POSTGAME 5: California Sweep

The Philadelphia Flyers ended a three-game road trip through the Golden State with a 4-1 victory against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center on Monday. The Flyers won all three games on the post-Christmas trip; their first three-game winning streak since the first three games of the 2022-23 regular season. It also marked the seventh straight game in which Philadelphia has scored at least three goals.

Philly got goals from four different players and three different lines. All the scoring was at 5-on-5 against a Ducks team that entered the game already having yielded 100 goals on the season in full strength manpower situations. The Flyers also received excellent goaltending, blocked a dozen shots (largely on the penalty kill) and received at least one shot on goal by 16 of the 18 skaters.
The Flyers got off to a quick start, registering seven of the game's first eight shots on goal. Tallies by Joel Farabee (7th) at 7:42 and Morgan Frost (8th) at 10:36 opened a 2-0 lead.
Anaheim carried the play for much of the second period. But strong goaltending and a Tavis Konecny slam dunk of a goal (19th) off a 2-on-1 feed by Kevin Hayes created a 3-0 Flyers lead that they took into the third period. Konecny has points in six straight games. In that span, he's racked up seven goals and three assists for 10 points. Over the last 11 games, Konecny has recorded at least one point in 10 of the 11 matches (9g, 4a, 13 points).
In the third period, Hayes set up Scott Laughton (9th) goal of the season to establish a 4-0 lead at 8:26. Ryan Strome (9th) broke up the shutout bid at 19:20.
Making his fourth straight start dating back to Dec. 23, Samuel Ersson was in net for the Flyers. He played brilliantly, stopping 28 of 29 shots overall. John Gibson took the loss with 29 saves on 33 shots.
The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play. The Ducks were 0-for-5 but applied a lot of pressure.
FLYERS STARTING LINEUP
86 Joel Farabee - 49 Noah Cates - 11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk - 48 Morgan Frost - 74 Owen Tippett
13 Kevin Hayes - 21 Scott Laughton - 57 Wade Allison
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 38 Patrick Brown - 17 Zack MacEwen
9 Ivan Provorov - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
6 Travis Sanheim - 77 Tony DeAngelo
45 Cam York- 61 Justin Braun
33 Samuel Ersson
[32 Felix Sandström]
TURNING POINT
There was no singular turning point in the game, but the Flyers established a strong early tone and it paid off in goals by two of their young forwards -- Farabee and Frost -- to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Things got dicey at times later in the game, but the Flyers spent the whole night playing from ahead and re-took control when they needed to. Ersson was excellent as the last line of defense when needed.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Farabee and Frost (deflection at the doorstep) had chances in the first 1:10 of the game. Those were the only two shots for either team through the first 3: 23 when Sam Carrick hooked a forechecking Konecny.
On the ensuing power play, Frost beat three defenders on the entry and was taken down by Simon Benoit as he was about to go in alone on Gibson. No penalty was called but Frost got a weak shot on net. With 45 seconds left, after crisp puck movement, van Riemsdyk had a look from the slot. Gibson gloved a Laughton shot from the right circle.Ristolainen snapped a shot on net from up high just before the penalty expired and Tippett had one just after play moved back to 5-on-5.
Philly took a 1-0 lead at 7:48. Cates worked the puck down low after an initial play by Konecy. From near the right post, a determined Farabee found the net as he spun and put a backhanded shot past Gibson. The assists went to Cates and Konecny.
One shift later, the Ducks generated three shots including one by Zegras and then a 2-on-1.
At 10:36, the Flyers made it 2-0.Frost carried the mail up the ice, taking advantage of loose checking. Freezing veteran defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk near the top of the left circle, Frost fired off a shot that beat Gibson high to the short side. The helpers went to York and Farabee. York organized the rush from behind the Flyers' net, and Frost took care of the rest.
DeAngelo was called for a neutral zone slash at 12:39, putting Anaheim on the power play for the first time. Anaheim generated good puck movement. Provorov blocked an Adam Henrique shot from the slot. Troy Terry fired wide with a look at the net. Sanheim blocked a Zegras shot. Ristolainen blocked a Jakob Silfverberg shot out of play.Most of the kill was spent in the Philly zone but the Flyers got through it successfully.
The Flyers went back to the power play at 15:46 when Terry was called for hooking York in the Flyers' defensive zone. Frost snapped off a shot from the bottom of the left circle. It produced a rebound but JVR couldn't get to it. Little ensued thereafter until Konecny had a chance after the penalty's expiration.
At 18:29, it was Anaheim's turn to go back on the man advantage. Brown was called for holding Terry on a neutral zone puck battle. The Flyers had a near 2-on-1 (on a defender who was playing without a stick) but Ristolainen missed connections on a long range pass intended for Konecny. Provorov and Ristolainen combined to break up and clear an attempted entry.
The Ducks took 29 seconds of carryover PP time into the second period.

