Ducks battled back, forcing overtime, but costly mistakes and a controversial call ultimately sealed their fate against the Flyers.
Following their four-game road trip, where they finished 2-2-0, the Anaheim Ducks returned to Orange County on Wednesday to host Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, and the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Ducks entered play tied with the Edmonton Oilers at the top of the Pacific Division standings with 77 points, but with two fewer games played on the season.
Philadelphia’s playoff hopes have all but dwindled, as entering Wednesday, they were eight points out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Trevor Zegras made his return to Honda Center following a trade in June that sent him to Philadelphia in exchange for forward Ryan Poehling and a pair of draft picks.
After not practicing on Tuesday or participating in morning skate on Wednesday, Troy Terry remained in the Ducks lineup, in his typical spot on the top line, next to Leo Carlsson. Mason McTavish was a healthy scratch for the second straight game, joining defenseman Drew Helleson in the press box.
Here’s how the Ducks lined up in this game:
Kreider-Carlsson-Terry
Killorn-Granlund-Sennecke
Viel-Poehling-Gauthier
Vatrano-Washe-Harkins
LaCombe-Trouba
Zellweger-Carlson
Mintyukov-Moore
Lukas Dostal got the start for the Ducks in this game and stopped 24 of 27 shots. He was opposed by Dan Vladar in the Flyers’ crease, who saved 34 of 36.
“Offensively, we had some momentum and got rewarded there with a nice play around the net,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said. “It’s a hard-fought game. They were better than us in the first half, and then we got way more competitive and put us in a good spot. I’m very disappointed with the call at the end.”
Game Notes
This was as sloppy a game as the Ducks have been part of this season. Clean breakouts and plays through neutral ice were few and far between, leading to a lot of bouncing pucks and broken efforts. Two mistakes deep in the Ducks’ end early put them behind the eight ball yet again, a spot where they were forced to simplify their attacks so as they could send the game to overtime late.
The first two periods of the game saw several penalties on each side, as each team saw four power play opportunities. At 5v5, the Ducks won the shots on goal battle 24-16, and the shot attempts battle 52-39, but lost the expected goals battle 2.06-2.4.
Lukas Dostal: Were it not for Dostal, this game could have gotten out of hand early. He didn’t stand much of a chance at stopping the first two Flyers’ goals in this game, and the game-winner pinballed around the crease before going in. He was forced to display his athleticism early, especially when Philadelphia was sending cutting forwards to the back post off the rush. His positional awareness was locked in as he anticipated pucks moving laterally in front of him to cut down any angles.
As the game wore on, he knocked down rim attempts and managed the game well, dictating plays in front of him from the crease.
Pavel Mintyukov: Mintyukov was more involved during this game than in the recent past, allowing his diligent defensive work to spark his offensive impact. He was physical in small areas and active around the net to pick up loose pucks and bodies. He’s most dangerous when he activates in the offensive zone and operates below the tops of the circles, forcing the opposing defensive zone coverage to adjust to his unpredictability.
Breakouts: Philadelphia pressured Anaheim puck retrievers consistently throughout this game, with F1s often getting sticks on first outlets and eliminating options down the wall, especially with their fourth line. Anaheim prefers to exit and enter zones with full possession, but an adjustment to “punt” pucks to the neutral zone in dire situations could have led to less overall time spent in the defensive zone.
The Ducks will next hit the road for a brief trip to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Mammoth in what very well could end up being a preview of a first-round matchup between the two teams in the playoffs.