Morgan Rielly
Keith Yandle comes out of the lineup for the first time after 989 consecutive games. Ronnie Attard makes his NHL debut on the blue line, while other newcomers remain in the lineup looking to make a good impression. They get another matchup against a future playoff team, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This game begins a busy remainder of the month for the Flyers. They will play 11 games in the next 21 days, reaching the quarter-mark of the season in the process. It will be no easy task either, as a number of star players and elite teams will appear on the schedule. It starts with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have found a groove after a slow start with wins in five of their last six games.
The Flyers first opponent of December is a familiar one, a team they faced twice already during November. The Toronto Maple Leafs come back to Philadelphia for the final game of a three-game season series. The first two games went to a shootout with both teams getting one win.
The Flyers are now coming off two wins this week and have points in their last four games, as they travel north of the border to face the Toronto Maple Leafs.
A fortunate goal got the score even and somehow the game was tied after one period. From there, the Flyers played the dominant forechecking game they have proven to be capable of and actually kept the game in their favor for some time. They got the game to overtime, earned a solid point in the standings, before falling in a marathon shootout that went 11 rounds in a 4-3 defeat to Toronto.
In the 11th round of a marathon shootout, Andreas Johnsson managed to beat Brian Elliott for the deciding goal, as the Flyers dropped a hard-fought contest, 4-3, to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The month of November is going to be a constant test. The Flyers play 16 games in the month, starting with Friday’s win, and that includes four sets of back-to-backs. The first of the four back-to-backs concludes on Saturday night on home ice as the Flyers take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Flyers first opponent in the final six games is the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just 12 days earlier, Toronto delivered a blow to the Flyers playoff chances by rallying from down 5-2 for a 7-6 win.
The Flyers continue a crucial three-game stretch on Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that they have not faced since Nov. 24, two days before Ron Hextall was fired as GM.
Another coaching change, a big extension for Auston Matthews and some trades among the Metropolitan Division teams, all this week in Around the NHL.