2) Anaheim made a push right after the Farabee goal and tested Ersson on their first power play of the game. Other than that, the Flyers completely owned the first period in just about every respect. It was obvious why the Ducks came into the game with the NHL's worst team goals against average. The Flyers had lots of time and space to make plays, and Anaheim was prone to making lunging plays or outright puck watching. Philly took full advantage, to their credit. When Ersson had to come up with a save, he did.
First period shots on goal were 17-7 Flyers. Shot attempts were 25-19 Flyers. Scoring chances were 15-9 Flyers. High-danger chances were 10-8 Flyers. The Flyers won 10 of 19 faceoffs, were only charged with one first period giveaway (DeAngelo) and matched Anaheim's eight credited hits with eighth of their own despite having the decided majority of the puck possession. The Ducks struggled, mightily, with the Flyers' forecheck.
3) The Flyers got through the remaining 5-on-4 penalty kill time. After the penalty expired, Konecny fended off Zegras on a rush and took the puck to the net. At the other end of the ice, Zegras tested Ersson.
The Frost line had a lengthy shift in the Anaheim zone, highlighted by Frost making a spin-o-rama move and attempting a pass to JVR. The puck stayed in the Anaheim zone. DeAngelo walked the blueline to keep a play alive,narrowly avoiding an attempted poke check.
At the 3:00 mark, the Flyers opened a 3-0 lead. From the defensive zone, Cates sprung Hayes and Konecny on a 2-on-1 rush on a gorgeous 84-foot stretch pass. In the attack zone, Hayes patiently waited for Konecny to get in position for a cross-ice pass and TK ripped the puck into the open side of the net. The assists were credited to Hayes and Cates. York made a good initial play in the defensive zone at the start of the sequence.
The Anaheim fourth line buzzed in the Flyers zone. A scrum, stirred up by Carrick, ensued after the whistle. Defending Sanheim, Deslauriers ripped Carrick's helmet off his head and received a roughing penalty at 3:55. Ersson stopped a 45-foot shot with no rebound. Ryan Strome shook free from Provorov and forced Ersson to come up big. Anaheim had yet another chance before the Deslauriers penalty ended.
Cates stole a puck in the Anaheim end, and passed to Farabee near the net but the play didn't connect. At the other end of the ice on the same shift, Zegras got past the defense and was stoned on the backhand in close by Ersson.
With about 10:30 expired in the second period, a hard-working shift by Cates and Konecny kept the Ducks hemmed in and produced a Farabee shot on net. After a TV timeout, Tortorella came right back with the Cates late. However, at 11:19, York got his skates tangled with Zegras in the neutral zone (after an initial turnover at the blueline), and was called for tripping.
Ristolainen won a battle behind the net and cleared the puck down the ice. Zegras, with seven shots on goal up to this point, tried to thread a pass down low but Ristolainen blocked it. Silverberg was robbed by Ersson on a bang-bang chance in the final 17 seconds of the power play.
After the penalty ended, Allison won a battle down low and twisted to send the puck in front. Ristolainen broke up an attempted play by Frank Vatrano and deposited him on the seat of his pants. Gibson gloved down an unscreened DeAngelo point shot for a stoppage at 14:13.
Konecny took the puck away from a defender in the Anaheim zone but couldn't find Cates. At the other end, a failed clearing chance for Provorov prolonged a Ducks possession. With 1:05 remaining, a Braun shot from along the side boards was juggled by a screened Gibson, who held onto the puck.
4) The Flyers were guilty of seeing their focus level drop for lengthy stretches of the second period. The game descended into a stretch of pond hockey, which favored players such as Zegras. Philly also went a lengthy amount of time without a shot on goal as Anaheim went on the attack. As with the first period, the Ducks looked dangerous on their power plays but Ersson and some clutch blocks kept Anaheim off the board. Ersson was the Flyers' best player overall in the second period. The team settled down in the late stages.
Second period shots on goal were 14-7 Ducks. Shot attempts were 21-13 Ducks. Scoring chances were 12-5 Anaheim. High-danger chances were 7-3 Ducks.
5) The Flyers checking tightened up again in the first few minutes of the third period. Much of it started with the forecheck as well as tighter gaps when they didn't have the puck. Ersson saw only one shot on his net throughout the first five minutes. Gibson turned the puck over to Frost behind the Anaheim net. Tippett initially seemed to have a chance to step above the goal line and score into an empty net but his attempt was blocked. Hayes and Laughton combined for a chance on the next shift.
The Flyers had an adventurous shift in their own zone, with Zegras firing over the net after a failed clear by Frost and a Tippett turnover. At the other end of the ice, Philly made it 4-0. Hayes and Laughton worked a give-and-go, and Laughton scored on a wraparound that bounced in off a defenseman's skate. Hayes got the lone assist at 8:26.
With 8:04 remaining, MacEwen and Deslauriers had a 2-on-1 rush opportunity. MacEwen passed across to Deslauriers in the left slot. Gibson made the save.Shots on goal were 6-4 Flyers at this point.
Anaheim went on their fifth power play of the game at 13:25 of the third period when van Riemsdyk was called for high-sticking Henrique. Ersson calmy stopped an unscreened Henrique shot from above the right circle. Provorov delivered a solid hit on Klingberg. Sanheim cleared a puck down the ice halfway through the kill. Terry dangled into the slot but missed connections on an attempted back pass to Mason McTavish.
A relentless forechecking shift by Laughton forced the Ducks to scramble in their own zone. At the other end of the ice, a fortuitous hop went onto the stick of Brett Leason, who hit the post. Ersson was tested again, this time by Carrick. Finally, at 19:20, the Flyers were caught puck-watching as Zegras passed to Strome, who scored from the slot to spoil Ersson's shutout bid.
Third period shots were 9-8 Flyers. Shot attempts ended up 17-12 Ducks. Scoring chances were 12-8 Ducks. High-danger dangers were 5-4 Flyers.