Toronto Maple Leafs

Last week, it was already known that the President’s Trophy winners, the Tampa Bay Lightning, were eliminated, as were the Pittsburgh Penguins. Six other teams have joined, and many of them were near the top of the regular-season standings.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that tied an NHL record with 62 wins in the regular season, were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in four games. The Pittsburgh Penguins, the Stanley Cup champions in 2016 and 2017, were also swept by the New York Islanders in four games.

Carter Hart made four saves in the shootout, including on attempts by Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, as the Flyers got the only goal of the skills competition from Sean Couturier to seal a 5-4 win over the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers first opponent in the final six games is the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just 12 days earlier, Toronto delivered a blow to the Flyers playoff chances by rallying from down 5-2 for a 7-6 win.

It became a night to forget for the Flyers, as what remains of their playoff hopes took a massive hit with a 7-6 loss to the Maple Leafs on Friday night.

The Flyers continue a crucial three-game stretch on Friday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that they have not faced since Nov. 24, two days before Ron Hextall was fired as GM.

An updated look at the playoff race, Nikita Kucherov’s impressive MVP season, the new St. Louis Blues under Craig Berube and Jordan Binnington and Columbus’ struggles since the trade deadline.

Another coaching change, a big extension for Auston Matthews and some trades among the Metropolitan Division teams, all this week in Around the NHL.

The Maple Leafs scored four goals in the first 12:20 of the game, en route to a 6-0 rout over the Flyers on Saturday night.