Flyers Shut Down Ducks in Cutter Gauthier’s First Game in Philadelphia – The Hockey Writers Philadelphia Flyers Latest News, Analysis & More

The chants came early, and they came loud. Their contents varied — some were profane, some were directed in support of the player who replaced him as a symbol of hope, some were just a simple but effective “BOO.” But the message was universal and clear — vitriol directed to 20-year-old forward Cutter Gauthier.

Just 368 days ago, Gauthier’s status changed from the likeliest candidate to be the future first-line center of the Philadelphia Flyers to public enemy number one. A trade during the first period of a Flyers game in their same home building sent Gauthier to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick. That only began the story, though, with the Flyers insisting that they were being spurned for no reason combating insinuations of wrong-doing from the other side.

But the Wells Fargo Center hosted a hockey game, not a roast, on Saturday night. And following their worst performance of the young 2025 on Thursday, the Flyers bounced back in a big way, finishing a season sweep of the Ducks with a dominant 6-0 performance in front of a boisterous crowd.

Game Recap

As hatred swirled amidst the spectators, those focused on the game itself saw a Flyers team on the top of its game early on. The Flyers peppered John Gibson with eight shots in the first six minutes, one of which Morgan Frost directed from the slot into the back of the net for an early ice-breaker.

The second half of the period was largely unspectacular for both sides, but Anaheim opened the door when Ryan Strome tripped Frost on the forecheck. Another great pass from Konecny turned into a goal, buried by who else but Gauthier’s replacement as a blue-chip player in the Flyers’ organization, Jamie Drysdale.

The first few scrums of the night ensued between that goal and the end of the first period, the second of which coming just after the final horn and putting Philadelphia back up a man as Ross Johnston received the extra minor. Seven combined players were in the two penalty boxes to begin the second period.

Most of the middle frame was about physicality, though, with multiple unpleasant gatherings throughout the middle frame, some involving Gauthier, others not. But the Flyers continued their strong play between the whistles through the period, with Konecny picking up his third primary assist of the night by hitting a streaking Owen Tippett for a rush one-timer late in the period.

Any doubts about the outcome were erased 24 seconds into the third period. Ryan Poehling, 90th percentile among forwards in top skating speed (according to NHL Edge), turned on the jets to elude Radko Gudas at the blue line and buried his fourth goal this season in tight. It wasn’t a banner period for the Ducks captain as he racked up 14 penalty minutes and was in the box when Matvei Michkov struck for Philly’s second power-play goal eight minutes into the final stanza.

A Garnet Hathaway goal only 35 seconds later further galvanized the crowd with intoxicating energy levels. While the goals and the scraps understandably garnered most of the attention, Samuel Ersson picking up a shutout in his second start back from injury shouldn’t be overlooked, especially coming off the heels of a December marred by porous goaltending for the Flyers.

Setting aside the storylines and drama of the night, this was a performance the Flyers sorely needed. John Tortorella was clear that the team’s performance in their previous game (a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday) wasn’t good enough, and for the team to at least play meaningful games into the spring, they desperately need to start racking up wins. They entered Saturday night tied in points with the Ducks, a team they were expected to be better than. But they ended it with two more points and a lot of momentum on their side.

Now, they’ll have to build on that and avoid a letdown game against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, as they kick off a back-to-back on Monday night to finish their four-game homestand. The Ducks have almost no time to rest as their next game starts just 22 hours after this one began, and it’s on the road against a relentless Carolina Hurricanes team.