Ryan Getzlaf

The Ducks are an upstart team with a ton of potential. That’s easy to see. They showed plenty of it from the youngsters still in the lineup, ending the Flyers road trip on a sour note as tougher matchups are ahead.

The four-game road trip out of the holiday break ends with one more game on the West coast on Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks, albeit with many players out due to COVID protocol on both sides, including both team captains, a budding young star for Anaheim, and the Flyers other top-pairing defenseman.

The 6-1 defeat to the Sharks was surely a pitiful start to the road trip. The Flyers get right back on the ice on Sunday night to continue the six-game trip by facing the Anaheim Ducks.

The Flyers have a 10-2-4 record on home ice and three of the next four games will be there, allowing them a chance to put an end to the losing streak and return to the win column. Their first chance is on Tuesday night when they face the Anaheim Ducks.

Assuming the Flyers hold onto both picks, the team has a great chance to build their prospect pool even more. It is reportedly a deep draft, and recent history suggests that good prospects and potential future NHL stars can be had in the middle of the first round.

Claude Giroux, the Flyers' leader, was one of few players in a losing locker room able to draw any positives. After getting eliminated by the New York Rangers in seven games, Giroux noted how proud he was of his team that overcame a 1-7 start to the season just to get to the playoffs...