In need of a win to strengthen their grip on a Stanley Cup playoff spot, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (34-26-8) will host Sheldon Keefe's Toronto Maple Leafs (38-19-9) on Tuesday evening. Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. EDT.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the third and final game of the season series between the teams, and the second game in Philadelphia. On February 15 in Toronto, the Maple Leafs defeated the Flyers in overtime, 4-3. Last Thursday (March 14), the Maple Leafs came to Philadelphia and dealt the Flyers a 6-2 setback.
The Flyers, who are 4-5-1 in the last 10 games, have posted a 17-14-3 record at home to date. They are coming off a 6-5 road loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. The Maple Leafs, 6-3-1 over the last 10 games, are 20-7-6 on the road. On Saturday, the Maple Leafs gained one point from a 5-4 (1-0) home shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Here are five things to watch in Tuesday's game:
1. Prevent an onslaught
The Flyers' two previous games against the Maple Leafs had one concerning similarity: The Flyers played well for a significant stretch of time -- the first 30 minutes of the Feb. 15 game and the second period of the March 14 game -- but a combination of defensive breakdowns and spotty goaltending put Philadelphia into a tough situation.
In the first meeting, Auston Matthews racked up a natural hat trick in the latter half of the second period. Last week, Toronto bunched together three goals in the first period (a fourth was disallowed on replay challenge due to a hand pass). The Flyers stabilized the game in the second period and shaved the deficit to 3-1. However, in the third period, back-to-back breakdowns by the Flyers led to Toronto scoring twice within an eight-second span. Suddenly, it was a 5-1 game.
This past Saturday in Boston, the Flyers played strong first and second periods -- in fact, taking 1-0 and 2-1 leads -- as the game went to the third period tied at 2-2. In the third period, the Bruins struck quickly for a four-on-four tally and two goals at even strength to open a 5-2 lead. Once again, structural breakdowns were the culprit. The Flyers battled back to cut the deficit to 5-4 only for goaltender Felix Sandström to yield a Danton Heinen goal that restored a two-goal edge. Philly made one final comeback bid, getting within 6-5, but couldn’t generate an equalizer.
Bottom line: Over the last four games, the Flyers have allowed 21 goals. That's too many against any array of opponents, but especially against a steady diet of top opposition. The path the Flyers must try to follow is the one that led to a pair of post-All Star break 2-1 wins over the Florida Panthers.
Samuel Ersson is the starting goaltender for the Flyers on Tuesday. His season numbers have suffered in the wake of several abbreviated starts of late: 19-14-5, 2.67 GAA, .898 save percentage. However, in his still young NHL career, Ersson has shown himself capable of matching even top opposing netminders on a save-to-save basis. The Flyers, depleted by blueline attrition, may need Ersson to steal at least a period against Toronto (as he did in the first periods of both wins over Florida). Backup goalie Sandström, who has made two starts and two relief appearances, has unsightly stats (1-1-0, 4.08 GAA, .829 save percentage) but hasn't been given much chance by the play in front of him. The Heinen goal last game is the only one that could be fairly deemed a goaltending letdown in his 205:52 of play.
2. Big Game Needed from Konecny and Tippett
All-Star winger and Flyers leading scorer Travis Konecny (27g, 31a, +11) has posted four assists in the last three games, including a picturesque set-up of Owen Tippett during a delayed penalty for the game-winning goal in last Tuesday's 3-2 home win over the San Jose Sharks. However, overall, Konecny has thus far been unable to hit his stride over the five games he's played since returning from a six-game injury absence. He's had a couple of Grade A scoring chances. On a shift-in and shift-out basis, though, Konecny hasn't been able to create the sort of separation he often generated before the injury.
Plain and simple: If the Flyers are to find more success in navigating the rest of the current seven-game stretch (0-2-0 so far) of playing against a series of top contenders in the Eastern Conference, Konecny has to be Philly's single-biggest difference maker. This is not only in terms of goals and assists but also in terms of getting under opponents' skin, helping the penalty kill decisively get back on track, backing off defenders even on shifts that do not result in a Flyers' goal, and infusing energy whenever there's a dip.
