Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Keys to Beating the Philadelphia Flyers
By Paul Taylor
As the Toronto Maple Leafs prepare to take on the Philadelphia Flyers, we look at three factors which could decide the outcome at the Air Canada Centre.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs remained at the bottom of the NHL standings, after losing 4-2 to the New York Rangers. However, there were still a lot of positives to take away from facing one of the Eastern Conference’s better teams, with the Rangers relying on a late goal to get the win.
Of course, the Leafs are one of the few teams where moral victories count for something, given that they are fighting for draft position. They now welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to the ACC.
This will be the second of three games between the sides this season, with Toronto winning the first encounter last month, thanks to a last-minute goal by Matt Hunwick. We look at three factors, which will help determine if they can take the season series with another victory.
1) Morgan Rielly
On the one hand, Morgan Rielly is well on course to have his best season yet, at least from a statistical perspective. With 19 assists and 24 points, there are 26 games remaining to beat his previous highs of 25 and 29 respectively.
However, the 2012 fifth overall draft pick is struggling to acclimatize to the increased reliance on him, as a result of Dion Phaneuf leaving. This was best illustrated by a rare error with the puck against the Rangers, which allowed Derek Stepan to score the winner with just 91 seconds remaining.
Make no mistake about it, Rielly represents the long-term future on the Leafs blue line. However, it will be interesting to see how he responds against the Flyers.
2) Coping without Leo Komarov
It’s no secret the Leafs are doing their best to finish as low as possible in the standings. Fortunately for them, even when a player is performing well, something seems to go wrong.
Look no further than James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. Both were enjoying fine seasons, until suffering a left foot and upper body injury respectively.
Now you can add All-Star Leo Komarov to the absentee list, after elbowing Ryan McDonagh in the head. The Leafs will need to adapt to life without their leading point-scorer for the next three games.
3) Shayne Gostisbehere
As far as players the Leafs need to key an eye on, a rookie defenceman wouldn’t usually feature high on the list. However, that’s exactly the case with the Flyers’ Shayne Gostisbehere.
With an assist on Friday night against the Canadiens, the 22-year old now has a point in 14 consecutive games, an NHL record for a rookie defenceman. Furthermore, it is the longest points streak by a defenceman, since Brian Leetch‘s 14-game run in 1996.
Gostisbehere is still some way off the all-time record of 28 straight games, set by Paul Coffey in 1985-86. Regardless, Toronto will do well to stop the 2012 third round draft pick adding to his impressive tally of 33 points in 39 games.
Next: Potential trade deadline deals for the Leafs
What do you expect from the Leafs against the Flyers? Let us know in the comments section below.