The Anaheim Ducks are now a .500 team and have won three games in a row after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 in Philadelphia.
The Anaheim Ducks are now a .500 team and have won three games in a row after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 in Philadelphia.
The Ducks came out hot in this one, taking a 4-0 lead by the midway point of the second period off two goals from Frank Vatrano, a goal from Ryan Strome and one from Adam Henrique.
Goals from Cam Atkinson and Travis Konecny sparked some life into the Flyers, bringing them within two heading into the third period. But the Ducks answered back with two quick goals in the third to put the game out of reach.
Trevor Zegras grabbed the first goal in the third, his first of the season, and Brett Leason put home his second of the season a few minutes later.
The Flyers scored twice more, once from Konecny again and one from Joel Farabee, but these goals were broken up by a Vatrano shorthanded goal to give him his second hat trick of the season.
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
Frank Vatrano Just Keeps Scoring:
Vatrano's hat trick on Saturday morning gives him eight goals in just eight games so far.
It also places him just one behind Alex DeBrincat for the league lead.
Now, of course, Vatrano won't keep this pace up and score 82 goals this season. But if he continues to find the net at anywhere near the rate he is now, breaking his previous career-high of 24 is achievable.
One thing that should leave fans hopeful that Vatrano can get into the 25-30 range is the versatility of goals he's scoring.
Even just looking at Saturday's game, he had a great finish in the slot, a greasy goal in front and a breakaway goal. He also scored at all three strengths.
This isn't a player feasting on power-play one-timers or feeding off an elite playmaker. Vatrano is scoring a variety of goals and has a good chance of setting a new career high.
Bounce-Back Season Early on For Ryan Strome:
I know I just said that Vatrano isn't feasting off an elite playmaker setting him up, but we also can't ignore Strome's start to the season.
There's no way around it, he was bad last season after signing as a free agent. Now, under Greg Cronin, Strome looks more like the $5 million player he was signed to be.
His three points on Saturday brings him to 10 in just eight games so far and he looks more engaged.
As with Vatrano, he won't keep this pace up and score 100 points this season, but around 55 points looks like a reasonable target for him right now.
Ducks Turn Improved Performances Into Victories:
After starting 1-4 a common theme for the Ducks became solid performances that don't result in wins.
You could tell they were a much better team compared to last year but it wasn't translating into on-ice production.
Now they're reaping the benefits of their hard work, winning three straight.
The underlying numbers didn't look great for the Ducks against the Flyers, but they finally found the finishing touch they lacked to start the season.
Is Saturday's performance a sustainable way to win? No, but they don't need it to be.
More importantly, they still look like a more mature, more engaged team compared to last season.