Time runs out on rally
Leafs’ offence springs to life in the third, but it’s too late to complete comeback against Flyers
The Maple Leafs came to life in the third period as William Nylander reached a new height, but it was case of too little, too late in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi and John Tavares scored in the final frame but the faster and more desperate Flyers held on for a 4-3 win to finally beat the Leafs.
“We weren’t sharp,” Tavares told reporters in Philadelphia. “We did a lot of good things offensively. It would have been ideal (if we had scored) earlier in the game. That would have changed the dynamic.
“But we stuck with it, gave ourselves a chance, just ran out of time.”
The Leafs lost fourth-liner Ryan Reaves after he got into a first-period fight. His right eye looked swollen as he left the penalty box for the training room midway through his five-minute major.
The Leafs had won eight straight games against Philadelphia, including a 6-2 win last week. But the Flyers were out for revenge and responded to lineup tinkering from coach John Tortorella as they try to nail down their first playoff spot in four seasons. The last time the Flyers beat Toronto was Dec. 3, 2019.
The Leafs are all but locked into third place in the Atlantic Division, but warts are showing up in their game. Injuries are a factor, of course, as the team plays without forwards Mitch Marner and Calle Järnkrok and defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin.
Auston Matthews played with a wheel of right wingers, with Pontus Holmberg, Nylander and Max Domi taking shifts on his side.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe also keeps looking for the right defensive pairs, with T.J. Brodie struggling whenever he plays with Morgan Rielly, a pair that had been among the most solid other seasons.
Down 3-0, Nylander scored 10 seconds into a third-period power play. It was the Leafs’ first power-play goal in five games after 12 unsuccessful opportunities, including a dud in the second period.
“We knew we would score eventually,” Nylander said.
Nylander’s 37th goal was his 88th point of the season, a career high.
“It’s always what you try to do, get better and better,” he said. “You don’t want to slow down.”
“It’s really impressive how he’s continued to elevate and push himself to the top tier of players in the game,” Tavares said. “He’s been incredible for us all year.”
Bertuzzi followed up with his 14th goal of the year, and his second goal in three games.
It looked like the Leafs would rally, but the power play let them down again. Not only did they not score, but a pass to Nick Robertson went over his stick and straight to Scott Laughton just out of the box. Laughton made it 4-2. Tavares scored with 2:10 remaining and Ilya Samsonov pulled, but that’s all the six-on-five Leafs could do.
“We weren’t very good in the first two periods, and it caught up to us,” Bertuzzi said. “We made a push in the third. But it was too late.”
Trouble in Philly
Just over a month after naming Sean Couturier the Flyers captain, Tortorella scratched him for Tuesday’s game against Toronto.
“I feel like I’ve been putting the work in. It’s frustrating the way I’ve been treated around (here) lately,” Couturier said. “(But) it doesn’t matter what I think. I have to put my ego aside.”
Tortorella said it was about putting out his best possible lineup. Veterans Marc Staal and Cam Atkinson were also scratched.
“A number of guys need to play better,” Tortorella said. “I’m coaching 20 guys, not just one. Those are the decisions I have to make.”
If it was a ploy to try to get the attention of his struggling team it appeared to work. Owen Tippett scored on the game’s first shot, just 19 seconds in. It’s not like Samsonov even saw the shot, with two Leafs and two Flyers providing a screen.
Both teams hit plenty of posts and the crowd was treated to a fight between Reaves and Nicolas Deslauriers but Tippett’s was the only goal of the first period.
Piling on
The quick-goal theme continued into the second period, with Travis Sanheim scoring just 56 seconds after the puck was dropped to start the middle frame.
If the Leafs have been struggling in one area, it’s with the extra man. They came into the game with one power-play goal in their last 24 chances.
And it was more of the same with their only power-play chance of the second period. There were no serious scoring chances despite a new look with Timothy Liljegren replacing Morgan Rielly on the top unit. Liljegren is a right-handed shot, something Keefe values with Mitch Marner (lower body injury) out of the lineup.
“The right shot at the top (blue line), especially losing Mitch, we think it’s important,” Keefe said. “And we have Morgan working with the other group, giving that group a boost.
While the Leafs had chances it was the Flyers who had a 3-0 lead heading into the third. Morgan Frost scored Philadelphia’s third goal from the blue line through traffic.
Notes
Joseph Woll is expected to start Wednesday in Washington … The Leafs have not been shut out in 212 games. They have the seventh-longest streak in league history of scoring at least one goal.