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Flyers dumped by Ducks for 3rd straight loss

After the morning skate Tuesday, Flyers captain Claude Giroux started to answer a question this way: "After we win tonight . . ."

Flyers goalie Steve Mason can't stop the power play goal of the Ducks'
Rickard Rakell.
Flyers goalie Steve Mason can't stop the power play goal of the Ducks' Rickard Rakell.Read more(Steven M. Falk/Staff Photographer)

After the morning skate Tuesday, Flyers captain Claude Giroux started to answer a question this way: "After we win tonight . . ."

Bold words when you consider Tuesday night's opponent, Anaheim, has been one of the NHL's best teams since a horrendous October.

The Ducks, perhaps using Giroux's words as motivation, continued their torrid pace as they whipped the Flyers, 4-1, and ruined the home team's 50th anniversary party.

"We didn't bring our 'A' game," said right winger Wayne Simmonds after his undisciplined team was guilty of six hooking penalties.

Rickard Rakell, who was minus-4 in a loss in Pittsburgh on Monday, scored a pair of goals during an Anaheim-dominated first period at the Wells Fargo Center, carrying the Ducks to their seventh win in their last eight games.

The Flyers suffered their third straight loss, during which their forwards have produced a total of two goals. They have one win in 10 games (1-6-3) against Pacific Division teams.

Simmonds' power-play goal, scored on a rebound, cut Anaheim's lead to 3-1 with 6 minutes, 5 seconds left in the third. A little over two minutes later, the Flyers got another power play but couldn't cash in.

Andrew Cogliano's empty-net goal locked up the win.

Tuesday marked the 50th anniversary of the Flyers being awarded a franchise, and to commemorate the date, there was a pregame, on-ice ceremony. Special events were announced for next season and club president Paul Holmgren was handing out pieces of an anniversary cake between the first and second periods.

The fans, however, were not in a party mood after watching the Flyers sleepwalk through the opening period. They booed loudly as the Flyers headed to their dressing room after the first 20 minutes.

Rakell scored on a power-play rebound and on a left-circle shot that went between goalie Steve Mason's legs, giving the Ducks a 2-0 first-period lead. They outshot the Flyers, 15-5, in the first.

"We came out flat-footed; our starts haven't been good," said defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, whose team slipped six points out of a wild-card spot. "We can do a lot better. . . . If you want to be a playoff team, you have to learn how to figure it out."

Anaheim made it 3-0 when Chris Stewart scored on a penalty shot, putting the puck between Mason's legs with 7:12 remaining in the second. Mason, who has been battling an injury, seemed to be laboring during parts of the game.

"I feel fine. At this point of the season, you have to grind through some things - and I'm no different," said Mason, who has played five straight games because Michal Neuvirth is injured. "We have to find ways to win hockey games right now."

To draw the penalty shot, Stewart used a burst of speed to get ahead of the pack before being hooked from behind by defenseman Nick Schultz. Stewart then scored his first goal in 16 games, and it made him 3 for 3 in penalty shots in his career.

The Flyers, now 2-8-2 without second-line center Sean Couturier this season, had a total of just 14 shots in the first two periods, and Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen was not severely tested.

An ill-advised Jake Voracek roughing penalty cut short a four-minute Flyers power play late in the second period.

The Flyers' power play was 0 for 5 before Simmonds' late goal, his team-high 19th.

Gostisbehere had an assist on the goal, extending his scoring streak to nine games. Gostisbehere is one game shy of equaling the franchise's rookie record - 10 straight points by Mikael Renberg in 1993-94.

The Flyers played their fifth game in eight nights, while the Ducks played their second game in as many nights and looked like the fresher team.

"You can use all the excuses you want, but it's on us," Gostisbehere said. "If we don't win games, we're not going anywhere. I mean, we're not going to sit back. . . . We're going to look ourselves in the mirror and keep working."

scarchidi@phillynews.com

@BroadStBull