The Philadelphia Flyers pulled out another valiant effort against the Toronto Maple Leafs but dropped their second consecutive contest by a score of 3-2 – but this one being in regulation.
The first of two Travis Konecny goals opened the scoring in the first period before John Tavares tied things up with a power play tally early in the second period. Konecny then regained the lead just for Auston Matthews to tie things up once more 41 seconds later.
The third period was relatively quiet until Matthew Knies scored the go-ahead and subsequent game-winning goal with just 6:39 remaining in regulation. The Flyers had two late power plays but were unable to tie things up despite numerous opportunities.
Joseph Woll earned the win stopping 30 shots along the way while Fedotov was strapped with another loss as he allowed 3 goals on 17 shots.
After taking an overtime loss during the first of two meetings, the Flyers returned home to the confines of the Wells Fargo Center for the first time since the 21st of December as they welcomed the Maple Leafs ahead of the Ed Snider Legacy Game.
Ivan Fedotov earned the start once again after a strong performance against the Maple Leafs on Sunday, which was his first bit of game action in a month. The rest of the Flyers lineup remained intact and unchanged.
As for the Maple Leafs, they made a few changes at all 3 positions as Ryan Reaves came in for Nick Robertson to add more physicality after they took umbrage over Garnet Hathaway, Conor Timmins replaced the injured Jake McCabe, and Joseph Woll supplanted Dennis Hildeby in goal.
FIRST PERIOD
2:54 into the contest, Matvei Michkov came into the offensive zone and fired a shot from a severe angle as he tried to catch Woll lacking. The goaltender made the save but the referees felt there was enough to warrant a review. Unfortunately, the game remained tied as Woll just kept it out.
A couple minutes later at the 4;47 mark, Joel Farabee and Connor Dewar dropped the gloves with the former taking down the latter in a spirited bout between two forwards who probably weren’t tabbed for a fight before the game started.
With Farabee in the box, Travis Konecny took his spot on the fourth line and came through with the game’s opening goal at the 8:19 mark. His 19th of the season came off a great feed from Sean Couturier as the captain found him in the faceoff dot for a one-time finish with Garnet Hathaway screening the goaltender.
Moments later, Jamie Drysdale was called for a hooking minor as he impeded Bobby McMann’s breakaway attempt. Fortunately the Flyers killed off the first power play of the night after limiting the Leafs to a couple shots that missed the net.
The Maple Leafs officially recorded their first shot on goal with 5:37 remaining in the period with Max Domi firing a one-timer with some day light in front of him but Fedotov stepped up with a huge save to keep the game at 1-0.
Michkov came within inches of scoring once again but this time the puck stalled in the blue paint before Max Pacioretty shoved it underneath Woll. Rasmus Ristolainen set the play up with a wrap-around attempt before Michkov fired the rebound through Woll but unfortunately not enough to get over the red line.
After Owen Tippett was robbed on his offensive opportunity, he was called for a boarding minor against Morgan Rielly right after as the defenseman looked to make a play behind the net with 3:38 remaining – much to the chagrin of the head coach, player, and fans.
It was a riveting kill that involved a lot of offensive plays as Scott Laughton jumpstarted an odd-man rush that was well defended by Mitch Marner and then Hathaway came rumbling in on a breakaway but lost control of the puck.
A fantastic period for the Flyers came to a close with the club up 1-0 on the scoreboard and 10-2 on the shot-clock, although they missed an opportunity to take a 2 or 3-goal lead into the intermission.
SECOND PERIOD
24 seconds into the period, Cam York was called for a high-sticking minor against Steven Lorentz. As expected with the best second period team in hockey going against the worst second period club, they didn’t need much to time to tie the game after John Tavares darted a hard shot glove-high with Fedotov camped a little too deep in his crease at the 1:18 mark.
With 14:44 remaining in the period, the Flyers jumped on their first power play of the night after Marner was called for a hooking minor against Ryan Poehling. Unfortunately, things evened out 38 seconds into the power play after Tyson Foerster high-sticked Auston Matthews.
With 12:46 left and near the expiration of the 4-on-4, Konecny scored his 2nd of the night and 20th of the season after sliding his shot through Woll’s five-hole after a fantastic setup from Noah Cates. The defensive-minded forward forced a turnover against Conor Timmins below the goal-line, which allowed Konecny to walk in all alone.
Unfortunately, the lead didn’t last too long as Matthews tied the game right at the end of the abbreviated power play with a one-time finish from the slot. Fedotov once again played too deep in his crease but Marner did a good job to lure four orange jerseys towards him as Matthews snuck in for his 13th of the season.
The Flyers jumped onto their second power play of the night with David Kämpf heading to the box for a hooking minor at the 11:10 mark. They created several high-danger plays but the shots either went high and wide or were blocked by Leafs defenders.
The period came to an end with both teams tied at 2-apiece but the Flyers continuing to dominate in shots with a 19-8 edge.
THIRD PERIOD
13 seconds into the period, Laughton and Michkov collided with one another with the former needing assistance from the trainers as he was helped off the ice. Laughton went straight to the locker room before Michkov eventually followed, but they both returned later on during the period.
With the Maple Leafs taking control of the third period, they finally took the lead after an offensive zone face-off win led to a goal with just 6:39 remaining. Matthew Knies, who has been on fire in recent games, deflected a point shot with a mass of bodies in front of Fedotov.
Down a goal with 5:26 left to play, the Flyers jumped on a power play after a delay of game penalty. Similar to their play throughout the third period, the Flyers had a lot of difficulties trying to traverse into the offensive zone and create any chances.
With 47 seconds remaining and the goalie pulled, the Flyers received their 5th power play of the night after Knies was called for a hooking minor. While the Flyers had several chances with the man advantage and Fedotov pulled, Woll came up huge time after time for Toronto.
Unfortunately with just 12 seconds left, Drysdale was nailed for a tripping minor, erasing the power play and virtually ending the game.
UP NEXT
The Flyers take on the Dallas Stars on Thursday night (7:00pm; NBCSP) as they get set to host the Ed Snider Legacy Game.
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