Apart from Konecny, Tuesday's game is an opportunity for Owen Tippett to strike again against the Leafs. He did so last game with a second period power play goal that brought Philly back within 3-1. More shooter than playmaker normally, Tippett generated three assists on Saturday in Boston. Tippett, a streak scorer, brings five points (2g, 3a) in his last three games into Tuesday's tilt. Philly can really use a big night -- perhaps one if this patented three-quarters-ice solo rushes where he takes the puck to the net and scores -- from the 25-year-old winger.
3. The F Troop: Farabee, Foerster and Frost
Along with Tippett, the trio of center Morgan Frost (who will turn 25 in May), left winger Joel Farabee (age 24), and rookie winger Tyson Foerster (age 22) have all shown both an ability to perform at high levels -- regardless of the caliber of the opponent -- but also spells of offensive inconsistency. It's a hopeful sign that each of these players has made a few big plays in recent games down the stretch. It needs to continue.
Farabee, who is second on the team with 48 points (21g, 27a) this season, has three goals over the last three games including a pair of tallies in Boston on Saturday. Frost, the Flyers' leading scorer over the team's last 30 games (6g, 18a, 24 points), saucered a gorgeous aerial stretch pass to Farabee for a breakaway goal in the recent San Jose game and scored a highlight-reel between-the-legs goal during the comeback bid in Boston. Foerster, who is eighth leaguewide in scoring among NHL rookies (29 points) and tied for third in goals (17), notched his first career shorthanded goal in the game against Toronto last Thursday.
Meanwhile, on the blueline, Cam York has been a tower of two-way strength in most of the team's recent games. Saturday's game wasn't his best night, but his overall play down the stretch -- despite playing through a nagging injury -- has been consistently a boon to the team.
4. Flyers Special Teams vs. Maple Leafs Special Teams
The Flyers' pride-and-joy throughout the 2023-24 season, the team's penalty kill, has hit its first slump of the season. The club has allowed a combined six opposing power play goals in the last four games. The exception was last Thursday's game against the Maple Leafs. However, the Leafs rank 5th leaguewide on the power play at 26.1 percent success. Due to the recent swoon, the Flyers' PK has slipped from first to third in the NHL (84.7 percent).
Philly still leads the NHL in shorthanded goals by a wide margin. The Flyers have scored 15 SHG this year, while the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues are tied for second with 11 apiece. The Maple Leafs can attest firsthand to how dangerous the Flyers are on shorthanded counterattacks, having given up SHG to Travis Sanheim and Foerster over the previous two meetings this season. Konecny still leads the team in shorthanded goals with five, followed by Ryan Poehling with three, Scott Laughton with two and one apiece by Garnet Hathaway, Sanheim and Foerster. Now with the Colorado Avalanche, former Flyers defenseman Sean Walker notched two shorthanded goals for Philadelphia earlier this season.
The Flyers power play seems to be on to something lately with the work turned in by their revised top unit and adaptation of a layered double-screen look on the man advantage. The top unit is likely to remain intact for a while: York, Konecny, Frost, Farabee, and Tippett. The second unit still has some moving parts and ongoing experimentation. For Tuesday's game, subject to change in-game, the unit may consist of Egor Zamula, Foerster, Laughton,Bobby Brink and Olle Lycksell. The best chance for success comes either via setting up Foerster on the left flank or by Zamula generating a point shot with traffic in front. The Flyers' power play still ranks 32nd in the NHL for the season at 13.0 percent.
Toronto's penalty kill has not been a team strength this season. The Maple Leafs' PK ranks 24th in the NHL at 76.8 percent.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Toronto Maple Leafs
While the Flyers are banged up on defense, the Maple Leafs have multiple injuries in their forward corps. Most notably, Mitch Marner remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury and did not make the trip to Philadelphia. Calle Järnkrok, who had to leave last Thursday's game in Philadelphia, is also out of action.
As always, however, the top end of the Toronto lineup is deadly even without Marner. Matthews has scored four goals in two games against Philly this season among his 55 tallies on the season. William Nylander (team high 87 points) has four points -- two goals, two assists -- against Philly this season including an overtime game winning goal. John Tavares (21 goals, 48 points) notched a goal and an assist against Carolina on Saturday.
