The Flyers blew a regulation win late in the third, but they battled back in an old-fashioned ramshackle overtime to defeat Anaheim 3-2. It marked the return of Trevor Zegras to Anaheim, and opened up the important West Coast trip with an almost must win.

The Basics

First period: 2:51- Luke Glendening (Cam York, Garnet Hathaway)
Second period: 7:53- Owen Tippett (Travis Sanheim), 19:22- William Gauthier (Pavel Mintyukov) (PPG)
Third period: 18:06- Leo Carlsson (Troy Terry, William Gauthier)
Overtime: 2:17- Noah Cates (Matvei Michkov)
SOG: 27 (PHI) – 36 (ANA)

Some Takeaways

Zegras’s return

After getting his first game against his former club out of his system in Philadelphia, Trevor Zegras returned to Anaheim for the first time to face the Ducks. And he took the opening faceoff, getting the jitters or nerves out of the way opposite former Flyer Ryan Poehling (who was part of the Zegras trade going the other way). The opening minute featured a breakaway by William Gauthier but starting goalie Dan Vladar made a key early save.

Zegras got a few boos early every time he touched the puck in what was a rather quick-paced, whistle-free start. And during the first television timeout, a highlight reel of Zegras and his time in Anaheim got a far warmer reception. Zegras, on the bench, waved the the fans and thanked them. The center (yes, we’ll say he’s a center for now) was impressive in the second, having a handful of chances and creating some attempts for both Nikita Grebenkin and Jamie Drysdale.

Konecny with a tough night

Travis Konecny looked like he might have rode a bus to Anaheim instead of taking the charter. The winger was caught on the wrong end of a long shift a few times throughout the night. And it nearly cost the Flyers on a few occasions. It appeared he could’ve gotten off the ice on a handful of occasions but decided to stay on and try to get the puck out of the defensive zone. The Flyers escaped getting scored on all but once, yet Konecny had a night he would like to put behind him. Late in the game, after Alex Bump hobbled off from blocking a shot, Konecny got a burst of speed and created an offensive rush that was crucial as his linemates got to the bench.

Vladar looks like his old self

While he might be tiring, and not quite looking as sharp as he did in October and November, Dan Vladar continues to add to his career highs. Looking for his twenty-second win of the year, Vladar might have been helped from having a few days off. The Flyers had a rare three-day break between games which seemed to give everyone a little more fuel against some tough competition. After Philadelphia opened the scoring, the Flyers had some issues getting a clear about five minutes in. Leo Carlsson had a decent opportunity but Vladar cut down the angle.

Overall, the rest seemed to have done a world of wonders for Vladar. He looked fresh, extremely crisp and not looking like he was fighting the puck at any point. Some of his best stops were in the second, including one where only he and a Ducks player knew where the puck landed. And although he didn’t have much of a chance on Gauthier’s goal which opened the scoring for the Ducks, Vladar stopped a key two-on-one in the early stages of the third, this time keeping Beckett Sennecke from tying things up. A few Leo Carlsson dipsy-doodles also were foiled by the Flyers keeper.

Matvei mixup

Matvei Michkov nearly got into a fight with defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, tossing a decent punch to Mintyukov’s head. The Ducks blueliner dropped his gloves but Michkov skated away. Both drew coincidental minors. The four-on-four saw Owen Tippett blow by a Duck and hit the post on a backhander. Tippett took out his frustration on Anaheim blueliner Jackson Lacombe seconds later. As for Michkov, he and Mintyukov had some words before heading to the lockers for the first intermission.

Just over a minute into period two, Christian Dvorak one-upped Michkov’s minor when he took a dumb penalty 200 feet from his own goal. The Flyers fortunately avoided being two men down after Alex Killorn was tripped, but kept Anaheim primarily to the outside. Perhaps the most amusing part of the Ducks power play was Flyer fans booing Gauthier whenever he got the puck. A subsequent minor, this one by Travis Konecny, nearly saw Sean Couturier score a short-handed tally.

As for an actual fight, Jansen Harkins and Nick Seeler dropped gloves in the third, with Seeler clearly getting the better of the Ducks fourth-liner before dropping him to the ice. It appeared to be a much better trade for Anaheim with Philadelphia down a defenseman for five minutes.

