Getzlaf, Ducks leave Flyers behind in the slushy Center
PHILADELPHIA » Ondrej Kase had two goals, Anaheim scored three times in the second period and the Philadelphia Flyers lost No. 2 overall draft pick Nolan Patrick to an undisclosed injury in a 6-2 Ducks’ win on Tuesday night.
Patrick, the talented center who had three points this season, was checked head-first into the glass by Anaheim forward Chris Wagner, dropped to his knees and needed help leaving the ice. He went straight to the locker room in the second period and did not return.
The Flyers will surely use caution in deciding when to return Patrick to the lineup. He was already in a suit and mingled with the players scratched from the lineup in the press box during second intermission.
Patrick got a bird’s-eye view of a Flyers team that slogged through the final game of a fivegame homestand (3-2) that displayed the wild inconsistency of their offense. The Flyers scored 13 goals in the first two games of the homestand and then just four over the final three.
Sean Couturier scored two goals for the Flyers. Kase scored twice for the Ducks.
Behind a stellar outing in net from John Gibson, the Ducks made the most of their 12 shots in the second.
Brandon Montour, Nick Ritchie and Rickard Rakell scored three straight goals for a 4-1 lead.
Montour blew past defenseman Travis Konecny and beat Brian Elliott glove side for his third goal of the season. Ritchie pounded in a rebound on the power-play for a 3-1 lead and Rakell closed out the period with his third goal of the season on an assist from Ryan Getzlaf.
Getzlaf sealed the win with a goal early in the third.
The Ducks played this one for veteran forward Patrick Eaves, who was recently diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system. Eaves is still hospitalized in Newport Beach, California, but his condition has stabilized. Eaves’ condition was diagnosed early, an important factor in successful treatment.
Couturier opened the scoring in the first with his fifth goal of the season.
Kase scored late in the first to tie the game and start Anaheim’s run that silenced a Philly crowd on a sports high a night after the 76ers and Eagles won on the same day for the first time since Dec. 29, 2013.
Couturier scored his second goal of the game in the third and Kase followed with his second to make it 6-1.