Philly piles it on, leaving Leafs to question character
The Maple Leafs played a fairly solid first 50 minutes of hockey, but the effort in the final 10 minutes was a head-scratcher.
The Philadelphia Flyers scored five times in the final 10 minutes, turning a close game into a 6-1 laugher that had the Maple Leafs questioning their own effort after the game.
“We can’t just fold like that,” centre Auston Matthews told reporters in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Centre. “It’s unacceptable to do that to our starting goalie. We just let him out to dry, breakaway, 2-on-1s, oddman rushes, all in the last minute, and suddenly the score is 6-1, so that’s on us. That just can’t happen.”
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, who doesn’t normally address his team after the game, did this time.
“I felt it was important to address that situation,” said Keefe.
“We want to be a team of high character and care for one another. I thought we just left our goaltender completely out to dry and stopped playing.
“That’s not a good sign for our group, but hopefully it is sort of the shake up that we think we need.”
Consider this: The Flyers are the hottest team in the NHL, coming off a league-best 10-2-4 November. Once they scored, their confidence clicked in.
For the Leafs, it was their second loss in three games and second loss in six games under Keefe, with some of the same issues that plagued the Leafs under Mike Babcock on full display: needless giveaways and missed assignments.
“As the third period is unfolding, I think we saw two different teams,” said Keefe. “One team that’s figured out how to win and they know what their recipe is, and then the other on our side that’s trying to find its way and that’s the difference in the game.”
Big mistake: The Flyers’ winning goal started because of a giveaway from Andreas Johnsson, with Claude Giroux finishing in part because he was untouched in the slot with William Nylander looking over his shoulder. It was disheartening, coming as it did 82 seconds after the Leafs had tied the game on a goal by Travis Dermott.
The game was closer than the score indicated. As the Leafs took chances to try to tie the game again, the Flyers capitalized and turned a close game into a laugher with four goals in the final three minutes and 28 seconds.
Travis Konecny put the Flyers up 3-1, the real back-breaker, at 16:32. Joel Farabee scored into an empty net at 17:54. But even with Frederik Andersen back in the net, the Flyers kept coming: Shayne Gostisbehere at 19:21 and James van Riemsdyk at 19:33.
“I don’t really worry about me, I worry about the way we play for the logo on the jersey,” said Andersen. “I think we’ve got to be more proud than that. Hopefully we can respond and show what kind of character we have.”
First goal: Despite outplaying Philadelphia in the early going and outshooting the Flyers 15-7 in the first period, it was the Flyers who scored first. That’s just the second time in six games under Keefe that the Leafs surrendered the first goal. But it has been a season-long issue. The Leafs have been the first team to trail 20 times in 26 games. They are 7-10-3 when the opponent scores first. Scott Laughlin scored the goal, standing on the doorstep after Kevin Hayes drove hard to the net, outmuscling both Matthews and Morgan Rielly.
Lucky one: Dermott got his third goal of the season, a weird one. His shot from the point hit Hart’s shoulder, deflected about 15 feet in the air and arced downward into the net. Dermott’s been playing well lately. “We’ve seen him being the competitive, physical guy in the defensive zone that we would like to see from him and also just see a little more confidence with the puck,” Keefe said before the game. “Things have settled down a little bit in that way for him.”
Special teams: The Maple Leafs have been notably better on special teams in the six games under Keefe. The penalty kill has allowed just one goal in 13 opposition opportunities, including three against Philadelphia. The power play — 0-for-1 Tuesday — has scored in three of its last nine chances. One thing that would help: more power plays. The Leafs aren’t using their speed and skill enough to force opponents to take liberties to try to slow them down. “There was some progress for us in a lot of areas but the reality is, it’s a 60-minute hockey game and there will be a lot of attention put on what happened after the third goal — rightfully so,” said Keefe. “But there’s a lot of other things where we’ve got to be better throughout the game and stay consistent every shift.”