Speaking of Tippett

Tippett might have been denied in period one, but he had an easy goal in period two. After winning a battle behind Anaheim’s net, Philadelphia won a string a one-on-one battles thanks to Zegras and Nikita Grebenkin. A Sanheim shot resulted in Tippett banging home a shot into an empty net, giving the Flyers a 2-0 cushion of sorts.

Owen Tippett🚨 2-0

Sanheim blast from the point is finished out front by Tip!#LetsGoFlyers
pic.twitter.com/Vb86kbnzV7

— Flyers Zone (@TheFlyersZone) March 19, 2026

Glendening pots one! Hathaway? Nah…

The Flyers fourth line got busy early than expected. With so little offensive production from them all season (outside of Carl Grundstrom’s mini-streak earlier), the line of Sean Couturier, Garnet Hathaway (in for Grundstrom), and Luke Glendening kept Anaheim in their own zone. After a Glendening hit in the corner, and winning a few puck battles, defenseman Cam York fed a wide open Glendening who roofed it over Ducks goalie Lukas Dostel.

Luke Glendening picked up his first goal with the Flyers and his first goal in 78 games to open the scoring, 1-0 Flyers.

Goal: Glendening (1) pic.twitter.com/JsHKynqewz

— Andrew Coté (@acote_88) March 19, 2026

Glendening had a strong opening 20 minutes, nearly getting a second goal by simply going to the dirty areas and getting in front of Dostel. Unfortunately, on a delayed penalty by Gauthier, Garnet Hathaway had a prime chance to put Philadelphia up by a field goal. Sadly, the forward couldn’t cash in as has been the case nearly the entire 2025-26 campaign.

Another night of power plays, but these showed promise

Midway through the first, the Flyers did next to nothing — outside of Matvei Michkov just missing a rather wide open net — on their first power play, with seven seconds to go in their initial chance, the Ducks tripped another Flyer, resulting in one chance from Christian Dvorak that went high. This power play looked a bit more potent, having a few chances and making quick passes. And not being afraid to shoot the puck. While not a lethal power play by any stretch, it was one of the rare times Philadelphia looked like they had a purpose in their special team.

It wasn’t that they stuck with a bumper most of the chances, but a lot of the time the Flyers appeared to have a plan other than killing the power play with slow, deliberate passing most of the season. Unfortunately, Michkov took another penalty late in the second with Philadelphia a man up. It wasn’t the smartest, and a lengthy shift by a few Flyers four-on-four resulted in Anaheim cutting the deficit in half. With Zegras and especially Konecny gassed, Gauthier buried a backhand by Vladar late in period two as Anaheim’s penalty had just ended, making it a power play tally for the Ducks.

Didn’t hang on, but held on

Philadelphia allowed just 53 goals in the third period all season, so it’s not like the team is incredibly leaky down the stretch. However, for the majority of the final 20, the Flyers looked to be holding on, giving Anaheim a lot of offensive zone time and chances. It wasn’t until the last five minutes when Philadelphia found a bit of oomph in trying to get an insurance goal.

With Anaheim pulling the goalie for a sixth skater, the Flyers had a chance to score on an empty net but Dvorak’s shot went just wide. It was pivotal as the icing caused the Ducks to tie things up with just under two minutes to go. Leo Carlsson had an empty net much like Tippett earlier that resulted in a 2-2 game. It was of no consequence to give Anaheim a point. But it was essentially another nail in the Flyers’ playoff coffin not finishing off a regulation win.

In overtime, both teams traded chances and it looked like an old-school overtime, the hell with defense. The Flyers took advantage of a two-on-one when Matvei Michkov looked like he scored but Noah Cates put the puck behind Dostel for the victory. The play was under review for a possible offside. After a few minutes of suspense, the Flyers were rewarded with a good goal.

Final/OT: Flyers 3, Ducks 2

Noah Cates netted his second overtime winner of the season. Luke Glendening had a solid showing scoring his first goal in 78 games. Dan Vladar made 34 saves.

Cutter Gauthier is now 0-4 vs the Flyers.

Goal: Cates (13) pic.twitter.com/luEe4aiGOX

— Andrew Coté (@acote_88) March 19, 2026