The Philadelphia Flyers face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. A win would bring the Flyers into a tie with Toronto at 72 points, one point behind the New York Islanders, who currently hold the second wild card spot.
If the Philadelphia Flyers are to have any chance at making the playoffs, they need to maintain the level of even-strength play they showed against the Buffalo Sabres.
Even-Strength Play Improving?
The Flyers’ five-on-five struggles are no secret. Before Tuesday, the powerplay had accounted for 9 of the 25 goals scored in the previous 15 games. If the Flyers don’t continue to improve their even-strength play, they’ll be dusting off those golf clubs this time next month. And strong five-on-five play will be especially critical against Toronto. The Leafs have a top-ten penalty kill, and they’ve scored 32 more goals than the Flyers have this year.
The Flyers are confident, though:
"“Tonight shows what we’re capable of 5-on-5,” said rookie Travis Konecny, who had a goal and an assist in the third period in his second game back after missing nine with knee and ankle injuries. “We moved the puck well and we just stuck to our game.” (Jonah Bronstein)"
The Leafs, however, are also trying to turn things around. They had lost five straight before beating the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
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Do or Die
The Flyers need every point they can get. But this late in the season, it’s even more important to beat those teams you need to leapfrog. Losing these two points—even giving up one by allowing the game to go beyond regulation—might very well be the nail in the coffin.
"“Every game is the biggest game of the season right now,” Giroux said of Thursday’s showdown. “Toronto is a team we’re trying to catch, so we’re going to have to bring our best hockey [because] they’re a good team at home. We’re going to be excited about this game.” (Sam Carchidi)"
Drama in Goal
Many expected the Flyers to trade a goalie by the deadline. Instead, they signed Michal Neuvirth, despite Steve Mason’s better overall play this year. (Not that either goalie can expect any votes for the Vezina.) But Mason has played the last four games, going 3-0-1. Tonight, however, Neuvirth gets the nod. And reactions are, shall we say, mixed.
Starting Neuvirth tonight is one of those decisions where you find out how much of the team's pulse the coach is tapped into. #Flyers #Leafs
— Anthony Mingioni (@AnthonyMingioni) March 9, 2017
We all remember Neuvirth’s stellar play in the postseason last year, so the goalies will be under a lot of scrutiny over the next month.