Trevor Zegras Steals Spotlight from Cutter Gauthier, Ducks

The chants at Xfinity Mobile Arena poured down from the cheap seats, over the balcony through the lower level, and over the glass.

"F*** you, Cutter! F*** you, Cutter!"

Cutter Gauthier hit the ice for his second NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers. When the notorious castoff sniped a power-play goal just over four minutes into the first period, stunned Philadelphia fans had no place to put their venom staring at 1-0 deficit.

The centerpiece of Danny Briere’s second major trade with the Anaheim Ducks quickly turned the tides. 

The spark from Trevor Zegras suddenly restored the unusually satisfying intensity against a Western Conference opponent that for decades was associated more in Philadelphia with a movie series than a rivalry.

Noah Cates dropped the gloves with Jansen Harkins, responding to a hit on Bobby Brink in the Anaheim zone just 2:38 into the opening period. Gauthier scored on the ensuing power play, but the Flyers quickly took over.

Trevor Zegras bounced back from an early penalty of his own to get the Flyers on the board. He took a feed from Christian Dvorak along the Anaheim goal line and beat Lukas Dostal high for his 16th of the season.

His 17th came on the power play from nearly the exact same spot on the ice only four minutes later. The Flyers suddenly recaptured the incredible momentum of a fan base starved for the same excitement that ignited South Philly in past eras of the franchise.

The Flyers quickly took control. They played with poise in a chippy contest that looked like it might spiral into chaos. Although their struggling power play finished 1-for-8, including a scoreless five-minute power play, they kept their own discipline and dominated puck control throughout the evening.

Cam York and Travis Sanheim added goals in the second period to lift the Flyers to a 4-1 advantage. Despite a Ducks goal early in the third, the Flyers kept control and ultimately closed with a Nikita Grebenkin empty-netter in a 5-2 victory.

Zegras narrowly missed a few late scoring chances in his hat trick attempt. He laughed after a postgame question about balancing his will for a third goal with controlling the emotions to play smart all-around hockey.

Dvorak later laughed about Trevor Zegras and his pleas on the bench to finish off the hat trick against the Ducks. He finished his first game since a recent long-term contract extension with one assist and an impressive 65% win rate in the faceoff circle.

After the Harkens hit that knocked Brink out for the remainder of the game (which didn’t draw a penalty itself), the Ducks lost their composure with vengeance on their minds.

Ross Johnston was the first culprit. After Garnet Hathaway barreled into Olen Zellweger in the second period with a punishing, clean hit, Johnston clipped Jamie Drysdale on a dangerous play in open ice. The long-time NHL tough guy took a major penalty and a game misconduct.

Philadelphia is no stranger to the intensity of Radko Gudas. The former Flyers defenseman chased down Hathaway after his second clean, punishing hit later in the game. The two dropped the gloves and took five minutes each for fighting.

Gudas started more trouble out of frustration with a pesky Grebenkin on a strong forecheck. The rookie pushed around two Ducks, and Gudas jumped him on a reckless play away from the puck. Fellow chippy defenseman Jacob Trouba also took a minor penalty in third period for a high hit on rookie Denver Barkey.

Hathaway played a disciplined physical game with as much impact as the Flyers have seen from him all season. He spearheaded a poised and confident effort for his teammates.

Tocchet gave no postgame updates on Brink or Drysdale. He complimented his team for handling a matchup with extreme emotion that can prepare them for a playoff atmosphere.