The Hockey News’ Derek Lee previews the Ducks’ matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.

PHILADELPHIA - Tonight, the Ducks will take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the first game of a back-to-back. The Ducks are looking to rebound from a 6-2 trouncing at the hands of the St. Louis Blues in which perhaps the emotions of a pre-game ceremony to honor former Duck Cam Fowler for 1000 games in the NHL affected their performance.

The Flyers are coming off a 4-1 loss at home to the Dallas Stars. They are currently on a four-game losing streak, but will look to do the double on the Ducks after beating them 3-1 last month in Anaheim.

Troy Terry did not play in the Ducks’ loss to the Blues as he remained at home for the birth of his second child. He did not make the trip to Philadelphia with the team and it is unlikely that he will play tonight. If he is again unable to play, Sam Colangelo will likely slot in alongside Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome, as he did on Wednesday.

Lukáš Dostál was chased in that game after allowing six goals on 22 shots against. With the Ducks having a back-to-back this weekend, both he and John Gibson will be handed a start in net.

This game marks Cutter Gauthier’s return to Philadelphia, his first time here as a member of the Ducks organization and the first time he’ll play in front of fans who once expected the former fifth-overall pick to be playing for them instead of against them.

The saga of Gauthier forcing his way out of the Flyers organization shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 World Junior Championships has been well-documented and culminated in him being dealt to the Ducks just over a year ago in exchange for Jamie Drysdale.

The atmosphere is sure to be hostile for Gauthier, who has not publicly revealed details about his sudden decision to not want to play for the Flyers. To his credit, he has not gone out of his way to bad-mouth the organization either.

Ducks Projected Lines

Cutter Gauthier - Mason McTavish - Robby Fabbri
Frank Vatrano - Ryan Strome - Sam Colangelo
Isac Lundeström - Leo Carlsson - Alex Killorn
Nikita Nesterenko - Jansen Harkins - Brett Leason

Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Brian Dumoulin - Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov - Olen Zellweger

Lukáš Dostál (projected)

Flyers Projected Lines

Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Travis Konecny
Scott Laughton - Ryan Poehling - Matvei Michkov
Olle Lycksell - Sean Couturier - Garnet Hathaway

Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Egor Zamula - Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale

Sam Ersson (confirmed)