The Philadelphia Flyers dominated the Anaheim Ducks en route to their biggest win of the season on Saturday night in South Philadelphia.
The 6-0 win was the Flyers’ largest margin of victory since beating the Washington Capitals 8-2 in the 2017 home opener. It was also their biggest shutout win since taking down the Columbus Blue Jackets by that same 6-0 score on March 5, 2016.
John Tortorella was behind the bench for each of the Flyers’ last 6-0 wins: with Columbus in 2016 and of course in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Ducks captain Radko Gudas, who earned himself a 10-minute misconduct in the third period after battling with Matvei Michkov, was the first star for the Flyers back in that 2016 win against Tortorella.
But the Flyers’ win on Saturday night wasn’t about the final score. It was about welcoming William “Cutter” Gauthier to Philadelphia one year after he was traded to Anaheim.
Flyers fans had January 11th circled on their calendars since this year’s schedule came out, and although they may not admit it, I’m sure some players and members of the organization did as well. Gauthier’s trade request was kept under wraps until Keith Jones & Co. discussed it after the deal.
“If you don’t want to be a Flyer, you’re not going to be a Flyer,” the Flyers president said last year. “And we are very pleased in the return that we got. A player that we coveted and were searching for, in Jamie Drysdale. A right-handed-shooting defenseman that was a former sixth-overall pick. He’s got skill and we’re looking forward to seeing him get into our lineup. It’ll be an emotional time in Anaheim for him. He’s an extremely popular player and a great person, so can’t wait to meet him.”
Gauthier apparently has his reasons for not wanting to play for the Flyers, but he has yet to make them public. “I just wish they knew the truth,” Gauthier told The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz prior to his first game in Philadelphia.
The truth that the Flyers fans saw on Saturday night was that Gauthier shrinks in the spotlight. The rookie forward said he had the first meeting against the club that drafted him circled on his calendar before putting up a goose egg in the Flyers’ 3-1 win in Anaheim on December 28. He came up even smaller in his first game at the Wells Fargo Center.
Flyers fans let Gauthier hear it from the moment he stepped onto the ice for warmups. The boos rained down as fans with colorful signs watched on. That was only a preview of the next three hours of hell for Philadelphia’s newest villain.
The drama around Gauthier resulted in the loudest and most energetic crowd at The Farg for a Flyers game since at least the Claude Giroux era. Chants varied from “We want Cutter!” prior to his first shift to “F–k you Cutter!” throughout the night.
The Flyers faithful also showed their support for Jamie Drysdale, who the Flyers received from Anaheim along with a second-round pick for the underwhelming winger. “Jamie’s better!” rang throughout the arena and the defenseman ended his goal drought with a nice move for a power-play tally.
It was a night to both hate and celebrate in Philadelphia. But when asked about it after the game, Tortorella didn’t stray from his usual demeanor.
“I have no idea,” he said when asked if the team wanted to give the crowd what they came for.
The team certainly heard the chants and fed off the energy in the building, but Tortorella seems to be more focused on the long-term goal rather than one good game (after one of their worst), even if the circumstances made it clear that it wasn’t just another game.
“You know what I hope? I hope we can play in front of a crowd like that about something meaningful, not the s–t that whatever you guys are talking about,” Tortorella said. “I hope it means something to the organization as far as winning and losing. That’s when we want to see a crowd like that, not all this stuff you guys are talking about. I want it to be that we are a team to be reckoned with in a playoff series, not this s–t.”
First and foremost, Tortorella is absolutely not wrong. An atmosphere like the one in the building on Saturday night is great, but it ultimately doesn’t mean much in a rebuilding season. And a team’s head coach maybe shouldn’t get caught up in all of the outside drama. We already know that Torts “doesn’t give a s–t” what Gauthier has to say.
At the same time, Tortorella could’ve said what he did while also adding some more positivity or encouraging words. Saturday night’s game showed what the atmosphere can be like and it’s important to have these younger players see what a big-time game in Philadelphia can be — even if it wasn’t for the “right” reasons.
It shows why players should want to come to play in Philadelphia and why so many people stick around in the organization. Erik Johnson probably could’ve signed a veteran minimum deal to chase another Stanley Cup somewhere, for example, but his month around the team at the end of last season wanted him to come back.
It’s why some of the veterans on the team like Garnet Hathaway signed extensions — even if you may not agree with the move.
Saturday night’s crowd can be used as a bit of a recruiting tool when it is time to sign some of the bigger free agents. “Hey, look at this Saturday night in January amidst a rebuilding season. Don’t you want to be a part of that in the playoffs and try to bring this city its first Cup in 50 years?”
Another thing that a game like Saturday’s can do is get some of the players going. Drysdale looked like a completely different player with some confidence to his game. Michkov got off the schneid and gave us another brilliant celebration. Travis Konecny had four primary assists to get to 50 points on the season. The team came together to give Gauthier and the Ducks a hard time on every single shift.
So yeah, it’s not going to propel the Flyers to the Stanley Cup or probably even the playoffs this year, but it could give them a jolt after a losing streak. Looking at it from Tortorella’s perspective, it doesn’t mean anything if the Flyers don’t show up like that every game, and they have a big test on Monday night against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers who don’t take anyone lightly.
