The Maple Leafs’ losing streak reached four games Monday night. Philadelphia defeated Toronto 3-2 in a shootout at ScotiaBank Arena.
Winless since the Olympic break, playoff hopes dwindling down to a desperate prayer, and players watching the Sportsnet’s ticker to see if they have been traded are the realities of Leafs Nation. Yet the team still managed to put forth a competitive effort against the Flyers in front of the home crowd.
Dakota Joshua put Toronto out in front, scoring his 7th on the season at 15:22 of the first period. Matias Maccelli and Nicholas Roy worked hard along the boards, forcing a Flyers turnover. Maccelli ended up stealing the puck, finding Joshua at the face-off dot, allowing the big winger to sneak a shot by Philadelphia goalie Dan Vlader to make it 1-0.
The lead was short-lived; however, the Flyers struck back on a power play at 18:38. Christian Dvorak notched his 13th of the season, jamming home a rebound by Anthony Stolarz to tie the game.
Neither team scored in an up-and-down, exciting second period. The third period was tame in comparison with the action slowing down, but with just over five minutes left, Noah Cates ripped a shot from the slot that beat Stolarz and gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.
Toronto refused to quit. William Nylander one-timed a John Tavares pass by Vlader at 17:30 to re-tie the game. Nylander’s 20th on the season came on the power play and helped Toronto salvage a point as the game went to overtime.
The extra period provided several near misses. Auston Matthews had a couple of grade-A opportunities, and the Flyers hit the crossbar toward the end of the five minutes, but when the horn sounded, the score was still knotted 2-2, and the teams went to a shootout.
Nylander scored on his attempt, but Matthews and Max Domi could not convert on theirs. Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras both beat Stolarz, giving the Flyers a 3-2 win.
Next up: Toronto heads to New Jersey Wednesday night to take on the Devils.
