(Wrapup 11 PM, EST)
The Flyers played with a full lineup intact tonight (minus Daniel Briere) but were their own worst enemies in a 4-2 loss against a Toronto Maple Leafs team that outworked Philadelphia for significant stretches of the game.
Any time you dig yourself a hole with turnovers and goaltending miscues, it makes it mighty tough to win. Two mistakes by Martin Biron and a failed clear by Simon Gagne directly resulted in goals by a Toronto team that made its own luck tonight. At the other end of the ice, Vesa Toskala cranked up a strong game in goal.
One of the subplots to the Flyers' early season performance has been the regression of Braydon Coburn. His decision-making has taken a step backwards and he's taking some absolutely horrendous minor penalties on a regular basis.
Toronto did a very good job of blocking Flyers shot attempts tonight (including a seven-block night for Jeff Finger) and clearing away rebounds.
The Flyers will look to get back on the winning track on Tuesday night at the Wachovia Center against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Preview (9:45 AM, EST)
The Flyers (11-6-5) may have had their six-game winning streak snapped in overtime yesterday, but the club has earned points in nine straight games (7-0-2) heading into Toronto tonight. The Maple Leafs (7-9-6) have lost five in a row and eight of their last 10 games, with five of the losses coming in regulation.
So far this season, the Flyers have tended to better hockey on the road than at home, especially defensively. Philly brings a three-game road winning streak into tonight's game.
Martin Biron suffered a shoulder bruise after getting hit up high with a shot yesterday. Although he downplayed the injury after the game and was originally slated to start the back-to-back games, John Stevens may opt to rest Biron tonight in favor of Antero Niittymaki. The Leafs will go with Vesa Toskala.
The status of Jeff Carter (shoulder contusion) is still undecided as of this writing, but it appears more likely than not that Carter will not play tonight. Daniel Briere (groin) is more likely to return Tuesday than tonight, although he hasn't yet been ruled out, either.
Toronto has been plagued by slow starts this season, being outscored 27-14 in the first period. But in games where the Leafs have hung around, they've often gotten more and more competitive. Toronto has outscored opponents by a 27-15 margin in the third period, and have outshot opponents on the season by an average 34-28 margin. Toronto is 4-0-2 when leading after two periods.
Both clubs have been outscored at even strength this season. At full strength, Toronto has been outscored by a 49-44 margin and the Flyers 41-38, while in 4-on-4 play Leafs opponents have scored three times to none for Toronto, and the Flyers have been outscored 7-4.
It's in special teams where the Flyers own a huge edge over Toronto heading into this game. It remains to be seen how the likely absence of Carter will affect the matchups. Toronto has the NHL's bottom-ranked penalty kill (73.5%), while the Flyers have the NHL's fifth-best power play (22.5%). The Flyers' red-hot penalty kill (87.1%) is third in the NHL, while Toronto ranks 9th on the power play (21%).
FLYERS LINES AND SCRATCHES
I will update the lines later today.
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