Flyers Score 4 in 1st, Roll Past Ducks

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Anaheim Ducks came into Wells Fargo Center with just two wins in the last 52 days. The Flyers took full advantage of that.

Behind four first-period goals, the Flyers extended their points streak to 10 games, picking up a 6-2 win over the Ducks on Saturday afternoon.

The Flyers opened the scoring early with the fourth line getting on the board. Michael Raffl won a puck battle behind the net and made a nice centering pass to Phil Varone, who fired and scored to make it 1-0 at 2:44.

Midway through the period, Sean Couturier kept his hot streak going with a great play. Couturier kicked Robert Hagg's pass from his skate to his stick and lifted a rising shot off the post and in to make it 2-0 with his 23rd goal of the season.

Just 1:20 later, the Flyers were shorthanded, but kept pouring it on as Raffl finished on a two-on-one with Scott Laughton to make it 3-0.

With 2:14 left in the period, the Flyers used some quick passing to get another goal. Jake Voracek and Couturier each had assists as the final pass by Couturier hit off the skate of Oskar Lindblom and went in to make it 4-0 after the first period.

Shots through 20 minutes were 14-12 Flyers. The Ducks pulled goalie Chad Johnson after the first period and sent in Kevin Boyle, making his NHL debut.

The Ducks started the second period with 1:54 of power play and were able to solve Carter Hart. Hart was done and out on some good puck movement, and the Ducks got the puck back in front and Adam Henrique was there to tap in it. The Flyers challenged the goal for offside, but the replay was inconclusive and the call stood. 

The Flyers killed off the delay of game penalty as a result of the lost challenge.

The rest of the period, the Flyers played more passive but also limited the chances for Anaheim. After two periods, the Flyers had a 27-21 advantage in shots.

The Ducks managed to cut into the lead again on a power play in the third. Ryan Getzlaf made a good cross-ice pass to Nick Ritchie, who lifted a shot that hit a Flyer in front and beat Hart to make it 4-2 with 15:03 to play. 

The Flyers finally cashed in on a power play with 7:45 to play as Nolan Patrick poked home his 11th goal of the season. With 1:11 remaining, the Flyers capped it off with another goal, as Travis Konecny batted in a rebound.

Hart finished the game with 30 saves on 32 shots, sealing his eighth straight win, becoming just the second goalie in NHL history to put together an eight-game winning streak before his 21st birthday, joining Jocelyn Thibault.

Couturier finished with a three-point game, getting a goal and two assists. Raffl, Konecny and Varone each had a goal and an assist.

In the loss, Johnson made 10 saves on 14 shots. Boyle made 24 saves on 26 shots in relief.

The Flyers look to keep their points streak going as the Pittsburgh Penguins come into town on Monday night at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• PHI Phil Varone (3) (Michael Raffl) 2:44
• PHI Sean Couturier (23) (Robert Hagg, Varone) 10:24
• PHI Raffl (4) SH (Scott Laughton, Andrew MacDonald) 11:44
• PHI Oskar Lindblom (8) (Couturier, Jake Voracek) 17:46

2nd Period

• ANA Adam Henrique (10) PP (Nick Ritchie, Ryan Getzlaf) 0:51

3rd Period

• ANA Ritchie (8) PP (Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell) 4:57
• PHI Nolan Patrick (11) PP (Couturier, Travis Konecny) 12:15
• PHI Konecny (15) (Travis Sanheim, James van Riemsdyk) 18:49

Game Statistics