By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly contributor
As the Flyers found themselves in familiar territory on Thursday — trailing through the entire third period — they were doing everything they could to solve Frederik Andersen and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yet despite 20 shots in the period and two power-play opportunities, they couldn't find twine.
Down by two with 2:28 to go, though, they chipped away. With an empty net, Shayne Gostisbehere impressively beat Andersen, and the Flyers erased one of hockey's most dangerous leads with plenty of time left.
Nazem Kadri had other plans, though, and slid the puck into the empty net — off a Gostisbehere turnover, no less — to give the Maple Leafs a 4-2 lead, which they held on to for the home win.
Gostisbehere did help get the Flyers (31-27-8) started early. His blast was deflected by Wayne Simmonds at 6:09 of the first period, giving the Orange and Black an early 1-0 lead on a power-play goal. William Nylander countered before the end of the period, though, evening the score at 1.
At 9:28 of the second period, Tyler Bozak beat Michal Neuvirth to give the Maple Leafs (30-22-14) their first lead of the night. Mitch Marner furthered the lead in the third, putting them ahead by two goals.
It did seem as if the Leafs were doing everything in their power to surrender the lead, though. Not only did they allow 20 shots — more than the total in the first (seven) and second (11) periods combined — Nikita Zaitsev took an interference minor at 9:53 of the period. After killing that, Connor Brown took a tripping minor at 14:20. What seemed like an early solution to the Flyers' power-play woes was only temporary, as they could not convert on those two chances.
Andersen finished with 36 saves on 38 shots. Neuvirth, in his first start since Feb. 25, stopped 29 of 32 shots.
The loss keeps the Flyers at 70 points, and the Maple Leafs will now take full command of the second Wild Card playoff spot. The Orange and Black now trail behind Tampa Bay (71 points after a 4-1 win against Minnesota) and the New York Islanders (73 points).
The Flyers return to the ice on Saturday, taking on the Boston Bruins in a matinee game.
