Carlsson gets 1st NHL hat trick in Ducks loss to Flyers

ANAHEIM -- Leo Carlsson scored his first NHL hat trick for the Anaheim Ducks in a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Honda Center on Friday.

Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, became the youngest player in Ducks history (18 years, 319 days) to score two goals in a game, and the 19th in League history to get a hat trick before his 19th birthday.

“He’s a player,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “He’s going to be a star in this league. I mean, he could have had five goals, really. Missed a couple, but he’s a star player.”

Owen Tippett scored twice, and Travis Sanheim had a goal and two assists for the Flyers (6-7-1), who won for the second time in their past seven games. Samuel Ersson made 35 saves.

Ersson got the start after Carter Hart was unavailable due to an illness.

“Tonight, he looked so much more calm,” Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said of Ersson. “He was in position on a lot of pucks. I thought he had some good battles. They were in front of our net a lot tonight too, and I thought he fought his way through it. So, this was certainly his best game that he's played for us this year.”

Alex Killorn had two assists, and Lukas Dostal made 30 saves for the Ducks (7-6-0), who have lost two straight following a six-game winning streak.

“The first five minutes, we’re just rolling lines and getting pressure, and that’s the way we have to play,” Cronin said. “I don’t think there were any turnovers the first five minutes, and then we just decided we were going to play pond hockey, and they took advantage of it.”

Sean Couturier put Philadelphia ahead 1-0 at 4:57 of the first period, converting the rebound of Egor Zamula’s shot after it hit off Cam Atkinson in front.

Atkinson made it 2-0 at 12:31, redirecting Sanheim’s shot from the top of the crease.

Louie Belpedio shot over Dostal's glove from below the right circle after a short pass by Joel Farabee to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead at 2:33 of the second period.

Carlsson cut it to 3-1 at 13:15 with a power-play wrist shot from the right circle.

Sanheim pushed the lead to 4-1 at 7:39 of the third period, cutting across the crease and scoring on a backhand. It was his third multipoint game of the season, trailing only Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes (four) for the most among defensemen.

“That’s who he is now,” Tortorella said of Sanheim. “He's a different person. I didn't get a sniff of that last year. I think he feels that good about himself to make plays like that.”

Carlsson cut it to 4-2 at 10:34, finishing a give-and-go pass from Killorn with a one-timer in the slot.

“As I said, two great passes,” Carlsson said of his chemistry with Killorn, who was on the first line because Trevor Zegras was unavailable due to a lower-body injury. “The second one was an open goal kind of, so it’s nice.”

Tippett made it 5-2 at 13:07, skating past Frank Vatrano while dangling the puck behind the Ducks forward before scoring from close range.

Carlsson finished Troy Terry’s cross-slot pass at 18:32 to cut it to 5-3 during a power play with Dostal pulled for an extra attacker.

“I don’t know if they were trying to give it to me, but just give it to the guy who’s open,” Carlsson said. “I don’t think it has sunk in yet, but tomorrow, probably will enjoy it for sure.”

Tippett scored into an empty net at 18:59 for the 6-3 final.

NOTES: Carlsson became the sixth youngest player in the NHL to score a hat trick over the past 30 years. He is the 16th youngest to score three goals in NHL history, dating back to the first 18-year-old to score a hat trick in 1943-44 (Don Gallinger, Boston Bruins). He is the third Ducks rookie to score a hat trick (Bobby Ryan, Sam Steel). … Couturier extended his point streak against Anaheim to nine games, the longest run of his NHL career against one team. Couturier also has an active eight-game streak against the Arizona Coyotes. … Tortorella coached his 1,479th NHL game to tie Darryl Sutter for eighth in League history.