Samuel Ersson recorded his second shutout in three starts to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 6-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.
As anticipated, the meeting took an emotional turn to say the least, given that the meeting marked the visit of young forward Cutter Gauthier, a year almost to the day after the transaction that sent him to the Ducks.
Gauthier, a former fifth overall pick of the Flyers, had informed the staff led by Daniel Brière that he did not intend to wear the colors of the Pennsylvania team, forcing the general manager’s hand Quebecois.
After a saga which spanned a few weeks, the American winger was traded to Anaheim on January 8, 2024 in return, notably, for defender Jamie Drysdale.
On Saturday, both the hostile crowd at the Wells Fargo Center and the Flyers players made sure that the rookie forward’s visit was not a pleasant one.
In addition to being heavily booed, Gauthier was also verbally targeted by some of his opponents, including Travis Konecny.
Ersson repelled the 22 pucks aimed at him.
Konecny was the offensive catalyst for the Flyers, who looked to halt a four-game losing slide, with four assists. Morgan Frost, Jamie Drysdale, Owen Tippett, Ryan Poehling, Matvei Michkov and Garnet Hathaway scored.
John Gibson made 24 saves for the Ducks, who lost their third straight game.
Already six shutouts for Hellebuyck
Connor Hellebuyck tied the team record he set in 2017-18 with his sixth shutout in a season in a 3-0 Jets win over the Colorado Avalanche in Winnipeg.
Hellebuyck made 22 saves to record his 43rd career shutout. He notably blanked the Avalanche for a third time in a row this season.
Nikolaj Ehlers, with a double, and Mark Scheifele moved the strings. With his goal, Scheifele reached the 50-point plateau for the 10th time in 12 full seasons in the NHL.
Mackenzie Blackwood gave up two goals on 28 shots in front of the Avalanche cage.
The Leafs put to sleep by the Canucks
Kevin Lankinen recorded his fourth shutout of the season, this time with a 20-save effort, and the Vancouver Canucks ended their four-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Brock Boeser opened the scoring after just 31 seconds of play and the Canucks never looked back.
Quinn Hughes scored his 52nd career goal, moving him past Kevin McCarthy for ninth among Canucks defensemen in history.
Kiefer Sherwood scored the other goal for British Columbia. Tyler Myers had two assists.
-Dennis Hildeby allowed three goals on 18 shots and the Maple Leafs lost a second straight game.
In terms of volume, the Oilers are right over the Hawks
Zach Hyman broke the tie on the power play in the third period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Blackhawks 4-3 in Chicago.
Adam Henrique, Corey Perry and Vasily Podkolzin also threaded the needle for the Oilers, who finished their four-game road trip with a 3-1-0 record. Leon Draisaitl prepared two nets. Calvin Pickard blocked 19 shots.
The Blackhawks have lost eight of their last 10 games. Connor Bedard saw his nine-game point streak come to an end.
Teuvo Teravainen and Nick Foligno both had a goal and an assist for the Blackhawks. Ryan Donato also hit the target.
Arvid Soderblom was challenged 34 times.
Noesen settles the debate for the Devils
Stefan Noesen scored on a power play in overtime and the New Jersey Devils won 3-2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Newark.
Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves. Ondrej Palat and Jack Hughes also found the back of the net for the Devils, who were playing their home opener after going 1-4-1 on their recent trip.
Jesper Bratt had two assists and the Devils won a sixth straight game in front of their fans.
Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov responded for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished the game with 23 saves.
The Blues did not have the right score
Jet Greaves lost a shutout with 15 seconds left in the game, but he still helped the Columbus Blue Jackets defeat the St. Louis Blues, 2-1.
Greaves, who was taking part in a fifth game this season and a 15th career, was thwarted by Colton Parayko while the Blues were playing with six skaters. He blocked 31 shots.
Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger sparkled the red light for the Ohio club, which won its last four games – including two against the Blues – to stay in the playoff picture in the East.
Fantilli earned a point in a fifth straight game.
Jordan Binnington didn’t do badly in the loss, stopping 28 pucks.
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