Flyers youth post strong night as they clobber the Anaheim Ducks, 4-1

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The year is young, and so are the Flyers’ most encouraging players.

The kids dazzled in the Flyers’ 4-1 victory over the lowly Anaheim Ducks on Monday night at the Honda Center, ringing in the New Year in style.

In his fourth consecutive start, goalie Samuel Ersson, 23, nearly posted his first NHL shutout, but Ducks center Ryan Strome scored with 38.6 seconds remaining in the third period. Three players ages 25 and younger — Joel Farabee (22), Morgan Frost (23), and Travis Konecny (25) — tallied the first three goals of the night.

Center Scott Laughton finished off the scoring parade with a wraparound goal in the third period to put the game further out of the Ducks’ reach. Forward Kevin Hayes registered two primary assists and defenseman Cam York, who hails from nearby Anaheim Hills, Calif., also tallied an assist.

“These are tough games sometimes when you’re out West and you know you’re going home the next day,” coach John Tortorella said. “Sometimes the guys forget to play the game. And I appreciate how they handled themselves. They concentrated, played a simple game, and I thought everybody contributed.”

The Flyers swept the three California for the very first time, head home with a modest three-game winning streak, and posted a winning record on the annual holiday road trip for the first time since the 2013-14 season (5-1-0). The Flyers hadn’t won three straight games since their first three games of the season.

Following his team’s game against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Tortorella said that the second line of Konecny, Farabee, and Noah Cates didn’t play at its best. But on Monday, the line put together a strong performance on both sides of the puck. Farabee opened the scoring roughly eight minutes into the first period when he slid a backhander five-hole on Ducks goalie John Gibson to go up, 1-0.

Early in the second period, as the Flyers looked to exit their own zone, Cates put a perfect, long pass on Hayes’ tape in the neutral zone to spark a two-on-one rush. Hayes held the puck in the slot and moved Gibson, then found Konecny down low by the goal line. Konecny scored on an open net to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead, marking his 19th goal of the season. He is five goals away from tying his career high of 24, which he’s done three times.

“We weren’t very good last game,” Konecny said. “Even tonight, we weren’t like super sharp, but we found a way. I really like playing with these guys. They both make a lot of plays that make the game easier, but they also play the right way and they play defensive.”

Before leaving for the California road trip, Frost was on a hot streak, posting eight points (four goals, four assists) in seven games. While he was held without a point against San Jose and the Kings, Frost looked confident with the puck early on against the Ducks.

Halfway through the first period, Frost collected the puck from York deep in the Flyers’ zone and skated up the ice, maneuvering his way around Ducks forward Troy Terry in the neutral zone. Frost ripped a shot from the top of the left face-off circle and beat Gibson high to his blocker side to put the Flyers up, 2-0. Late in the first period, with the Flyers on the power play, Frost had another prime scoring opportunity, walking the puck down low in the left circle before putting a snapshot on Gibson.

“I saw some room and then they looked a little flat-footed, so I just tried to make a move and then just tried to get it on the net,” Frost said. “I wasn’t really trying to pick a corner or anything, and then it went in. I’ll take it.”

For the first time since Oct. 22, against the Nashville Predators, the Flyers finished the first 20 minutes up, 2-0. Frost concluded the night with a goal on four shots.

The Flyers went up, 3-0, early in the second period thanks to the Konecny goal. But they gave up six scoring chances in the middle frame, per Natural Stat Trick and spent roughly 4 1/2 minutes on the penalty kill, calling on Ersson to step up.

He stood tall in the second period and denied all 14 shots on goal, six of which came on the Ducks’ power play. One of his most impressive saves of the night came halfway through the second period when he denied center Trevor Zegras on a two-on-one rush. Zegras led the Ducks with eight shots on goal. Ersson didn’t earn his first NHL shutout (28 saves on 29 shots), but he posted his third straight victory after losing to Carolina in his debut.

“I feel like I got more comfortable with each game and this last game was, I feel like, my best game yet,” Ersson said.

The Flyers return home on Thursday to face the Arizona Coyotes at 7 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).