In the first Flyers-Ducks game since the infamous Cutter Gauthier trade and ensuing fallout, the Flyers emerged victorious in the first game of their annual Disney On Ice trip. Emerging out of the break with a much-needed win, on the backs of a stout Sam Ersson and strong defensive effort, is just what the doctor ordered for the Flyers as they embark on a potential season-defining trip out west.
The Basics
First period: No scoring
Second period: 4:03 – Noah Cates (Brink, York), 15:38 – Troy Terry (Gudas, LaCombe)
Third period: 5:57 – Morgan Frost (Laughton), 17:40 – Joel Farabee (EN)
SOG: 33 (ANA) – 25 (PHI)
Some Takeaways
Sam Ersson with a much needed bounce back
Heading into the holiday break, there was plenty of room for fans to be doubting Sam Ersson, and plenty of justification for it. Ersson’s season save percentage of .872 heading into Saturday is/was one of the worst marks in the NHL, and all of Ersson’s outings lately have had their share of gaffes, weak goals, and the inability to make a crucial save when the Flyers needed it. There were legitimate questions this week about Alexsei Kolosov’s chances to supplant Ersson, and that’s pretty shocking considering where the organization was at on Ersson heading into the 2024-25 season.
Having said that, Ersson’s performance against Anaheim is a welcome sign that the Swede might be getting back on track. It’s one game, but it’s easily the most solid Ersson has looked since his return from injury. Stopping 32 of 33 Ducks shots, the only shot that eluded Ersson was a high quality snipe from Troy Terry. Throughout the rest of the game, Ersson was crucial in backstopping the Flyers to victory. Especially in the first period when the Flyers were being consistently outchanced in the early going, Ersson’s performance was reminiscent of the Ersson that the Flyers came to trust in his rookie season.
Five in a row for Cates
You can’t stop Noah Cates, you can only hope to contain him.
Seriously, Cates is on a serious heater right now, as his goal against Anaheim extended his goal streak to five games. On this particular goal, Bobby Brink did most of the work, skating elusively around the Ducks defense to a spot behind the net, where he fed an open Cates in front for a one-timer.
We’ve been talking about it a lot lately, but the Flyers third line continues to hum along. The playing styles of Brink-Cates-Foerster work really well together, as Brink brings some of the higher-end skill that Cates and Foerster may lack. It’s a good combination, and all three of the players are really operating at full capacity right now. No wonder John Tortorella is going to it more than any other line, and is the only line that avoids reshuffling mid-game (10:46 TOI leads all forward lines by a mile).
Michkov benched again
And now to the bad, where Tortorella has seemingly benched Matvei Michkov yet again. It might be argued that this is just ‘Torts being Torts’, but Michkov has been legitimately ineffective lately. Whether benching Michkov is the right choice is a different conversation, but there’s no way to argue against the poor quality of Michkov’s play recently. The Flyers didn’t change all that much around him, and Michkov has entered into the first extended slump of his career. In reality, this is completely normal for a rookie, and he’s going to continue to get this treatment from Torts until he breaks out of it. Really wouldn’t be surprised to see him come out of the lineup tomorrow night against the Kings, after he was benched the entirety of the third and only had 9:01 TOI total.
Reckless penalty late, Flyers still ice game
While it was a pretty complete effort in this one, the Flyers tried their hardest to give it away. Somehow, in an end-of-game, closeout situation, the Flyers forgot how to change lines and ended up with too many men on the ice with four minutes remaining. In a one goal game in the third, penalties can’t happen, but especially self-inflicted penalties like a bench minor. The Flyers were lucky enough to kill it off and ice the game on a Joel Farabee empty netter, but the process of closing out the game was not the best.
A check in on Cutter Gauthier
And finally, it’s worth checking in on the performance of Cutter Gauthier in his first ever game against the team that drafted him. In 13:19 TOI, Gauthier registered 2 SOG, 3 giveaways, and 0 points on the night. Gauthier individually operated at a high mark of 61.29 corsi-for percentage at 5v5, but the Flyers did the most important thing they could do in the first ever Gauthier-Flyers matchup – they didn’t let Gauthier find the back of the net. They’ll get to see him again on January 11, but in front of a likely animated Wells Fargo Center crowd.
