5 things: Flyers vs. Maple Leafs

Returning from a five-game road trip, John Tortorella’s Philadelphia Flyers (17-18-5) rematch on Tuesday with Craig Berube’s Toronto Maple Leafs (26-13-2). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:30pm EST.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 Fanatikeren with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.

On Sunday in Toronto, the Flyers settled for one point in a 3-2 overtime loss. Tyson Foerster and Scott Laughton scored for the Flyers in regulation. Matthew Knies and defender Oliver Ekman-Larsson spoke together for Toronto before Morgan Rielly scored the winning goal in sudden death. Auston Matthews had two assists for the Maple Leafs.

Here are five things to watch in Tuesday’s tilt.

1. To win the raffles

Toronto is a club that presents a variety of matchup difficulties for their opponents, especially now that Matthews has returned from injury. The Maple Leafs are deep at center, with Matthews and John Tavares complemented by Max Domi and David Kampf.

The Maple Leafs’ strength in the middle was evident throughout Sunday’s game. Starting faceoffs: Toronto won 67 percent of faceoffs (37 of 55), including Matthews going 13-for-17, Tavares winning 10 of 13 and Kampf going 7-for-11.

The Flyers centers overall need to do a better job of holding their own on faceoffs in Tuesday’s game. Sean Couturier won six of nine draws Sunday, but the other centers struggled: Morgan Frost (3-for-13), Noan Cates (6-for-18) and Ryan Poehling (3-for-11). Laughton stepped in for two draws and went 0-for-2 after Frost was dumped from the circle by the linemen.

Faceoffs aren’t entirely the center’s responsibility, even if the win or loss goes on their stats. Many faceoffs create 50-50 matchups where a winger has to go in to get the puck. On Sunday, the Flyers’ wing players won relatively few of those games.

2. Eye on Risto

Veteran Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen had one of his best all-around games of the season in Sunday’s game in Toronto. Even aside from assisting on both Flyers goals, the big Finn was a tower of strength in his 23:10 of ice time (31 shifts).

Ristolainen played an excellent game along the walls and in front of the net. He won the vast majority of his puck battles and muscle-on-muscle positional jockeying. He was physical (five credited hits) without taking himself out of position or getting whistled for penalties.

Up-ice, Ristolainen was involved in joining the attack. He recorded five shots on goal among eight shot attempts.

If Ristolainen can turn in a similar performance in Tuesday’s rematch, it will go a long way toward the Flyers’ chances of earning three of a possible four points from the home-and-home set with the Maple Leafs.

3. Tip and TK

Over the past few games, wings Travis Konecny ​​and Tippett have skated on a five-on-five line with Poehling. Tuesday’s game will be a very important game for the trio.

Konecny ​​has had good success against Toronto for the majority of his career. In 22 games, he has recorded 20 points (six goals, 14 assists). However, TK was kept out of the score sheet on Sunday.

In Sunday’s game, Tippett played with good pace, but he struggled to put shot attempts on net. On eight shot attempts, Tippett had five that were blocked and two that missed the net. The streak-scoring winger has two points (0g, 2a) in his last five games.

4. Special teams

The Flyers did a good job of staying out of the penalty box in Sunday’s game, although things got hectic at times. Philly killed their only 4-on-5 penalty kill of the game.

On the power play, the Flyers went 0-for-3. The third power play struggled to get organized, while the first had a decent amount of attacking zone time but no payoff. While the second power play did not result in a goal during its two-minute span, Couturier set up Laughton’s goal very soon after 5-on-5 play resumed.

5. Between the pipes

Ivan Fedotov got off to a rough start in Sunday’s game, especially on a rebound that resulted in Toronto’s second goal. He then settled in and made some clutch saves in key moments. Considering he hadn’t seen any game action in an entire month, Fedotov played a decent game.

Tortorella and goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh must now decide whether to lose Fedotov again against the Maple Leafs. Rookie netminder Aleksei Kolosov has struggled of late. Samuel Ersson remains day to day with a lower body injury.

Dennis Hildeby delivered a strong performance on Sunday after Joseph Woll played on Thursday and Saturday. Woll is now rested.