The Philadelphia Flyers wrapped up their five-game road trip with a trip to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs. They’re currently riding a five-game losing streak and have only two wins in March. Scott Laughton took on his former team for the first time since being traded at the deadline. Samuel Ersson got the start in net, and Garnet Hathaway and Rasmus Ristolainen remained out with injuries. The losing streak grew to six games as the Flyers were dismantled. Bad bounces and defense led to most of the goals. Cam York was benched after the first Leafs goal. They’d go winless on the road trip and fall to 28-36-9 on the season.
The game went to four on four at the 3:13 mark of the first period as Nick Seller was called for roughing and Calle Jarnkrok for boarding. Both teams had good scoring chances. Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz had to make a big save on Jamie Drysdale, and the Leafs had a few chances in tight, but they missed the net.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play at the 5:34 mark of the first period as Nicolas Robertson got called for tripping. They had trouble setting up in the offensive zone and only recorded one shot on net. The Maple Leafs did a nice job of stealing and clearing the puck.
Ryan Poehling gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at the 7:59 mark of the first period. Rodrigo Abols caused a turnover along the boards, Jakob Pelletier collected the puck, passed to Poehling who then put a wrist shot over the glove of Stolarz. Pelletier and Abols collected assists.
John Tavares tied the game up at one at the 10:37 mark of the first period. William Nylander set him up with a great pass from the side of the net, and Tavares’ wrist shot went off the shin of Cam York and past Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson. Nylander received the lone assist.
The Maple Leafs got their first power play at the 13:57 mark of the first period as the Flyers got caught with too many men on the ice. They capitalized on this opportunity at the 15:11 mark as Tavares’ pass to Nylander unfortunately hit Nick Seeler’s skate and past the left pad of Ersson. Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews tallied assists.
Bobby McMann gave the Maple Leafs a 3-1 lead at the 1:45 mark of the second period. Nylander passed the puck from the side of the net and McMann put a wrist shot just past the glove of Ersson. Nylander picked up the only assist.
The Maple Leafs took a 4-1 lead at the 7:49 mark of the second period courtesy of Tavares. Knies played the puck along the boards to Marner. Marner then made a quick pass to Tavares, who then put a wrist shot past Ersson. Marner and Knies were given assists.
Nylander made it 5-1 Maple Leafs at the 11:55 mark of the second period. Tavares’ pass went off a player and straight to Nylander. He then put a wrist shot past Ersson. Tavares and McMann collected assists.
David Kampf gave the Maple Leafs a 6-1 lead at the 15:08 mark of the second period. Abols turned the puck over in the offensive zone to Calle Jarnkrok. Jarnkrok then made a pass to Kampf, who went on a breakaway. He put a wrist shot through the legs of Ersson. Jarkrok and Steven Lorentz tallied assists.
Sean Couturier scored at the 18:17 mark of the second period, making it 6-2 Maple Leafs. He redirected Jamie Drysdale’s shot from the blue line past the glove of Stolarz. Drysdale and Matvei Michkov were given assists.
The Maple Leafs took a 7-2 lead at the 11:32 mark of the third period thanks to Max Domi. He beat Emil Andrae to the puck and put a wrist shot past the blocker of Ersson. Jake McCabe picked up the lone assist.
The Flyers went zero for one on the power play and couldn’t kill off the only Maple Leafs man advantage.
Ersson allowed a few goals he should have had, but most weren’t his fault. He saved 23 of 30 shots, giving him a .767 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Poehling (8) Assists: Pelletier (10), Abols (2)
Tavares (31) Assists: Nylander (36)
Nylander (39) (Power Play) Assists: Knies (21), Matthews (37)
2nd Period:
McMann (20) Assists: Tavares (32), Nylander (37)
Tavares (32) Assists: Marner (64), Knies (22)
Nylander (40) Assists: Tavares (33), McMann (13)
Kampf (5) Assists: Jarnkrok (3), Lorentz (10)
Couturier (12) Assists: Drysdale (13), Michkov (31)
3rd Period:
Domi (7) Assists: McCabe (19)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Thursday, Mar 27, in Philadelphia against the Montreal Canadiens.
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