For the second time in a week, the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Philadelphia Flyers. After defeating them 3-2 in the first matchup, they tried to pick up another victory and come away with another two points. They were able to do that successfully defeating them by the same score of 3-2, maintaining their lead in the Atlantic Division.
The goaltending matchup was Joseph Woll for the Maple Leafs and Ivan Fedotov for the Flyers. The Flyers outshot the Maple Leafs 32-17, meaning Woll finished the night stopping 30 of 32 shots posting a .938 save percentage (SV%) while Fedotov stopped 14 of 17 and finished with a .824 SV%. With that, here are three takeaways from the game in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center.
Tavares Reaches 20-Goal Plateau, Again
With his 20th goal of the season, John Tavares has reached the 20-goal plateau for the 11th time in his career. With the game-tying goal in the second period helped build some momentum for the Maple Leafs as they stayed in the game with the Flyers, Tavares proved yet again that despite him being an aging veteran, he can still produce at an elite rate offensively.
Tavares, who is 34 years old, has scored 476 goals and added 606 assists for 1082 points through 1150 games in his career which comes out to a 0.94 points-per-game average. He has established himself as a strong two-way forward and his ability to reach an impressive milestone yet again further proves his value to the Maple Leafs as they look to win their first Stanley Cup since 1967.
Maple Leafs Extend Win Streak to Five
With this win, the Maple Leafs have extended their current win streak to five. In those five games, they won two against the Flyers, two against the New York Islanders, and one against the Boston Bruins.
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Impressively, they have done this without their starting goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, who remains out with an injury. Woll has won four of the last five, while Dennis Hildeby picked up the other victory. The Maple Leafs have also been finding ways to win with Auston Matthews in and out of their lineup dealing with an injury that he believes he may not move past this season.
Physical Play Key Again, Lack of Shots a Concern
The Maple Leafs outhit the Flyers in their last matchup and were able to come away with a victory, and they were able to do the same thing in their second game against them as they outhit them 31-15. In a surprising dominance of shots from the Flyers, as they outshot the Maple Leafs by almost double, they relied on their physical play to help build momentum on the way to the win.
While some fans continue to downplay the effectiveness of physical play, this game should be a clear indicator that throwing hits helps a team win games. Philippe Myers led the team in hits with five, while Ryan Reaves, Simon Benoit, and Steven Lorentz all helped out with a total of four.
However, not getting as many shots on net is a concern in terms of consistency. They can’t expect to continue winning games consistently if they aren’t outshooting their opponent, especially if they’re totaling under 20 shots in a game. Hopefully, they can bounce back next game and fix their only real issue from this game.
Matthew Knies Scores Again, Notching Career-High
Matthew Knies continued his hot play as of late, scoring his fifth goal in three games and notching his 16th goal of the season. With that goal, he has officially surpassed his previous career-high of goals that he achieved last season, when he racked up 15. He is nine points back from tying his career-high in points which he also reached last season, with 35. He currently sits at 26 with a little under half the season left to play.
The Maple Leafs are back in action on Thursday (Jan. 9) when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The Flyers are back in action on Thursday as well, when they take on the Dallas Stars.
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