The Flyers finally returned to the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night after a grueling six-game road trip but were unable to kick off their homestand on a positive note, falling to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2.
With the game deadlocked at 2-2, Leafs forward Matthew Knies broke the stalemate with 6 minutes, 39 seconds left in the third period, tipping a point shot from Morgan Reilly past Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov.
The Flyers had their chances to respond in the waning minutes of the game, but the Leafs withstood them. Matevi Michkov drew a hooking penalty with 48 seconds left, and Travis Konecny had the tying goal — and what would have been a hat trick — on his stick, but Toronto goalie Joseph Woll turned his shot aside.
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A fight less than five minutes into the first period between Joel Farabee and Connor Dewar set the tone for what proved to be a scrappy game. Both teams had fresh memories of their previous meeting on Sunday, in which Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe left the game with an upper-body injury following a fight with Garnet Hathaway. Toronto forward Max Domi later elbowed Hathaway in the head, an infraction for which he was fined $5,000 for on Monday.
The Flyers struck first. Konecny one-timed a pass from Sean Couturier through traffic in front and past Toronto’s Woll to put the Flyers up, 1-0.
Despite a few odd-man rushes and a power-play opportunity, the Leafs didn’t manage to register a shot on net until 5:38 remained in the first period. It was a tough first attempt for Fedotov, who made only his second start in over a month, but Fedotov stretched his 6-foot-7 frame to the far post in time to rob Domi.
The Flyers had trouble staying out of the penalty box, and Toronto made them pay in the second period . John Tavares tied the game at 1 on the Leafs’ third power play with a snipe from the right faceoff circle.
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The Flyers’ first man advantage was nullified less than a minute in, when Tyson Foerster was called for high-sticking. During the resulting four-on-four play, Konecny notched his second goal of the night. Noah Cates shrugged off a Leafs defender to find Konency alone in front, and he tucked the puck through the five-hole.
Any momentum was quickly stalled as the Leafs responded 41 seconds later, just as their ensuing power play was expiring. Auston Matthews snuck below three Flyers in front of the net to beat Fedotov blocker-side to tie things back up, 2-2.
Fedotov, who stopped 14 of 17 shots, made another key stop to keep things tied in the final minute of the second period, turning aside a breakaway for Toronto forward Steven Lorenz.
There was a scary moment at the start of the third period when Michkov and Scott Laughton collided as both tried to clear the puck in the defensive zone. Laughton was slow to get up and was helped off the ice. Both players went into the tunnel but ultimately returned later in the period.