VOORHEES, N.J. — Coach Rick Tocchet couldn’t help but get a bit philosophical after the Philadelphia Flyers’ 3-2 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. It was an emotional evening, particularly toward the end of the game, when the clubs staged a line brawl after the horn of an eventful overtime.

“You eat together as a pack. If you’re the lone wolf, you’re done. But the pack lives,” the Flyers coach said of the late fracas.

Welcome to the pack, Trevor Zegras.

In the commotion prior to the shootout, Zegras, the Flyers newcomer who is tied for the team lead in scoring with nine points, took exception to Pittsburgh’s Noel Acciari helping to pin Tyson Foerster to the ice. Foerster was already tied up with Penguins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon, while linesman Steve Barton was lying on top of both Foerster and Wotherspoon.

Zegras skated around linesman Shawn Oliver’s attempt to keep him from the pile, gave Acciari a quick shove to the back of the head, and then grabbed the Penguins forward’s helmet from behind and somewhat comically ripped it off. It was a move that earned Zegras — already criticized in some circles throughout his young career for his on-ice approach — plenty of attention.

“I just didn’t like that there was two (Penguins) on (Foerster),” Zegras said on Wednesday after Flyers practice. “Not that I was going to go in there and try and fight (Acciari), but I thought that was the best way to get him off of (Foerster).”

Said Foerster: “It’s funny, after we were joking about it, but it was pretty cool to see. He’s a great guy, he’s a good teammate, so it was a good move by him.”

Acciari flew up in a rage, attempting to get at Zegras, who didn’t seem to want much to do with the fourth-line winger after that. The whole sequence set off all of the other players on the ice for a second time, resulting in eight players — four per side — earning 10-minute misconducts and disqualifying them from the subsequent shootout.

Zegras acknowledged he didn’t know the rule disqualifying players who earned a misconduct from taking part in the shootout. “It’s a dumb rule,” he quipped. It could have hurt the Flyers, too, considering Zegras’ career 63.6 percent conversion rate (14 for 22) in the skills competition — tops in NHL history among players with at least 20 attempts.

However, the Penguins lost Philadelphia enemy Sidney Crosby because of the ruckus, too, something they apparently weren’t pleased about. The Pittsburgh captain, who came onto the ice when things started to settle down, skated directly to Foerster to keep him out of the scrum after Zegras reignited the blaze. (A league source confirmed that Crosby won’t receive any supplemental discipline, as, in the league’s view, he didn’t come off the bench with the clear purpose of getting involved in the altercation.)

The result was Zegras having to watch the shootout from a TV monitor set up in the hallway between the Flyers’ bench and the doors to the dressing room. He was particularly chuffed to see Bobby Brink’s fancy move and goal, as they had been working on breakaways after a recent skate.

“It was cool to see him go from practice to the game,” Zegras said. “It was nasty.”

But it wasn’t Brink’s goal that garnered the most attention on social media; rather, it was that Zegras-Acciari sequence. There was surely some nostalgia at play, as it harkened back to some previous iterations of the Flyers-Penguins rivalry that has had its fair share of memorable and malicious moments over the years and decades but has waned recently.

For Zegras, it was his first experience facing the Penguins in an orange and black sweater. He seemed to be aware that there might be some added juice to the evening.

“It’s a rivalry that, in my opinion, growing up, was one of the better ones in the league,” said the 24-year-old. “Obviously, with the guys on Pittsburgh, it makes it much more special. It was a great hockey game.”

Zegras has been particularly effective for the Flyers at home. Eight of his nine points have come in Philadelphia, including both of his goals in a 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders last Saturday. On Tuesday, he managed a secondary assist on Brink’s late-first-period power-play goal that tied the score at 1-1, after he was the one who drew the interference penalty on the Penguins’ Matt Dumba in the first place.

Midway through the second period, Zegras’ slick setup of linemate Matvei Michkov nearly resulted in a goal, but Michkov’s strong move to the net was denied by goalie Arturs Silovs.

And then there’s the fact that even before he grabbed at Acciari’s helmet, Zegras initiated the first iteration of the brawl in the first place, when he took a soft shot a half-second after the clock had expired at the end of overtime. That’s one of those unwritten hockey rules that will generate a crowd of surly opposition every time, and this was no exception.

Zegras is something of a lightning rod nationally, but seems to be in a prime position to become a fan favorite in Philadelphia, particularly if the 5-3-1 Flyers can remain competitive. Those types of moments with Acciari — against the team Flyers fans undoubtedly hate more than any other — can only help in that regard, and if Zegras can remain on his point-per-game pace, well, that won’t hurt either.

“I think he plays better the more he’s engaged like that physically,” said Cam York, Zegras’ buddy since high school. “I don’t think he’s going to be doing that every game, but he does get feisty like that sometimes. If (the fans) love it, great. I’m sure it won’t be the last time we see it from him.”

Said Tocchet: “I think Trevor’s endeared (himself to) the fan base because he’s got some pizzazz to his game, but he also knows he has to play a winning kind of brand. You watch him, he’s getting inside, he’s involved in scrums, he’s helping his teammates. Fans are going to love that.”

Tocchet has explained a few times in recent weeks that he sees Zegras doing all of the right things in practice and off the ice, such as driving the puck to the net, taking shots when they’re there and doing all he can to learn the various defensive responsibilities that are non-negotiable to the Flyers coach. Last week, Tocchet said that Zegras texted him after a game to set up a meeting the next day about the power play.

Zegras apparently took to heart the message Tocchet gave him before the season.

“We talked at the start of training camp. I said, ‘Are you doing stuff for clicks on social media, or are you doing stuff to win hockey games?’” Tocchet said. “He wants to win hockey games.”

For at least one night, Zegras accomplished both.