Two teams that are trending in opposite directions face off Saturday afternoon when the Philadelphia Flyers host the Anaheim Ducks.
Philadelphia got off to a brutal start this season, going 0-6-3 in its first nine games. However, the team has won three in a row to generate a bit of momentum.
Anaheim has lost five straight since a promising 4-1-0 start to the campaign. The Ducks are hoping to avoid a winless road trip, after losing to both New York teams and the New Jersey Devils.
Saturday’s showdown should have plenty of buzz, with the Flyers and Ducks developing a bit of a rivalry over the last several years.
Anaheim star Cutter Gauthier, who scored 41 goals last season, began his career as a disgruntled draft pick of the Flyers, who traded him to the Ducks on Jan. 9, 2024.
Anaheim dealt Trevor Zegras to Philadelphia on June 23, 2025.
This past offseason, the Flyers signed Ducks star Leo Carlsson to a massive five-year, $90 million offer sheet that Anaheim ultimately matched, making the 21-year-old the highest paid player in the league at the time.
“Did we expect the offer sheet to be this high? No. We did not see that one coming,” Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said at the time. “… It was surprising, to say the least. I actually feel flattered in a sense that Philadelphia wanted such a great player. It means we’re doing a good job on our end.”
Carlsson has scored just two goals in 10 games after netting a career-high 29 a season ago. He was held off the scoresheet in Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Devils when the Ducks managed only 17 shots on goal.
“We haven’t been very good on this trip. At the same time, we got to be better than we are,” Ducks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We’re a little bit … out of sorts. But it still felt that we had way more battle tonight than we had in the last couple of games.”
Tim Washe scored on a deflection of a shot by defenseman Jackson LaCombe for Anaheim’s only goal. Ville Husso made 25 saves for the Ducks, who have not earned a point during their five-game skid.
“Losing isn’t fun, but I think just our compete,” LaCombe said. “It got better throughout the game, but I think we got to start the game kind of moving our feet. As a group, we’ve got to make that decision. So, yeah, that’s frustrating.”
Philadelphia has come to life since its slow start. The team has scored three goals in three straight games after failing to reach that mark in any of its first nine contests.
“I thought the last three or four games, we’ve played to our identity a little bit more and we’re stacking some more shifts,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “It’s a lot of positive stuff, and we know we still have a lot of work to do.”
Cole Knuble, a rookie playing just his second NHL game, scored twice in Wednesday’s 3-1 triumph over the Buffalo Sabres. Zegras, who is tied for the team lead with eight points, also scored in the victory.
Dan Vladar finished with 27 saves, although Joseph Woll could get the start against Anaheim with the Flyers generally rotating their netminders.
“We’re getting great goaltending every night,” Tocchet said.
