Behind hat trick by Tavares, Maple Leafs turn aside Flyers 5-2
Flyers coach John Tortorella is finding out that for his team, it’s much harder to protect a lead than it is to play from behind.
Going into their Wednesday night game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, the Flyers had plenty of experience playing from behind, relinquishing the first goal in eight of their first nine games of the season. But after jumping out to an early 1-0 lead against the Leafs on the second night of a backto-back, the Flyers failed to preserve their margin, as the Leafs scored three straight to help themselves to an eventual a 5-2 victory.
The Leafs gave the Flyers a gift in the first two periods, handing them five powerplay opportunities with the potential to score or carry momentum into five-on-five play. But the Flyers couldn’t do either, generating just five shots on the man advantage and handing control right back over to the Leafs.
Finally, the Flyers managed to capitalize on their sixth power-play opportunity of the night in the third period, as winger Owen Tippett’s wrist shot beat goalie Ilya Samsonov clean from the left circle to pull the Flyers within one, 3-2.
But in the third period, center John Tavares put the game out of reach for the Flyers, as he stickhandled around defenseman Travis Sanheim to score on goalie Felix Sandstrom and then notched a power-play goal less than three minutes later to complete a hat trick.
Farabee finds back of the net
After missing preseason action while working his way back from artificial disk replacement surgery this offseason, Joel Farabee has been relatively quiet from an offensive standpoint to start the season. Going into Wednesday’s game, Farabee had two goals and three assists in nine games. He had been held off the scoresheet the last two games. Farabee made a statement in the first period, scoring on a one-timer from the top of the left circle past Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov to pull the Flyers ahead, 1-0.
Early penalty trouble
The Flyers’ penalty kill has taken a massive stride under assistant coach Brad Shaw, jumping from a 75.74% success rate (26th in the league) in 2021-22 to 82.76% (seventh) this season. But regardless of the Flyers’ early man-disadvantage success, they didn’t want to test the skilled players on the Leafs’ 10th-ranked power play Wednesday night.
However, the Flyers struggled with penalties in the first period. The Flyers were called for three minor penalties, giving the Leafs three prime opportunities in their own zone. Although the Flyers killed the first two successfully, the third time was the charm, as 2021 Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews cleaned up his own rebound to tie the game, 1-1. The Leafs harnessed momentum after scoring on the man advantage, as Tavares ripped a one-timer from the point past Sandstrom to go up 2-1 within the last two minutes of the first period.
Sandstrom still seeks first win
Sandstrom got the nod in net against the Leafs, marking his third start of the season. All three of those starts have come on the second night of a back-to-back, so the Flyers haven’talwaysbeenthesharpestinfrontoftheir25-year-old netminder. Sandstrom was tested early and often, as the Leafs racked up 17 shots to the Flyers’ six in the first period. Two of those attempts, the Matthews rebound and the Tavares one-timer, beat Sandstrom.
The Flyers looked sloppy forastintinthesecondperiod, as poor puck protection and turnovers led to opportunities off the rush for the Leafs. Early in the second period after winger Pierre Engvall shot the puck from a distance, Sandstrom made a diving pad savetodenycenterCalleJarnkrok a chance to score on the rebound. In total, Sandstrom denied 39 of 44 shots.
What’s next
The Flyers finish their three-game road trip Saturday when they face off against former captain Claude Giroux and the Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).