Preview: Flyers Visit Maple Leafs in First of Consecutive Games

Tonight, the Philadelphia Flyers (17-18-4) visit the Toronto Maple Leafs (25-13-2) before a rematch on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Yes, these two clubs will play consecutive games. Tonight is the first clash between the Flyers and Maple Leafs and the final stop on the six-game road trip.

Last time out, Philadelphia held a lead to the first intermission against the Vegas Golden Knights. Then, in the second and third periods, the Golden Knights jumped out to a hot start and never looked back en route to a 5-2 win. John Tortorella felt the Flyers made some mistakes but turned in a lot of good minutes against Vegas.

“I thought we played well. I watched the tape yesterday. I thought we had a really good game against Vegas. I thought we could have come away with some points there. [We] didn’t, so we get ready for our next one.” – John Tortorella; 1/4/2025

The odds favor Toronto (-148) at the Scotiabank Arena, per DraftKings Sportsbook. Across the board, the Maple Leafs have the edge versus Philadelphia. The Flyers are inferior on the powerplay (15.9%; 28th), the penalty kill (78.3%; 19th), faceoffs (51.2%; 13th), goals scored per game (3.03; 15th), and goals allowed per game (3.56; 30th). However, this specific goaltending matchup could favor the visitors.

When: 7:00pm/ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena; Toronto, Canada
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia; Flyers Radio 24/7
Last Game PHI: 1/2/25; 5-2 L; at Vegas Golden Knights
Last Game TOR: 1/4/25; 6-4 W; vs. Boston Bruins

Philadelphia Flyers

Tortorella has come around. Ivan Fedotov (4-4-1, 3.48GAA, 87.7%SV) will make his first start in a month. He is still the third goaltender in the pecking order, but a solid performance tonight could change the perspective. In his last five starts, Fedotov is 2-1-1 with a 3.0GAA and an 89.3%SV. Fedotov did not take the losing decision versus the Florida Panthers when Tortorella pulled him after the first period in favor of Alexei Kolosov.

Sam Ersson (lower body) is still considered day-to-day.

Travis Konecny (18G, 25A, -3, 52.2%CF) has lately been the lifeline of the powerplay. He scored twice on the powerplay (2/5) in as many games (at SJS, at VGK). On Thursday, Konecny took four shots on goal, his most in the last five games. As long as he remains active on the attack, Philadelphia has a real opportunity to enhance their struggling percentage on the powerplay while boosting their scoring averages. This season, Konecny scored eight goals on the powerplay (career high) and is three more away from 40 powerplay goals for his career.

Jamie Drysdale (1G, 6A, -14, 53.3%FF) played top-four defensemen minutes on Thursday, including his defensemen-leading 1:10 on the powerplay. Overall, he had a quiet performance. However, when you put Drysdale under a microscope, he did not leave his goaltender out to dry, and it looked like he earned more trust from Tortorella. His minus-two stat line did not accurately reflect his performance.

Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers

#21 Scott Laughton – #48 Morgan Frost – #39 Matvei Michkov
#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#74 Owen Tippett – #25 Ryan Poehling – #11 Travis Konecny
#86 Joel Farabee – #14 Sean Couturier – #19 Garnet Hathaway

#6 Travis Sanheim – #8 Cam York
#5 Egor Zamula – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#24 Nick Seeler – #9 Jamie Drysdale

#82 Ivan Fedotov
(#35 Alexei Kolosov)

Projected Lineup: Toronto Maple Leafs

#23 Matthew Knies – #34 Auston Matthews – #16 Mitch Marner
#67 Max Pacioretty – #91 John Tavares – #88 William Nylander
#74 Bobby McMann – #11 Max Domi – #89 Nicholas Robertson
#18 Steven Lorentz – #64 David Kämpf – #24 Connor Dewar

#22 Jake McCabe – #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly – #51 Philippe Myers
#2 Simon Benoit – #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson

#35 Dennis Hildeby
(#60 Joseph Woll)