Entering the road trip to California, there was a lot of question and mystery surrounding Carter Hart. There were rumors that the goaltender was not making the trip at all and that the Flyers would have to rely on Samuel Ersson and Felix Sandstrom as the netminding tandem.
Hart ended up making the trip, but was not able to return as soon as originally hoped on Saturday, allowing Ersson another start. By Monday night’s game in Anaheim, Hart was cleared to play, but John Tortorella opted to play Ersson for a fourth straight start.
The move paid off, as Ersson picked up his third straight win and made 28 saves in a 4-1 win for the Flyers over the Ducks.
The Flyers got on the board first at 7:42. Joel Farabee had a puck come his way at netfront and he turned a backhand that got past John Gibson to make it 1-0.
Less than three minutes later, Morgan Frost carried the puck from his own zone to the other end of the ice, firing a shot through a screen that beat Gibson high to make it 2-0 with his eighth of the season at 10:36.
The Ducks had two power-play chances in the first and could not score. The Flyers also did not convert on two power-play chances for them in the first.
Through 20 minutes, shots were 17-7 Flyers.
Just three minutes into the second, the Flyers capitalized again. Travis Konecny scored his 19th goal of the season off a nice feed from Kevin Hayes on a two-on-one to make it 3-0.
That was the only goal of the second period, as the Flyers had a 24-21 lead in shots through two periods.
The Flyers added to the lead again in the third. At 8:26, Scott Laughton scored on a wraparound, marking three straight games with a goal and his ninth of the season.
That was more than enough offense for the Flyers, as Ersson held down the fort, making 28 saves in his third straight win. Ersson was moments away from his first career shutout when Ryan Strome scored with 39.6 seconds remaining to snap the bid. Gibson made 29 saves on 33 shots in the loss.
Konecny, Farabee, Hayes, and Noah Cates each had two points in the win.
The Flyers now return home for the first time in 2023, facing off against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
| Box Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
| Flyers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Ducks | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- PHI Joel Farabee (7) (Noah Cates, Travis Konecny) 7:42
- PHI Morgan Frost (8) (Cam York, Farabee) 10:36
2nd Period
- PHI Konecny (19) (Kevin Hayes, Cates) 3:00
3rd Period
- PHI Scott Laughton (9) (Hayes) 8:26
- ANA Ryan Strome (9) (Trevor Zegras) 19:20
| Game Statistics | Flyers | Ducks |
| Shots | 33 | 29 |
| Power Play | 0/2 | 0/5 |
| Hits | 21 | 20 |
| Faceoff % | 53.2% | 46.8% |
| Giveaways | 7 | 11 |
| Takeaways | 5 | 2 |
| Blocked Shots | 12 | 10 |
| Penalty Minutes | 10 | 4 |
