The Hockey News' Derek Lee previews the Ducks' matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Nearly nine months after being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, Trevor Zegras will make his return to Honda Center. The former ninth overall pick spent seven seasons in the Ducks organization before being dealt to the Flyers last June for Ryan Poehling and a pair of draft picks.
The Ducks and Flyers have had one previous matchup this season prior to Wednesday’s contest. The Flyers won 5-2 in an emotionally-charged game on Jan. 6 in Philadelphia, with Zegras scoring two of the Flyers’ goals. His first goal invoked a “hang up” celebration, which he said postgame was “about how quick the phone call was before (I got traded).”
Jan 6, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas (7) and Philadelphia Flyers right wing Garnet Hathaway (19) fight during the third period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images“I expect (this game) to be intense,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said. “ I think that everybody's fighting for playoff life and their playoff positioning. There’s a little history there, but at the same time, it was one of those games where we didn't mind the way we started that game. And then it was at the end of the game where we had nothing to show for it, which started a trip that was very memorable for what we didn't do well through the whole season. Let’s make sure that we continue on from our last game and how we started the last road trip. Those are the games we want to make sure that that's going to get us through this stretch here to find our way to put ourselves in a spot where we want to be in.”
“They’re hard to play against,” Jackson LaCombe said. “They're a competitive group, they work their butts off. They’re always hard to play against and they're physical and they work hard. So we’ve just got to bring that same intensity and just play our game. We’ve just got to go to the hard areas. I think our D have got to do a good job of getting pucks to the net and our forwards have just got to keep working them. So I think that's the key.”
Jan 6, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) and Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) battle after a face-off during the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn ImagesMason McTavish will once again be a healthy scratch after he was a healthy scratch on Sunday against the Montréal Canadiens. Troy Terry took a maintenance day for Tuesday’s practice and missed Wednesday’s morning skate, but Quenneville confirmed that Terry will play against the Flyers.
“It's tough news for the player, and I think that he handled it well,” Quenneville said of McTavish’s reaction to being a healthy scratch. “We see him playing, so it's just a matter of time that we'll get him back in there and he'll be doing his thing.”
Ducks Projected Lines
Chris Kreider - Leo Carlsson - Troy Terry
Alex Killorn - Mikael Granlund - Beckett Sennecke
Jeff Viel - Ryan Poehling - Cutter Gauthier
Frank Vatrano - Tim Washe - Jansen Harkins
Jackson LaCombe - Jacob Trouba
Olen Zellweger - John Carlson
Pavel Mintyukov - Ian Moore
Lukáš Dostál (confirmed)
Flyers Projected Lines
Alex Bump - Christian Dvorak - Travis Konecny
Nikita Grebenkin - Trevor Zegras - Owen Tippett
Denver Barkey - Noah Cates - Matvei Michkov
Garnet Hathaway - Sean Couturier - Luke Glendening
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York - Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler - Emil Andrae
Dan Vladař (confirmed)