There are many qualities of playoff hockey that appeared in Tuesday’s game for the Flyers against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Teams want to set the tone early. The Flyers did with the opening goal 19 seconds in. You need to have some luck and get some bounces. Toronto hit five posts in the game. You have to sacrifice and do the dirty work. The Flyers finished the night with 36 blocked shots.
It all resulted in a 4-3 victory over the Leafs to get back in the win column and gain a critical two points in the standings.
The Flyers got on the board in the first shift of the game. Just 19 seconds in, Owen Tippett fired a shot through a screen that beat Ilya Samsonov for his 25th goal of the season to make it 1-0.
Both teams had quality chances in the remainder of the period, including a pair of hit posts for both sides, but that was the only offense in the opening 20 minutes, as the Flyers out-shot the Leafs, 8-7.
The start of the second period was nearly an exact replica of the first. Once again, the Flyers got a goal in the first minute of the period.
This time, it was Travis Sanheim left alone at the top of the right circle to fire a shot past Samsonov to make it 2-0.
The margin held up into the final minutes of the period, despite two more posts from Toronto. The Flyers extended the lead with 3:34 to play in the period. Morgan Frost came off the bench and got the puck in the high slot, putting a shot through a screen to make it 3-0 with his 12th of the season.
Through two periods, shots were 22-19 Flyers.
The Leafs were able to get on the board early in the third. Just 10 seconds into a power play, William Nylander scored his 37th goal of the season to make it 3-1 at 1:11.
The Leafs kept the pressure on and got the margin to one shortly after killing off a penalty. Tyler Bertuzzi was in front to put home the feed from Morgan Rielly to make it 3-2 with 9:44 to play.
Toronto got a power play moments later, but the Flyers took advantage in the seconds after it expired. Scott Laughton took control out of the box and was able to move into the offensive zone. After Tippett couldn’t get a shot on goal off the rush, he stayed with the play and centered for Laughton, who scored his 11th goal of the season to make it 4-2 with seven minutes remaining.
Toronto did not go quietly, pulling the goalie with just under three minutes to play and scoring with 2:10 remaining. John Tavares scored his 22nd goal of the season on a rebound to make it a one-goal game.
The Flyers held on from there, finishing off the win. Sam Ersson finished with 27 saves on 30 shots in the win. Samsonov made 24 saves on 28 shots in the loss.
Frost and Tippett each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers. Tavares had a three-point game. Matthews and Bertuzzi had two points each.
The Flyers get back on the ice on Thursday night to take on the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Maple Leafs | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Flyers | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- PHI Owen Tippett (25) (Cam York, Morgan Frost) 0:19
2nd Period
- PHI Travis Sanheim (9) (Garnet Hathaway) 0:56
- PHI Frost (12) (Ronnie Attard, Ryan Poehling) 16:26
3rd Period
- TOR William Nylander (37) PP (Auston Matthews, John Tavares) 1:11
- TOR Tyler Bertuzzi (14) (Morgan Rielly, Tavares) 10:16
- PHI Scott Laughton (11) (Tippett) 13:00
- TOR Tavares (22) (Bertuzzi, Matthews) 17:50
Game Statistics
| Maple Leafs | Flyers | |
| Shots | 30 | 28 |
| Power Play | 1/3 | 0/2 |
| Hits | 28 | 33 |
| Faceoff % | 62% | 38% |
| Giveaways | 3 | 4 |
| Takeaways | 7 | 3 |
| Blocked Shots | 8 | 36 |
| Penalty Minutes | 9 | 11 |
