![\"Anaheim](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TMC-Z-Flyers-Ducks60741234.jpg\")
Anaheim Ducks left wing Jeffrey Viel, right, punches Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae during the second period Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\nJust about every game is a must-win for the Flyers these days, so coming out on top at the start of a three-game road trip on Wednesday night, even if they coughed up a late lead, had them feeling pretty good.<\/p>\n
They took care of the host Anaheim Ducks, 3-2, on an overtime goal by Noah Cates at the Honda Center, moving their record to 3-0-1 over their last four games.<\/p>\n
Cates scored the winner when he banked a shot off goaltender Lukas Dostal\u2019s leg at 2:17 of OT.<\/p>\n
It was the Flyers\u2019 fifth straight victory over the Ducks.<\/p>\n
Dan Vladar picked up the win in goal for the Flyers. He raised his record to 12-3-3 vs. the Western Conference.<\/p>\n
Cates\u2019 goal had to survive a league review for a possible offside call on the play but eventually it stood up. Most of the Flyers were in their locker room when the final call was made.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously it was close,\u201d Travis Sanheim said in a televised interview. \u201cWe were all in here cheering once they officially made it a goal. We were hanging on. You never know with those things. We weren\u2019t 100% sure. We didn\u2019t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cates was relieved to see the puck go in. The Flyers had several good stabs at the puck before Cates got creative.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucky enough it went in,\u201d he said. \u201cHuge win for us. We needed those two points.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was he sure the play was onside?<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said with a grin, \u201cI was not. We looked sharp. We had some time off. We got some video, worked on some things. This is something to build off of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coach Rick Tocchet didn\u2019t sound too thrilled with how regulation time ended but he\u2019ll take the two points.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hate giving that goal at the end,\u201d Tocchet said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a Western [Conference] team, so it doesn\u2019t really matter. We just needed the two points.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Flyers took a 2-1 lead into the third period but gave up a tying goal with 1:54 to play. Leo Carlsson scored with a short shot.<\/p>\n
Things were going along quite well in the second period for the Flyers until the final minute.<\/p>\n
As the period unfolded, Philadelphia took a 2-0 lead by way of a goal from Owen Tippett. The play began when Sanheim fired a shot from the left point. The puck nicked off a Duck defender and right to Tippett, who poked it past Dostal at 7:53.<\/p>\n
Anaheim Ducks left wing Jeffrey Viel, right, punches Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae during the second period Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
The Flyers should have been content to protect the lead for the rest of the period but it didn\u2019t work out that way.<\/p>\n
First, with the Flyers on a power play, Matvei Michkov took one of his patented needless penalties. That created a four-on-four. With the puck in the Flyers\u2019 defensive zone, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen got bumped, allowing ex-Flyer Cutter Gauthier to take a pass in front and send it past Vladar with only 38 seconds left on the clock.<\/p>\n
Aside from that lapse, the Flyers played solid hockey for the first 40 minutes.<\/p>\n
Tippett\u2019s goal was his 23rd of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we played with a lot of pace,\u201d Tippett said in a televised second intermission interview. \u201cHad to bounce back after last game [a 2-1 shootout loss to Columbus]. We have to stick with what\u2019s working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tippett and Trevor Zegras seem to be working well together.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just being more aware of where guys are,\u201d Tippett said. \u201cGuys know what they\u2019re doing in certain situations. There\u2019s more trust the more we play together. He [Zegras] makes plays, you just have to find a way to get open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Entering the game having not played since Saturday, the Flyers hit the ice with a lot of energy.<\/p>\n
The Flyers jumped on the scoreboard first with a goal from an unlikely source.<\/p>\n
Luke Glendening had not scored a goal in 78 NHL games. That drought came to an end at 2:51. Garnet Hathaway put a check on Anaheim defenseman John Carlson and that freed Cam York for a pass to Glendening in front.<\/p>\n
In a televised first intermission interview, Glendening sounded relieved to have that annoying 78 number off his resume.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean we\u2019re working, just trying to keep it simple,\u201d Glendening said. \u201cWe\u2019re not known for our goal scoring. We\u2019re just trying to contribute any way we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only been a few games but Glendening and Hathaway appear to have developed some chemistry. And Glendening, a 36-year-old veteran, likes what he sees of the Flyers so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a feeling of belief in this room,\u201d he said. \u201cGreat group of guys. It\u2019s a young group but it\u2019s exciting to be a part of. I\u2019m thankful for the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tocchet likes the way his fourth line is playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought they were terrific,\u201d he said. \u201cThey stuck to the gameplan. I thought they were our best line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Short shots<\/p>\n
The Flyers get right back after it in Los Angeles on Thursday night when they visit the Kings. \u2026 Flyers center Christian Dvorak played in his 600th NHL game. \u2026 Anaheim surrendered the first goal of the game for the 42nd time this season. That still trails NHL leader Philadelphia (45). \u2026 York, a native of Anaheim, now has one goal\/nine points in 10 career games vs. the Ducks with a plus-11. \u2026 The Ducks gave their former player, Zegras, a nice video tribute in the first period.<\/p>\n
Wayne Fish is a freelance writer. Follow his coverage at www.flyingfishhockey.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just about every game is a must-win for the Flyers these days, so coming out on top at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5112],"tags":[1468,5,4,1467,56,5205,43,11211],"class_list":{"0":"post-510980","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-flyers","8":"tag-flyers","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","13":"tag-philadelphiaflyers","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-top-stories-dln"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116254405933253998","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}