Ducks 5, Flyers 3: Ducks victorious despite Flyers strong start

1st Period

After the pregame festivities for Lou Nolan, the Flyers opened the scoring early in this one thanks to a Travis Sanheim wrist shot just 1:39 into the game.

Then just 49 seconds later Ronnie Attard got his first career NHL goal, thanks to a nice screen by Hayden Hodgson.

The Flyers went on the PECOOOOOO power play after Max Comtois was called for a tripping penalty. Although they were not able to capitalize, they had some good chances that they would look to build on later. Just a few minutes later the Flyers went back to the power play after Jamie Drysdale took a high-sticking penalty, but again were not able to convert.

Philadelphia would hold onto their 2-0 lead as the teams headed to the locker room.

2nd period

The Ducks were able to cut the lead in half after Jamie Drysdale took a shot from the point that Martin Jones was unable to control and Sonny Milano quickly pounced on the rebound.

Just moments later the Ducks scored again thanks to Zach Aston-Reese who skillfully deflected a shot from Adam Henrique to tie the game at two.

With 7:30 remaining in the period Scott Laughton was called for a slashing penalty giving the Ducks their first power play of the game. They took full advantage and were able to take a 3-2 lead after a Trevor Zegras slap shot from the wing.

The Ducks would take that 3-2 lead into the intermission, with one period to play.

3rd Period

Ivan Provorov was able to tie things up at three thanks to some really good work by Nate Thompson, who eventually set Provorov up with a nice give-and-go.

The Ducks took the lead back with 8:22 remaining thanks to a Troy Terry tap in goal that was set up by a highlight reel pass by Trevor Zegras.

The Ducks got their second power play of the night after Ronnie Attard took an interference penalty. The Flyers penalty kill looked sharp however and killed the power play with relative ease.

Just after the penalty kill former Flyer Derrick Grant gave the Ducks a two goal cushion set up by a nice pass from Andrej Sustr. This gave the Ducks a 5-3 lead which they would hold onto for the remainder of the game.

Final Thoughts

The Flyers came out flying in the first period with two goals early and many more chances. Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins used his time-out early looking to settle his team down. This seemed to calm things down a bit for the Ducks, but the Flyers still dominated the period despite not scoring any additional goals.

The second period was a completely different story however as the Ducks outshot the Flyers 17-4. Konecny had a glorious chance right in front of the net after one of the better passing plays you will see but hit the post. The Ducks continuously put pressure on the Flyers and some defensive mistakes and not great goaltending allowed Anaheim to get back in the game.

The Ducks continued their dominance in the third period despite the Flyers beginning the period with a strong start. The Flyers got away from all the good things they did in the first period. They were getting pucks to the net from all angles but more importantly they were getting bodies in front of Anthony Stolarz making life difficult for him and the Anaheim defense. This coupled with the same defensive miscues we have seen all season is the reason this game slipped out of the Flyers hands tonight.

All in all it was a disappointing night for the Flyers, especially considering the way they started the game. They will be back at it on Tuesday when the travel down to Washington D.C. to take on the Capitals in the front end of a back-to-back.