Toronto Maple Leafs
Facing the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team already playoff bound and in position to potentially host a first-round series, should help in the Flyers pursuit of a lottery pick. The Flyers enter Tuesday’s game having lost five straight games.
Auston Matthews scored his 51st goal of the season and Morgan Rielly had three points as the Leafs finished off a 6-3 decision on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center.
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.
The goaltending was something that continues to remain consistent in a positive way for the Flyers. The special teams and overall lack of scoring also remains consistent, which presents some concerns as the team hits the road.
For two periods, another game was competitive and within reach thanks to Carter Hart. For the rest of the team, the offensive struggles continued. The Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play and were held off the board in a 36-save shutout for Jack Campbell and the Toronto Maple Leafs, falling by a score of 3-0.
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.
Over at ESPN.com, Greg Wyshynski posed the biggest question for each of the 24 teams in the playoffs. The Flyers one is quite intriguing. Are these games following the pause, to be played in neutral hub cities, away games for Carter Hart?
There was plenty of excitement in the air as the Flyers played host to the opening games of the series and there were certainly moments of doubt within the series where it seemed like the Flyers would not make it out and continue their quest for the Cup. They needed to find a way to win in Toronto to get it done, and finally did in Game 6, which became a monumental moment for the Flyers.
The Flyers 6-1 win over Toronto was their fifth straight, and carried some of the success from a 10-2-4 November over to the start of December.
The Flyers responded to a Toronto goal and retook the lead at the midpoint of the third period. They never looked back, adding four more goals down the stretch in a five-goal third period, securing a win on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-1, to extend their winning streak to five games.
