Second line combine for 10 points helping Leafs soar past Flyers Maple Leafs get healthy off Flyers

After a Saturday night loss in Nashville, the Maple Leafs looked to get back into the winning column at home, facing off against the Philadelphia Flyers.So far this season, the Leafs have had Philly’s number, being undefeated in the first two matchups of the year, and with a hungry Toronto team looking to bounce back, the blue-and-white would want to add to the win total. 

This would also be a game to remember for Leafs forward Scott Laughton, as he would face off against his former team for the first time, looking to finally get the monkey off his back. 

“It’s gonna be different looking at the pre scout, and I’m in some of the clips, so definitely a little weird,” Laughton said jokingly about the preparation facing off against the Flyers. 

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube also had a chance to talk to the media about the style of play his team can expect from the Flyers. 

“We know the style, it’s not changed much over the years since Torts (John Tortorella) has been there,” Berube said. “It’s a hard-working team, they got preusser everywhere and they’re competitive,”   

In the first, the Leafs had found an early jump in their game, showing a burst of offence getting the fans at Scotiabank Arena on their feet with Auston Matthews having a great chance which was saved off the pad of Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson.

Even with the strong start of the Blue-and-White, the Flyers were able to steal the first goal of the game off a rocket shot from Ryan Poehling, giving him his eighth of the season. 

As the Leafs kept mounting the pressure, not letting a 1-0 deficit get to their heads, they would eventually be awarded as John Tavares would score his 31st goal of the season from a slick feed from William Nylander. 

Although the Leafs had already worn their famous St. Pats sweaters for this season, the Luck would not go away as Nylander would get a puck deflected off a skate, giving the Leafs a 2-1 lead heading into the second period. 

The Second would be a period the Flyers would like to forget, as Toronto was able to add to their lead four times. 

The Leafs’ second line would do most of the damage, combining for three of the four goals with Nylander and Tavares both scoring their second of the game. 

With his second of the night, Nylander was able to hit the 40-goal mark for the third straight season in a row.

“Yeah, I mean that’s pretty cool, but my focus is only being for the playoffs right now,” Nylander said when asked about his third consecutive 40-goal season. 

At the end of the period, Sean Couturier would get the flyers on the board with a tip past Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz get a consolation prize that wouldn’t mean much. 

In the Third, all that the Leafs had to do now was to close out the game, at that is exactly what they were able to do. 

Not only were the Leafs able to shut down the Flyers’ offense, but they were also able to add to the lead one more time. 

Max Domi was able to sneak one past Ersson to make the final score 7-2, sticking the dagger deeper into the Flyers’ heart. 

Throughout the third, fans were seen doing the wave around the arena, showing their support in the blowout win, as winning big at home has been a rarity this season. 

The Leafs’ second line would finish off the game with a combined 10 points, showing chemistry that had been inconsistent in recent years.   

After the game, Tavares, who finished the night with four points, said the team’s play was able to stay consistent all night, earning them the big win.

“I just like the way we stuck with our game, we didn’t get away from things that were doing well,” Tavares said.  

With only 11 games remaining in the schedule, the Leafs would like to continue bringing home the wins as they once again head on the road in a west coast swing.