The Flyers welcomed former 5th overall draft pick Cutter Gauthier and the Anaheim Ducks to Philadelphia in the first home game of 2026. Between Gauthier’s abrupt exit from Philadelphia and Zegras’ impending career-high season, these two teams in orange are very quickly becoming a heated rivalry.
The Ducks enraged Flyers fans early, setting the tone for a loud barn and pushing the Flyers’ to a physical, gritty game. Just 2:32 into the game, Jansen Harkins had a dirty collision with Bobby Brink, who was pulled from the rest of the game with worries of a concussion. His linemate, Noah Cates, stepped in and fought Harkins, earning a 10-minute instigating misconduct. Despite the large loss early on and Gauthier opening scoring, Philadelphia, both the fans and the team, kept the energy up and plowed through the early adversity.
Fans booed Gauthier to no end while former Duck, Trevor Zegras, trucked past the early lead for Anaheim. Midway through the first, Dvorak fed the puck to Zegras, who gave it a one-timer from the deep left side of the net to tie the game. With nearly the same play and a feed from Cam York, Zegras earned the Flyers their first lead of the night just minutes later. While 2 goals early on could have been enough to stick it to the Ducks, it was Zegras’ phone call celebration and explanation after the first goal that really seemed to stir the pot. After recording 2 goals and earning first star honors, Zegras explained to Scott Hartnell after the game that his brief enactment of a phone call and abrupt hanging up was about how long his phone call with his former team was upon his trade. The legendary post-game interview not only cemented Zegras as a 110% Philly guy, but very likely sealed the deal on a new rivalry of orange.
Cam York and Noah Cates also earned two points on the evening, as York kicked off scoring in the second period with an assist from Cates. A long-range snapshot from behind the faceoff zone gave the Flyers a 2-goal lead barely a minute into the second period. Shortly after, Ross Johnston had a dirty hit with an elbow against the blindsided Jamie Drysdale. After laying face down on the ice for some time and a stretcher being brought out, Drysdale was able to skate off the ice. Johnston earned a misconduct and Drysdale did not return to play against his former team.
Noah Cates earned his second point of the night at 14:40 in the second period, earning the sole assist on Sanheim’s rip of a slapshot to give the Flyers a 3-goal lead.
Despite Anaheim earning a powerplay goal early in the second, Nikita Grebenkin regained the 3-goal lead for Philadelphia with a late empty net goal.
This was an overall great night of Philadelphia hockey. The Flyers played physical, the arena was sold out and loud, and the Flyers came back with a big win for the second game in a row.
The Flyers continue this homestand tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is likely that Michkov will draw back into the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game with a minor foot injury, while Drysdale and Brink will come out on concussion protocol and miss tonight’s 7:00pm puck drop.
Philly's Next Shift 