at the Ducks’ blue line. He carried it down and sent a no-look pass to Zegras between the bottom of the right circle and the goal line. The New York native sent a one-timer past Dostál from the sharp angle.
On the celebration, he “hung up the phone” on the Ducks. He said on NBCSP’s postgame show, “That’s how quick the phone call was before.”
Just over four minutes later, Zegras did it from almost the exact spot on a Flyers power play to give the home team a 2-1 lead. On this goal, it was Cam York who skated down and sent a no-look pass over to Zegras for the one-timer from the bottom of the right circle for his 17th goal of the season.
Zegras now has four games with two goals this season and 11 in his career. He has never had a hat trick.
Early in the second period, York got the puck at the point, and after walking the line a few steps, he put it on net. The puck appeared to be deflected on the way in, but York was awarded his third goal of the season.
Travis Sanheim pushed it to 4-1 after Noah Cates won a faceoff deep in the Ducks’ end back to him. The defenseman stepped into the puck and fired it home.
Anaheim’s Alex Killorn scored a power-play goal to cut it to 4-2 early in the third period, but Nikita Grebenkin added an empty-netter with 1 minute, 14 seconds left in the game.
And the Flyers dominated the game despite a decimated bench.
Already without Matvei Michkov, who is day to day with a lower-body injury, the Flyers lost two more players in the game.
Bobby Brink left the game and did not return after a blindside hit by Jansen Harkins just 2:38 into the first period. Off the rush, Brink received a pass from Nikita Grebenkin and was skating toward the net when Harkins cut across the slot and clipped Brink.
Noah Cates went right after Harkins, and the two dropped the gloves. According to Hockeyfights.com, it is Cates’ first pro hockey fight. The site says he had one fight with Omaha of the United States Hockey League in 2018, dropping the gloves with Paul Cotter, who now plays for the New Jersey Devils. Cates said postgame he “wouldn’t consider that [USHL one] a fight,” and he doesn’t think he got a five-minute major.
In the second period, Jamie Drysdale was curling high in the offensive zone without the puck. Anaheim forward Ross Johnston was skating into the zone and appeared to stick out his right arm as Drysdale skated by. The puck was deep in the Ducks’ zone.
Drysdale, who was acquired in the deal for Gauthier almost two years ago to the day, lay on the ice and did not move for a considerable amount of time. The stretcher came out, and the doctors came out of the stands, but Drysdale sat up and skated off the ice with help.
But he did not return, and Johnston was handed a five-minute major for interference and a game misconduct. The play by Johnston came after Garnet Hathaway drilled Olen Zellweger — cleanly — in the offensive zone.
Breakaways
Hathaway also threw a huge hit into Ducks defenseman Ian Moore in the third period and dropped the gloves with former Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas. … Forward Nic Deslauriers and defenseman Noah Juulsen were healthy scratches. … Before the game, Flyers Charities presented the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation with a $300,000 donation for assistance with programming and operational support for four Philadelphia ice rinks.
Up next
The Flyers host Scott Laughton and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP).
