PITTSBURGH — zegras was part of a playoff breakthrough Saturday night as the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Jamie Drysdale scored the Flyers’ first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with zegras providing the assist, in a moment Drysdale called a “full-circle moment. ”
The goal came at a striking time for two players whose NHL paths began together with the Anaheim Ducks, then shifted through separate trades before landing them in Philadelphia. Both had arrived as top-10 draft picks, both had injuries and changes around them, and both ended up making an immediate impact when the games mattered most.
Zegras and Drysdale deliver early for Philadelphia
Drysdale’s goal gave the Flyers the opening jolt they needed in a tight playoff game, and zegras was at the center of the play. The two connected after both had built their NHL careers in Anaheim, where Drysdale was selected No. 6 in 2020 and zegras was selected No. 9 in 2019.
They made their NHL debuts about a month apart during the 2020-21 season and were viewed as building blocks for a Ducks team in transition. Instead, after ups and downs, injuries and two trades 17 months apart, their first major postseason moment together came in Flyers uniforms.
Drysdale was traded to Philadelphia on Jan. 8, 2024, along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, in exchange for forward Cutter Gauthier. Zegras was acquired by the Flyers on June 23, 2025, for forward Ryan Poehling, a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Drysdale’s best season fuels trust
Drysdale’s first-period playoff role was backed by a regular season that gave Philadelphia reason to trust him more. He finished with a career-best eight goals and matched his personal best with 32 points in 78 regular-season games, while also posting a plus-2 even-strength goal differential, the best of his six NHL seasons.
Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet pointed to Drysdale’s skating, aggression and ability to move the puck under pressure as reasons for that growth. “It’s his aggression, or his ability to close on people quickly with his feet, ” Tocchet said. “Whether it’s with aggression or with the technique of it, his surfing ability, his stick, and I like his breakouts. ”
Tocchet added that Drysdale “doesn’t panic very often” and highlighted a sequence in which he held onto the puck under pressure rather than forcing it away. That steadiness was part of why the Flyers leaned on him in a game with immediate postseason stakes.
Zegras sees the step forward
zegras said Drysdale’s skating and growth are not new to him. “When he’s really playing, there’s not too many guys like him, ” zegras said. “I get so jealous when I watch him skate, because it’s not fair for me and everyone else. But he’s definitely taken another big step this year, and it’s definitely shown on the ice, and off the ice. ”
Drysdale said his comfort this season came from the confidence and constant reassurance he felt from Tocchet and the staff. He described the Flyers group as tight-knit, and said that atmosphere made the year “smooth” and “a lot of fun. ”
That background matters now because zegras and Drysdale are no longer just former Ducks prospects with promise. In this playoff opener, they were direct contributors to a Flyers win that gave Philadelphia an early edge and turned an old connection into a present-tense playoff weapon.
What comes next
The Flyers now carry that momentum into the rest of the series, with zegras and Drysdale already showing how quickly their chemistry can matter in a postseason game. If Philadelphia gets more of the same from both players, the “full-circle moment” Drysdale described could become more than a one-night memory for the Flyers and for zegras.
