The Philadelphia Flyers are now 3-6-1 in their last ten games after the overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With the loss Philadelphia went 2-3-1 on the six game road trip, which is respectable considering the level of competition they faced in certain matchups.
The Flyers could have earned points in their last five games with the way they’ve performed. But shaky goaltending was a key factor as to why they were unable to, specifically in Los Angeles and Vegas.
After the Flyers loss to Vegas an interesting question surrounded the team in regards to their goaltending situation, and which netminder would get the start taking on the Maple Leafs.
Would the coaching staff go back to Aleksei Kolosov despite his struggles in the past few outings or would they start Ivan Fedotov. Even though, his last start was back on December 5, 2024 against the Florida Panthers, 31 days prior.
Head Coach John Tortorella opted to give Fedotov the opportunity, and regardless of the long layoff between starts the 6 foot 7 netminder put forth a respectable showing. The rookie gave the Flyers the chance to win the game and stopped 22 of 25 shots for an .880 % save percentage.
Other than the goaltending conundrum, the major storyline heading into the final outing of Philadelphia’s road trip was the team’s overall process and play on the ice. Despite only securing two wins over the span of the trip the Flyers played well at five on five and controlled play for stretches in several of their losses.
As a result, the message to the players from the coaching staff has been consistent. It centered around the idea that if the players continue to execute within their structure and maintain their current style of play, they will achieve better outcomes in future games.
When dissecting what occurred in the matchup taking on the Leafs, both the themes of goaltending and consistency in all three zones as it pertains to Philadelphia’s on ice structure was an integral factor.
Considering the Flyers out chanced the high-octane Leafs, 31-26 and created 15 high-danger scoring chances to the Leafs, 13( as per, https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20242025&game=20635&view=limited) the Flyers executed on that mentality.
It seems Philadelphia emphasized continuing to play in the same manner as they have been for majority of the road trip. Assistant captain Scott Laughton mentioned this after the Flyers morning skate on Sunday.
I asked Laughton what the message to the team was after playing well and not getting the win taking on Vegas.
Laughton stated, “Like you said we’ve played good 5 on 5, need to play better to get the results and find a way. It will be a decent road trip if we pull one out here tonight. We have to continue to do the same things. Our structure has been a lot better from the start of the year and our defense has been better, which has led to more offense for some guys.”
Philadelphia’s defensive play throughout the game set the tone for them during the matchup taking on the Leafs.
Primarily, the way they checked in the neutral zone and used their aggressiveness was effective. Along with their quick transition plays and puck rushes up the ice.
Although the Flyers didn’t give Fedotov as much help as they would have liked in the first period, they played defensively sound hockey during the remainder of the game.
Philadelphia limited the Leafs to only 10 shots and nine total scoring chances in both the second and third periods (five shots allowed in each period, five scoring chances allowed in the second period, four scoring chances allowed in the third period, as per https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20242025&game=20635&view=limited).
In addition, Fedotov settled into the net and looked quick while moving from post to post in this matchup.
The netminder made some huge stops throughout the game at important moments to keep things tied. He delivered the saves needed to get Philadelphia to overtime and gave them a chance to win against the Atlantic Division’s top team.
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One line that was the most impactful for Philadelphia in this matchup was once again the trio of Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink.
The three players support one another quite effectively in all areas of the ice. Coupled with their forechecking ability and the way they cycle the puck, it’s allowed them to consistently create scoring chances in the past several weeks while still being reliable defensively.
Due to their continued effectiveness, it appears the Flyers are using this particular line to set a tone for the team in certain situations.
John Tortorella stated the following about the play of Cates, Brink and Foerster, “They have played well for well over five or six weeks. It’s an example for all our lines, they’re just playing with confidence, and they just support one another very well.”
Overall, Philadelphia performed strongly taking on a top tier team in the Toronto Maple Leafs. On a positive note, the Flyers secured one much needed point and with the game being lost at three on three either team could have secured the win.
In their last five games played the Flyers have only won two. However, it could be argued they had opportunities to secure points in all five games, with the way they performed from a scoring chance creation perspective.
Instead of letting frustration sink in Philadelphia will need to use their recent stretch of play as motivation.
Carrying over their current style of play will be critical with games taking on the Leafs, Stars and Panthers on the horizon in the next seven days.
The Flyers will need to execute their system efficiently to remain competitive in these matchups and they’ll at the minimum require league average goaltending performances from Fedotov and Kolosov.
Interview Content, Pregame and Postgame:
John Tortorella:
Scott Laughton:
Morgan Frost:
Ivan Fedotov:
