Robertson gets 2 points, Maple Leafs defeat Flyers

Nicholas Robertson had a goal and an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs won their first road game of the season, 5-2 against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday.

Auston Matthews, Jake McCabe and Easton Cowan scored for Toronto (6-5-1), which had lost its first three road games this season. John Tavares had two assists, and Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves.

“I thought just a really consistent effort right from the drop of the puck,” Matthews said. “Obviously going down early, I just thought there was no panic in our room. I thought we played the way that we need to play to be successful over 60 minutes, and thought that’s what showed tonight.”

Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was removed from the game on a stretcher with 11:37 remaining in the third period after colliding with Flyers forward Matvei Michkov. It was Tanev’s first game back after missing four because of an upper-body injury.

Coach Craig Berube said Tanev was taken to a local hospital for further tests, and there was a possibility he could return to Toronto with the team.

“He’s just getting some more tests done now,” Berube said. “He’s moving and I think he’ll be all right. But he’s getting some tests done right now, so we’ll know more in a little while.”

Christian Dvorak and Tyson Foerster scored for Philadelphia (6-4-1), which had a three-game winning streak end, as well as a five-game home winning streak. Dan Vladar allowed four goals on 19 shots before being removed in the third period. Aleksei Kolosov stopped all seven shots he faced in relief.

“I thought we had a good first period, thought we were the better team,” Dvorak said. “Then they came hard out there in the second and they threw some pucks on net and found ways to score.”

Dvorak scored with a snap shot from the left face-off circle at 1:09 of the first period to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.

Matthews tied it 1-1 at 6:16 with a wrist shot from the left circle.

McCabe put the Maple Leafs ahead 2-1 at 8:14 of the second period with a shot from the center of the blue line that went in through a screen.

Robertson made it 3-1 at 17:34 when he took a drop pass from Matthew Knies and beat Vladar as he skated through the high slot.

The forward also had a goal and an assist against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, and has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four games. The production coincides with a move to the top line with Matthews and Knies. William Nylander, who had been playing in that spot, missed his third game in the past four because of a lower-body injury.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Robertson said. “It’s a blessing, for sure. I think for me, I try to take advantage of it. They’re just such good, talented players … I think with more minutes played, more pucks on my stick, just more confidence. Nothing’s changed for me as a player or anything, I think it’s just I got more of an opportunity.”

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said the game turned in the second period, when Philadelphia was outscored 2-0 and outshot 12-7.

“We’re passing up opportunities to shoot the puck and we don’t have people going to the net,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest struggle for me this year, getting the guys to understand that.”

Cowan scored his first NHL goal just 33 seconds into the third period to make it 4-1, taking a pass off the rush from Tavares. It was the forward’s ninth game.

“You want to score and the first however many games I played in I didn’t score,” he said. “So just stuck with it in practice, kept getting better. … Felt like it was just going to be a matter of time.”

Vladar was replaced by Kolosov after the goal.

Foerster scored a power-play goal on a one-timer from the left face-off circle at 16:08 to make it 4-2.

Calle Jarnkrok scored an empty-net goal at 19:42 for the 5-2 final.