All of Philadelphia awaits the highly anticipated matchup on Broad Street between the Philadelphia Flyers (17-20-5) and the Anaheim Ducks (17-19-5). Cutter Gauthier will compete in Philadelphia for the first time in his NHL career.
The Flyers look to close out their season series with the Ducks with a win, sweeping Anaheim. Back on December 28th, Philadelphia won handily, 3-1.
Heading into this last encounter, the fans and media highlight the storyline between Gauthier and the Flyers. However, the players and staff are acutely aware, too. Despite the boos in a clunker versus the Dallas Stars, Sean Couturier believes Philadelphia will have the back of the home team.
“I understand the frustration. The city wants to win and we’re not winning right now. It’s tough. We feel the same pain in the room. We’re frustrated as well, but at the same time, we got to stick to the way we play. We’ve had success in the past against good teams. It’s just [a] bad stretch here. We just got to grind a little more; put more effort into it and find a way to get some wins. They’re [the fans] are going to be behind us. They show up for us; they’re always there. It’s going to be how we play that will dictate the atmosphere in the building. We know we got to be better. That was a tough game [vs. Dallas Stars] last night and we just got to learn from it.” – Sean Couturier; 1/10/2025
Tonight, the Flyers (-205) are favored at the Wells Fargo Center, per DraftKings Sportsbook. Philadelphia is superior on special teams, at the faceoff dot, and in average goals scored per game. The Ducks do have the advantage in average goals allowed per game. The atmosphere will be loud and chaotic. Anaheim ranks in the bottom half of the NHL Standings, and the lineups presented by John Tortorella are 14-6-1 against those teams this season.
Where: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
When: 1/11/2025; 7:00pm/ET
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia; Flyers Radio 24/7
Last Game PHI: 1/9/25; 4-1 L; vs. Dallas Stars
Last Game ANA: 1/9/25; 6-2 L; at St. Louis Blues
Philadelphia Flyers
Sam Ersson will start and Ivan Fedotov will back him up. The goaltending carousel continues and all three rotated in drills. When asked about the challenges of carrying three goaltenders, Tortorella credited Kim Dillabaugh for handling it:
“It’s not a struggle, it’s different. You’re not usually carrying three goalies [for] as long as we have. As it turned out, we needed it. I think Dilly’s [Dillabaugh] handled it very well. In the rotation of it all, I told Dilly, one and two, they were the number one responsibility, and work the other guy in. Dilly’s done a lot of extra work with them. So, it hasn’t been a really big deal, it’s a little different, but I think Dilly’s done a great job with it.” – John Tortorella; 1/10/2025
Olle Lycksell will draw back into the lineup. Joel Farabee will head to the press box. When asked if Lycksell would play, Tortorella was clear:
“He’s [Lycksell] going to play tomorrow. Someone’s coming out.” – John Tortorella; 1/10/2025
Still looking for their first win of 2025, the Flyers are 0-3-1 since January 2nd. The Ducks are struggling, but they’re 2-2-1 in 2025. The records suggest Anaheim is on the upswing, but Philadelphia has a real chance to get into the win column.
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#74 Owen Tippett – #48 Morgan Frost – #11 Travis Konecny
#21 Scott Laughton – #25 Ryan Poehling – #39 Matvei Michkov
#15 Olle Lycksell – #14 Sean Couturier – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#5 Egor Zamula – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#24 Nick Seeler – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#33 Sam Ersson
(#82 Ivan Fedotov)
Projected Lineup: Anaheim Ducks
#77 Frank Vatrano – #16 Ryan Strome – #64 Sam Colangelo
#61 Cutter Gauthier – #23 Mason McTavish – #13 Robby Fabbri
#21 Isac Lundeström – #91 Leo Carlsson – #17 Alex Killorn
#62 Nikita Nesterenko – #38 Jansen Harkins – #20 Brett Leason
#2 Jackson LaCombe – #7 Radko Gudas
#6 Brian Dumoulin – #65 Jacob Trouba
#34 Pavel Mintyukov – #43 Drew Helleson
#1 Lukáš Dostál
(#36 John Gibson)
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