Tonight begins a seven-game stretch where the Philadelphia Flyers (34-24-8) face opponents representing the top three of the NHL Atlantic Division and the two teams ahead of them in the NHL Metropolitan Division. Including the Toronto Maple Leafs (37-19-8) and Boston Bruins twice, the Flyers must find a way to steal victories against the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Rangers.
John Tortorella is serving the last game of a two-game suspension. On Tuesday, Brad Shaw and Rocky Thompson coached Philadelphia to a win over the San Jose Sharks, 3-2. In the second game of three in the season series, the Flyers are hoping to even the score with Toronto, who won in overtime in February, 4-3.
These several games will heavily dictate playoff implications, with the New York Islanders four points behind.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are 3-2-0 over their last five games. Sheldon Keefe emphasized the importance of finding consistency, believing the lineup performs better on the road than on home ice:
“I do feel we’ve played better on the road than at home this season and this season’s past. It’s hard to really pinpoint why that is. I do think the mindset is a little different away from home, and generally speaking, we’ve had some good, call it gutsy, type efforts on the road in some tough circumstances at times. At home, we’ve been less consistent with our play with the puck, and some of our defensive play, and how we’ve managed games; all those kinds of things have been less of an issue on the road for whatever reason. You want to be a team that can become confident and comfortable in the other team’s building, but clearly, you also need to be able to bring that same type of approach on the home ice.”
Sheldon Keefe; 3/13/2024
Bobby McMann kicked off the scoring for the Maple Leafs in a road win against the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2. He took a few hits from Joel Armia and Arber Xhekaj, but responded quickly to the opening goal by Mike Matheson. McMann listed at the bottom of the ice time category when Toronto hosted Philadelphia in February. He recorded five hits, and on the rush in the third period, he missed a wrist shot wide of the net; a high-danger scoring chance.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs, per Mark Masters:
Bertuzzi-Matthews-Jarnkrok
Domi-Tavares-Nylander
Knies-Kampf-McMann
Holmberg-Dewar-Reaves
Brodie-McCabe
Rielly-Lyubushkin
Edmundson-Liljegren
Samsonov
(Woll)
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers are 3-1-1 over their last five games, looking for the same consistency Keefe described about the Maple Leafs. Shaw mentioned how crucial this stretch of games is for the lineup, and that the focus is to trust in what they’ve done to be successful to this point, especially on the penalty kill:
“We have to find other ways to have success. The biggest thing is just trusting what we’re doing; getting back to pressuring, getting back to working as groups of four guys, getting pucks two-hundred feet, and trying to help build a little bit of frustration on the powerplay’s side.”
Brad Shaw; 3/14/2024
Travis Konecny added two assists, one on the powerplay, and one to set up a six-on-five game-winner on a delayed penalty for Owen Tippett versus the Sharks. He wasn’t just a playmaker; Konecny recorded a couple hits on Thomas Bordeleau and Calen Addison. Konecny was busy against Toronto in February, trading hits with Matthew Knies, forcing two takeaways, recording a shorthanded assist on a Travis Sanheim goal, and then sending Philadelphia into overtime with a powerplay goal. Another multi-point evening would help the Flyers keep up versus an elite offense.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers, per Jordan Hall:
Tippett-Laughton-Konecny
Farabee-Frost-Foerster
Gurianov-Couturier-Brink
Cates-Poehling-Hathaway
York-Sanheim
Staal-Attard
Zamula-Johnson
Ersson
(Sandstrom)
Place Your Bets (via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Toronto Maple Leafs (-135)
Philadelphia Flyers (+114)
Bobby McMann over 2.5SOG (+130)
Travis Konecny over .5pt (-150)
Game Information
Watch the Philadelphia Flyers host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Wells Fargo Center on ESPN+ and Hulu. Listen to the radio broadcast on 93.3 WMMR. The puck drops at 7:30pm.
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
