David Bolland celebrates his first goal in the third period of the Flyers 3-1 loss to the Leafs.
The two areas watched with a close eye for the Flyers were obvious: defense and goaltending.
Despite having the offensive edge for most of their season opener, the Flyers were beat in those areas on Wednesday night, falling to the Leafs, 3-1, in the first game of the season at the Wells Fargo Center.
Jonathan Bernier was the star of the game, stopping 31 of 32 shots as the Flyers fired mercilessly throughout the game. Still, they only managed to beat Bernier once, as Brayden Schenn found the back of the net on a nice feed from Vincent Lecavalier with just 6.9 seconds remaining in the first period.
For most of the second, Steve Mason held onto that one-goal lead. The Flyers had power-play time and a penalty shot for Wayne Simmonds in the final seconds of the second. Simmonds was stopped by Bernier on his attempt.
Just minutes before, the Leafs had tied the game on a goal by Phil Kessel, who picked up the rebound of a Dion Phaneuf shot.
Just 2:30 into the third, David Bolland struck for the go-ahead goal as the Flyers broke down defensively.
The Flyers managed seven power-play opportunities but only scored on one with the Schenn goal in the first. Two of the chances came in the third period.
With time winding down, the Flyers continued to apply pressure at times but could still not beat Bernier. With time winding down, the Leafs iced the game with a power-play goal by Bolland in the final minute of regulation.
The Flyers open the season with a loss, but there was strong play by Lecavalier, Mark Streit and Mason was solid in net as well. Both of Bolland's goals left Mason helpless. Braydon Coburn was on the ice for two of the Toronto goals.
The Flyers are back in action on Saturday when they travel to face the Montreal Canadiens.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Flyerdelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
