Flyers-Maple Leafs: Game 71 Preview

Kevin Durso

March 15 2019

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The start of a demanding weekend on the Flyers schedule did not start off well with a 5-2 loss to Washington at home on Thursday night. Now the Flyers have to take to the road and find a way to win against two tough opponents to keep their playoff hopes alive.

It starts on Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that Flyers have not faced since Nov. 24, two days before Ron Hextall was fired as GM.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Toronto Maple Leafs	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	70	20	53	73	Mitch Marner	70	24	60	84
Sean Couturier	68	28	37	65	John Tavares	70	39	38	77
Jake Voracek	66	18	43	61	Morgan Rielly	70	19	48	67
Travis Konecny	70	22	22	44	Auston Matthews	56	32	31	63
James van Riemsdyk	54	21	17	38	Kasperi Kapanen	68	19	23	42

Player to Watch
93 Jake Voracek	34 Auston Matthews
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 6 A, 9 P, +4	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, -1

Prior to his two-game suspension, Jake Voracek was on a five-game point streak with nine points in that time. Having watched the last two games, Voracek is certainly going to be motivated to help the Flyers keep this playoff run going.

After going six games without a goal and four of five games without a point, Auston Matthews has started to get back on track with goals in back-to-back games and three points over the last two games. With his skill level, he could be a nightmare for the Flyers, who are playing in a back-to-back.

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	31 Frederik Andersen
23 GP, 11-8-1, 2.59 GAA, .916 SV%	52 GP, 33-14-4, 2.68 GAA, .920 SV%

Outside of a rough start against Washington last Wednesday, Brian Elliott has been solid in goal. He made 20 saves in a win on Monday over Ottawa and has wins in three of his last four games.

Frederik Andersen's last start was not a good one, allowing four goals on 14 shots to Chicago in the first period before being pulled. Andersen was also pulled in his previous start before that, allowing four goals on 19 shots to the Lightning. Prior to those last two starts, Andersen had won six of seven starts.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Justin Bailey, Andrew MacDonald, Cam Talbot, Sam Morin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	28 Claude Giroux
25 James van Riemsdyk	19 Nolan Patrick	93 Jake Voracek
12 Michael Raffl	21 Scott Laughton	11 Travis Konecny
44 Phil Varone	10 Corban Knight	38 Ryan Hartman
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	61 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

Jake Voracek returns from suspension, which means Justin Bailey will sit as the extra forward. The rest of the lineup remains the same.

Maple Leafs Projected Lineup

Injuries: Kasperi Kapanen, Jake Gardiner, Travis Dermott

Scratches: Zach Hyman, Igor Ozhiganov

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
12 Patrick Marleau	91 John Tavares	16 Mitch Marner
18 Andreas Johnsson	34 Auston Matthews	29 William Nylander
42 Trevor Moore	43 Nazem Kadri	28 Connor Brown
63 Tyler Ennis	33 Frederik Gauthier	19 Nic Petan
Defense
44 Morgan Rielly	2 Ron Hainsey
8 Jake Muzzin	22 Nikita Zaitsev
52 Martin Marincin	3 Justin Holl
Goalie
31 Frederik Andersen

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (23rd, 28th on road), Maple Leafs (7th, 4th at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (26th, 24th on road), Maple Leafs (T-18th, 18th at home)
Recent History vs. Maple Leafs
- Oct. 28, 2017 – Flyers 4, Maple Leafs 2 (at TOR)
- Dec. 12, 2018 – Flyers 4, Maple Leafs 2 (at PHI)
- Jan. 18, 2018 – Flyers 3, Maple Leafs 2 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Nov. 24, 2018 – Maple Leafs 6, Flyers 0 (at TOR)
Flyers Leaders vs. Maple Leafs
- Claude Giroux – 32 GP, 11 G, 19 A, 30 P
- Scott Laughton – 8 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 P
- Travis Konecny – 7 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
- Jake Voracek – 24 GP, 5 G, 12 A, 17 P
- Brian Elliott – 17 GP, 8-6-1, 2.63 GAA, .908 SV%