The Philadelphia Flyers will look to build off of a needed, yet unconvincing, 3-2 victory over the lowly San Jose Sharks Tuesday night.
Philadelphia was undisciplined and uncharacteristically leaky for the second straight game on the penalty kill, allowing two goals on five opportunities. The Maple Leafs hold the league's second-best power-play at 27.2 percent.
Thursday night's game marks the start of a crucial gauntlet of match-ups for the Flyers. They will face seven straight opponents that are ahead of them in the standings and are near locks for the playoffs.
This is the second time this season the two teams will face off, with their last meeting scheduled for March 19th at the Wells Fargo Center.
On February 15, the Flyers jumped out to an early lead but Auston Matthews caught fire in the second period on his way to a natural hat trick in just under eight minutes.
Philadelphia rallied to tie the game late in the third, but a poorly timed line change led to a game-ending goal by William Nylander in overtime. Matthews, Nylander, and Mitch Marner combined for 8 points in the 4-3 victory.
Philadelphia Flyers
John Tortorella will serve the second and final game of his suspension for the outburst in Tampa Bay last weekend. In his absence, assistant coaches Brad Shaw and Rocky Thompson will share duties behind the bench.
Kevin Kurz noted that several Flyers had been struggling headed into Tuesday's game against the Sharks.
Some Flyers forwards that had better get going here.
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) March 12, 2024
Tippett: 1 goal last 9 games
Frost: 0 goals last 11 games
Cates: 1 goal last 14 games
Poehling: 1 goal last 12 games
Couturier: 0 goals last 12 games
Farabee: 1 goal last 18 games
Appropriately, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and Owen Tippett all found the back of the net just a few hours later.
Travis Konecny and Cam York added two assists, with Frost collecting the primary assist on Farabee's opening goal on a beautiful outlet saucer pass to spring a breakaway chance. It will take additional collective efforts to withstand the most difficult stretch the team will face this season.
Philadelphia has gone back to 12/6 lineups of late, dropping the much-maligned 11/7 strategy they've largely used since acquiring Jamie Drysdale.
Injuries and the trade deadline have left them thin on the backend, so expect another traditional lineup this evening. It seems that forwards Cam Atkinson and Nic Deslauriers will remain healthy scratches while Sam Ersson will earn another start in net.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Owen Tippett - Scott Laughton - Tyson Foerster
Noah Cates - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Denis Gurianov - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee - Morgan Frost - Bobby Brink
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Marc Staal - Ronnie Attard
Egor Zamula - Erik Johnson
Sam Ersson
Lines via hockeybuzz.com
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs currently hold the third spot in the Atlantic Division with a record of 37-19-8. They are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.
Toronto loaded up at the trade deadline, adding defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson, as well as center Connor Dewar. This will be their first action since Saturday when they bested the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on the road.
The Flyers have struggled all season long against top line talent, but they'll have one fewer player to worry about with Mitch Marner expected to miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury.
League-leading goal scorer Auston Matthews (54 goals in 63 games) has cooled down in March so far. He's tallied just one goal in six games this month. Still, he can't be taken lightly.
As we saw in February, Matthews is one of the league's few who can change the course of a game in an instant. He has a pretty good track record against the Flyers too -- 9 goals in 16 career games.
Leafs Projected Lineup
Tyler Bertuzzi - Auston Matthews - Calle Jarnkrok
Max Domi - John Tavares - William Nylander
Matthew Knies - David Kampf - Bobby McMann
Pontus Holmberg - Connor Dewar - Ryan Reaves
TJ Brodie - Jake McCabe
Morgan Rielly - Ilya Lyubushkin
Joel Edmunson - Timothy Liljegren
Ilya Samsonov
Lines via Mark Masters
When, Where, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7:30 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: ESPN+/Hulu
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: FuboTV
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