The Philadelphia Flyers have their first set of back-to-back games this season, and it began with a matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night. Dan Vladar got the start in net. Nikita Grebenkin and Egor Zamula jumped back into the lineup with Nicolas Deslauriers being a healthy scratch. Sean Couturier didn’t play due to an injury from the last game. The Flyers suffered their first loss of the homestand with a five-to-two defeat. They had their chances throughout the night, but the Leafs just outscored them. The orange and black fell to 6-4-1 on the season.
Christian Dvorak gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead just 1:09 into the game. Grebenkin fed him with a pass from below the goal line, and Dvorak put a snapshot over the glove of Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz. Grebenkin and Travis Konecny tallied assists.
The Maple Leafs tied the game up at one at the 6:16 mark of the first period courtesy of Auston Matthews. Morgan Rielly passed the puck to Matthews, who was in the high slot, and he put a snapshot over Vladar’s blocker. This happened after Tyson Foerster blocked a shot with his skate. Rielly and Nicholas Robertson picked up assists.
Konecny was called for high-sticking and unsportsmanlike conduct at the 13:02 mark of the first, which gave the Maple Leafs a four-minute power play. The Flyers did a good job of blocking shots and clearing the puck when given the opportunity. The Maple Leafs had a few good looks in the zone, however.
The Flyers got their first power play just 1:09 into the second period as the Maple Leafs got caught with too many men on the ice. John Tavares served the penalty. They didn’t capitalize, but came very close. A shot by Trevor Zegras went off both posts without going over the goal line. Foerster wasn’t able to get his stick on it to push it over.
Jake McCabe gave the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead at the 8:14 mark of the second. His snapshot from the blueline went past the blocker of Vladar. Vladar was double-screened in front. Chris Tanev and Matias Maccelli were awarded assists.
Max Domi was called for hooking at the 12:53 mark of the second period, which gave the Flyers their second power play of the game. They, again, didn’t capitalize but had plenty of good looks from in tight. A puck did ring off the crossbar, but the Flyers couldn’t get anything past Stolarz.
The Maple Leafs took a 3-1 lead at the 17:34 mark of the second thanks to Robertson. He took a dropback pass from Matthew Knies and put a snapshot over the glove of Vladar. Assists went to Knies and Tavares.
Easton Cowan gave the Maple Leafs a 4-1 lead just 33 seconds into the third period. Tavares fed him with a pass to the left circle, and Cowan put a snapshot past the glove of Vladar. Tavares was given the only assist.
Vladar was pulled after giving up that fourth goal. This was his first game this season giving up more than two goals and being pulled. Aleksei Kolosov took over in net.
The Flyers got their third power play at the 1:47 mark of the third as Calle Jarnkrok was called for high-sticking. They only managed to get one shot on net on this one. The Maple Leafs did a great job of clearing the puck and had a chance while shorthanded at the end.
The Maple Leafs got their third power play at the 8:23 mark of the third period as Matvei Michkov was called for interference. Kolosov had to make a few big saves early on, but the Flyers helped out by winning puck battles and clearing it when given the chance.
McCabe was called for cross-checking at the 10:36 mark of the third, which gave the Flyers their fourth power play. They had trouble setting up in the zone early and again only got one shot on net. The Maple Leafs were able to clear the puck multiple times.
The Flyers went on their fifth power play at the 15:51 mark of the third period as Simon Benoit was called for roughing. They’d pull Kolosov in favor of the extra attacker to make it six-on-four, and they capitalized. Zegras fed Foerster with a pass from the slot to the right circle, and Foerster put a slapshot past the glove of Stolarz. Zegras and Michkov tallied assists.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson was called for boarding at the 17:22 mark of the third, which gave the Flyers their sixth power play. They pulled Kolosov in favor of the extra attacker again, but it didn’t work this go around. They peppered the net with shots but couldn’t get anything past Stolarz.
Jarnkrok put the game away for the Maple Leafs at the 19:42 mark of the third period as he scored an empty-netter to make the score 5-2. Dakota Joshua and Benoit picked up assists.
Flyers went one for six on the power play but killed off all three of the Maple Leafs’ man advantages.
Vladar saved 15 of 19 shots, giving him a .789 save percentage. Kolosov saved all seven shots sent his way.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Dvorak (3) Assists: Grebenkin (2), Konecny (4)
Matthews (6) Assists: Rielly (5), Robertson (3)
2nd Period:
McCabe (2) Assists: Tanev (2), Maccelli (3)
Robertson (3) Assists: Knies (11), Tavares (9)
3rd Period:
Cowan (1) Assists: Tavares (10)
Foerster (4) (Power Play) Assists: Zegras (9), Michkov (5)
Jarnkrok (4) (Empty Net) Assists: Joshua (2), Benoit (2)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Sunday, Nov. 2, in Philadelphia against the Calgary Flames.
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