VIDEO: Ducks Lose 4-1 In Philly

Photo: AP/Derik Hamilton

By Richard Gonzalez

The Anaheim Ducks took on the Philadelphia Flyers in their first of back-to-backs. This is the first meeting between the two teams. The Ducks are coming off a 4-3 win against the New York Rangers and the Flyers were on a three-game losing streak, which included a 7-3 loss to Winnipeg. Gibson and Carter Hart will be in net for their respective teams. Gibson is undefeated in regulation against the Flyers and Hart has only allowed one goal against the Ducks.

The Ducks started the first period strong by outshooting the Flyers and getting few scoring chances first but that did not last long as the Flyers woke up and remembered they were playing. Each team would spilt minor penalties and a couple of fighting majors (Chris Stewart and Nicolas Deslauriers) but neither team would capitalize on the man advantage. Both teams would end the first tied.

The Flyers would get on the board first just 55 seconds into the second period with a tip-in goal from Claude Giroux. The Flyers would extend their lead when David Kase would score with another tip-in goal. The Ducks would convert on their second power play by a goal from Rickard Rakell. Troy Terry would take a knee-on-knee hit from Nicholas Aude-Kubel and would not return to the game. A minor penalty was assessed but the Ducks did not score.

Podcast: Power Play Goals !?!?

The third period would see another Ducks player leave the ice as Ondrej Kase went face first into the boards by a hit Matt Niskanen. Niskanen got a minor penalty (boarding) along with Erik Gudbranson (roughing) and Travis Konecny (roughing). The Ducks did not score on the man advantage. The Flyers would make it a 3-1 game with a goal from Jakub Voracek. The good news is the Ducks would get their Kase back, but the bad news is the Flyers would score on an empty net goal and go on to win 4-1.

Analysis:

The Ducks started off pretty strong but it was short lived. The Flyers were wearing their hockey fights cancer jerseys in solidarity for their teammate, Oskar Lindblom, who was recently diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. It seemed like the emotional game delayed the Flyers for a bit but that same emotion allowed them to take control and win the game. The Ducks would go 1/5 on the power play. It is a positive to get another power play goal but it still needs a lot of work to capitalize on these chances. Their power play and lack of puck control caused them to lose this game. This was not the worst game the Ducks played but just an okay one. The Ducks have been improving their shooting game and Deslauriers reached fight number seven on the season. The Ducks will have a quick opportunity to bounce back from this as they play their second game of the back-to-backs against another underachieving team tomorrow.

Team News/Stats:

Rickard Rakell passed Chris Kunitz(26) on the club’s all-time power play goal list. Rakell ranks 9th all time now.

Troy Terry will be re-evaluated in the coming days. It appears he will be out some time with a knee injury.

What’s Next?

The Ducks will take on the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday (12/18).

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December 17th, 2019