Ducks 4, Flyers 1
PHILADELPHIA -- A day after suffering a blowout loss, the Anaheim Ducks responded with a convincing 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.
Center Rickard Rakell scored two first-period goals and the Ducks (26-19-7) jumped the Flyers from the outset following a 6-2 throttling in Pittsburgh on Monday at the hands of the Penguins.
Anaheim won seven of its last eight games and is 14-4-1 since Dec. 27, a stretch sparked by a 4-2 victory over Philadelphia. The Ducks have not lost consecutive games since Dec. 21-22.
Anaheim, which entered with the NHL's top penalty kill at 89.1 percent, held Philadelphia 0 for 7 on the power play.
Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen (11-8-5) made 28 saves for his fourth win in as many games against the Flyers.
Philadelphia goaltender Steve Mason (12-14-7), making his fifth start in eight days, stopped 22 shots.
Rakell took over early to gain Anaheim control in a total dismantling of Philadelphia during the first period. He scored a pair of goals as the Ducks sent a flurry of shots at Mason, outshooting the Flyers 15-5 in the opening stanza.
Rakell netted his first on the power play at 10:27, corralling a rebound to his left off a shot by defenseman Sami Vatanen. Right winger Corey Perry, also in front, got a piece of the rebound while Rakell backhanded it home past Mason, who was already off his skates from the initial save.
Less than five minutes later, Rakell extended Anaheim's advantage with a deceptive wrist shot. Rakell, patient with the puck from the circle, worked around defenseman Michael Del Zotto and flung a changeup through Mason's five-hole for a 2-0 lead.
An active Perry tallied primary assists on each of the goals, while center Ryan Getzlaf notched his 32nd helper on the second.
The Ducks tacked on in the second period when right winger Chris Stewart scored on a penalty shot with a wrister at 12:48, handing Anaheim a commanding 3-0 lead at second intermission.
Right winger Wayne Simmonds scored a third-period goal at 13:55, but the Flyers (23-20-9) couldn't dig out of a 3-0 deficit, losing their third in a row after reeling off three straight wins.
Left winger Andrew Cogliano iced the game with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
NOTES: The Flyers held a small pregame ceremony acknowledging the team's 50th anniversary (Feb. 9, 1966). ... Flyers D Brandon Manning was inserted into the lineup after serving as a healthy scratch the previous four games. Entering Tuesday, Manning played in just four games since Dec. 30. D Evgeny Medvedev sat to clear a spot for Manning. ... With the Ducks playing the second game of a back-to-back set, G Frederik Andersen received the start in net. Andersen came in 6-1-1 over his last 11 games with a .928 save percentage. ... Flyers C R.J. Umberger was a healthy scratch for a fifth straight game. Umberger has not scored a goal in 32 games this season. ... D Korbinian Holzer and LW Harry Zolnierczyk were healthy scratches for the Ducks. Zolnierczyk has yet to play a game this season. He appeared in a career-high 37 games his rookie season with the Flyers in 2011-12.