Maple Leafs rally past Flyers, gain in Atlantic
Score five straight goals, move to within two points of second in division
via NHL.com
The Toronto Maple Leafs scored five straight goals to rally for a 7-6 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.
Auston Matthews scored twice, and Jake Muzzin had two goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs (43-23-5), who avoided losing three games in a row in regulation for the first time this season and trail the Boston Bruins by two points for second in the Atlantic Division.
Toronto trailed 5-2 after Philadelphia defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored at 13:27 of the second period.
James van Riemsdyk had a hat trick, and Brian Elliott made 44 saves for the Flyers (34-29-8), who have lost two in a row and trail the Carolina Hurricanes by seven points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Matthews took a pass centering pass from William Nylander behind the net and shot between Elliott’s pads from the slot at 15:00 of the third period to make it 6-5.
Matthews put the Maple Leafs up 7-5 with 2:39 left when he put in the rebound of Andreas Johnsson’s shot.
Van Riemsdyk completed his second hat trick of the season to make it 7-6 at 18:46.
The Flyers went up 1-0 at 12:22 of the first period when Jakub Voracek one-timed a shot after Nolan Patrick won a face-off against Matthews.
Patrick Marleau tied it 1-1 at 17:45 when William Nylander’s shot went in off him at the top of the crease on the power play.
Marleau played his 777th consecutive game, passing Craig Ramsay for the sixth-longest streak in NHL history.
Matthews scored at 19:03 of the first period, but the goal was disallowed after video review showed the net came off its moorings before the puck crossed the goal line.
Van Riemsdyk deflected Radko Gudas’ shot in the slot at 1:15 of the second period to put the Flyers ahead 2-1. He scored again at 8:26 to make it 3-1 when he jammed in Claude Giroux’s pass at the top of the goal crease.
The Maple Leafs cut the lead to 3-2 at 9:27 when Mitchell Marner passed to Zach Hyman for a one-timer.
Gudas scored at 12:29 when he shot over goalie Frederik Andersen’s blocker to make it 4-2.
After Gostisbehere put Philadelphia ahead by three, Muzzin made it 5-3 at 16:08 and scored again at 18:11 when he shot over Elliott’s blocker to make it 5-4.
Martin Marincin tied it 5-5 at 2:55 of the third when his shot from the blue line deflected off Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg in the slot. It was Marincin’s first NHL goal since Nov. 11, 2016, also against Philadelphia.
No joke, we've got comedy royalty in the house tonight.#LeafsgoBrách☘️ #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/yY1kI8MRov
— Toronto St. Pats (@MapleLeafs) March 16, 2019
Blink and you'll miss this Matthews missile.#LeafsgoBrách☘️ #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/ohFTEANNeV
— Toronto St. Pats (@MapleLeafs) March 16, 2019
Number 34 for @AM34 and two big points at home.#LeafsForever #LeafsgoBrách☘️ pic.twitter.com/WYAbQH92w7
— Toronto St. Pats (@MapleLeafs) March 16, 2019
Woke up in beast mode.#LeafsForever #LeafsgoBrách☘️ pic.twitter.com/Ec82XN4n5p
— Toronto St. Pats (@MapleLeafs) March 16, 2019
The @MapleLeafs overcame a three-goal deficit to win for the second time this season (also, Feb. 23 vs. MTL). #NHLStats #PHIvsTOR pic.twitter.com/B4f9mwLqCP
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 16, 2019
Patrick Marleau of the @MapleLeafs is skating in his 777th consecutive regular-season game and eclipsed Craig Ramsay (776) for the sixth-longest “Ironman” streak in NHL history.#NHLStats: https://t.co/QiXDVnkELl #PHIvsTOR pic.twitter.com/4tuXD6J9n6
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 15, 2019
We tip our caps to the past, to our roots, to the stories still to be written.#LeafsForever #LeafsgoBrách☘️ pic.twitter.com/JiBKLaURJ0
— Toronto St. Pats (@MapleLeafs) March 15, 2019