The Anaheim Ducks took on the Philadelphia Flyers in a early start yesterday at 10 AM PT. The Flyers are coming off a 3-2 shoot-out loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks are coming off a 4-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The Ducks only have two wins in their last 52 days. Chad Johnson and Carter Hart would each get the start. John Gibson is day-to-today with an injury so Kevin Boyle will serve as the back-up. Ryan Getzlaf would become the all-time leader in games played (967) at puck drop.

First Period:

The Flyers quickly tested Johnson as they took a quick snapshot that went off his stick. Phil Varone would score at the 2:44 mark when he was left open in front of Johnson and fires a shot pass him. At the 10:54 mark, Oskar Lindblom was called for tripping and the Ducks would get a power play. Unfortunately, They gave up a few odd-man rushes and Sean Couturier would score his team-leading 23rd goal and the Flyers go up 2-0. Michael Raffl would make it 3-0 when he scored shortly after. Brandon Montour would be called for interference at the 15:15 mark. The Flyers did not convert on that chance but would get their fourth goal of the game when Lindblom scores. At the 19:53 mark, Robert Hagg would be called for slashing. Corey Perry and Radko Gudas would be tangled with one another and each get roughing calls. The Flyers outshot the Ducks, 14-12 and take a four-goal lead at the end of the first.

Second Period:

The Ducks would start the second with Boyle in net. They also had the remaining power play. The controlled opening minutes of the period. Adam Henrique goes to the front of the net and gets an easy tap in from Nick Ritchie and Getzlaf. The Flyers challenged the call for offside but was ruled a good goal and they [Flyers] were given a bench minor. Jakub Voracek served the penalty. The Ducks put a lot of front net pressure and controlled the puck. It took almost ten minutes for the Flyers to get their first shot on goal. Boyle made the glove save. Ryan Kesler took a hooking penalty at the 15:23 mark. Boyle looked sharp. He looked comfortable in net and his confidence kept growing as the game went on. The Flyers outshot the Ducks 13-9 in the second and lead 4-1.

Third Period:

The Ducks would get a quick penalty at the 2:19 mark. Getzlaf took a high-sticking penalty. The Flyers did not convert. The Flyers would take the next penalty at the 3:36 mark when Shayne Gostisbehere would take a tripping penalty. The Ducks would convert as Ritchie would score from Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell. The Ducks get into penalty trouble by taking consecutive penalties from Montour (holding) and Josh Manson (Tripping). The Flyers would get a power play goal from Nolan Patrick to make it 5-2. The Flyers would put the nail in the Ducks’ coffin by getting another goal by Travis Konecny. They were only outshot 13-11 but lost this game 6-2.

Analysis:

The Ducks, once again, went down early in the game. They were exposed early in the game and the Flyers made them pay. Johnson looked strong to start but ultimately got pulled. The Ducks had some life back at the start of the second and controlled most of the period. Boyle gave them some energy and had a very strong period. The Ducks would win that second period. The third period showed why the Ducks have failed as of late. They pretty much gave up. They allowed Flyers players to linger around the net and didn’t have much fight. Change is definitely needed but most likely won’t happen. Boyle was the best player for the Ducks.

The Ducks will host the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 13, 2018.