Flyers show growth in Cali, win 3 straight for first time since 3-0-0 start originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers matched their-season best winning streak of three games by picking up a 4-1 victory Monday night over the Ducks at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Samuel Ersson came oh so close to his first career NHL shutout. The Ducks finally cracked him with just 39.6 seconds left in regulation.
Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton all scored goals for the Flyers.
Farabee (one goal, one assist), Konecny (one goal, one assist), Kevin Hayes (two assists) and Noah Cates (two assists) provided multi-point performances.
The Flyers (14-17-7) swept their three-game road swing through California, giving them three straight wins for the first time since opening the season 3-0-0.
Anaheim owns the NHL’s worst goal differential at minus-70 and the second-worst points percentage at .316.
The Flyers see the Ducks (10-24-4) again later this month with a Jan. 17 matchup in Philadelphia.
• With Carter Hart (upper body) on injured reserve for the three-game trip, Ersson started all three games.
And won all three.
On Monday night, the 23-year-old turned away 28 of 29 shots, nine of them from Trevor Zegras.
The young Ducks star assisted Ryan Strome’s last-minute goal, denying Ersson of the shutout.
The Swedish native opened eyes in the preseason and was making just his fourth career NHL start Monday night. On the trip, he posted a 2.00 goals-against average and .930 save percentage.
That’s a promising development for the Flyers at the most important position in the game.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Olivia Reiner, head coach John Tortorella said Monday that Hart has been cleared to play.
We’ll see who starts when the Flyers return home, but it’s a good decision to have for the club.
Anaheim netminder John Gibson faced 33 shots from the Flyers and stopped 29.
• Management and the coaching staff have to be pleased with the offensive production over the Flyers’ trip.
And the team’s fan base should be, too.
There’s going to be a lot of outside buzz around the Flyers with the NHL draft lottery, but the organization has to focus on making progress in this 2022-23 season. The Flyers have to start building. And right now, they’re seeing positives from young pieces, growth that could be awfully important to the future — not just the lottery.
The Flyers, who have had a ton of trouble scoring this season, posted four goals per game through their first three games (all wins) following the NHL-mandated holiday break.
Prior to the break, the Flyers won just four of their previous 23 games (4-14-5), a stretch in which they scored 2.48 goals per game.
• The Flyers got off to a strong start Monday night with a youth-driven opening stanza.
Five players 25 years old or younger recorded at least a point as the Flyers took a 2-0 lead into first intermission.
Farabee (22) delivered a goal and an assist, Frost (23) also found the back of the net and Konecny (25), Cates (23) and Cam York (21) all had an assist apiece.
• On the prospect front, Cutter Gauthier put up three points (two goals, one assist) during an 11-1 U.S. rout of Germany in Monday’s quarterfinals of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The 2022 fifth overall draft pick has eight points (two goals, six assists) and a plus-8 rating through five games of the world juniors.
Here was an opponent’s perspective on Gauthier heading into the tournament.
• The Flyers are scheduled to practice Wednesday in Voorhees, New Jersey before hosting the Coyotes on Thursday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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