Post-Game Analysis: Leafs Victorious in “Next Gen” Game 4-3 Vs. Philadelphia

The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted their annual “Next Generation” game on Thursday afternoon! A game that saw the Maple Leafs victorious against the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 at Scotiabank Arena! An odd afternoon tilt between the two ended up working well for the Maple Leafs, who pretty much dominated this one until the end! Despite the close score, the Maple Leafs, who wore their alternate “Drew” themed black and blue uniforms, could have blown the doors off this one if it wasn’t for the strong play from Flyers goaltender Carter Hart! The Maple Leafs will now enter their short holiday break and will be back next Tuesday for a match-up against the St.Louis Blues!

In the opening period of the afternoon, tilt between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers! The game started a lot quieter than the Maple Leafs’ previous “Next Generation” games. A few good looks early for the Maple Leafs were turned aside by Carter Hart. Maple Leaf forward Mitch Marner had a beautiful breakaway opportunity that was also stopped. As the puck transitioned the other way off Mitch’s breakaway, the Philadelphia Flyers capitalized! A point shot from Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo snuck its way past Leafs’ goaltender Ilya Samsonov for a 1-0 lead. After the Flyers’ power-play, another good look for Philadelphia arose; this time, the shot from Konecny went high. As the period came to a close, the Leafs got a power-play opportunity thanks to Nick Deslauriers holding penalty! The Leafs had some good chances on the power-play but couldn’t connect. The Leafs went into the first intermission trailing 1-0.

In the middle frame of this one, the Leafs got started early. A little bit of power-play time was still on the clock thanks to the Deslauriers penalty, but again nothing got past Flyers goaltender Carter Hart who was strong early. After a good chance for Maple Leafs’ center Pontus Holmberg, a Kerfoot breakaway opportunity was turned aside. As Carter Hart was on his game, Leafs defenseman Justin Holl got in his grill, giving him a few post-whistle jabs, which caused a scrum. The Leafs were coming in waves prior to the stop, nearing a goal, surely, you would think. After power-play opportunities for both sides couldn’t be converted, the Maple Leafs kept pushing and finally scored! Maple Leafs forward Calle Järnkrok scored his 6th-goal of the season off a deflection! The game was finally tied after trailing for most of the opening two periods despite dominating most of the game. Just before the period came to a close, a penalty was called on Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen for holding. With just under forty seconds remaining in the period, Maple Leaf forward Mitch Marner scored! A shot on the power-play from outside slipped right through Carter Hart to give the Leafs the lead late in period 2! After Mitch’s 13th goal of the season, the Maple Leafs went into the 2nd intermission up by a goal!

In the final twenty minutes of this one, the Leafs scored another early! A beautiful feed from Auston Matthews setup Michael Bunting in the slot, who buried it for his 9th goal of the season! After the Leafs went up two, the Flyers started to get their legs back in it. A breakaway opportunity for Flyers Joel Farabee was beautifully turned aside by Samsonov, who kept the Flyers from a comeback! As the Leafs started to push the puck up the ice, a well-worked feed down low from Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano to William Nylander was scored! A nifty back-handed finish from the Maple Leafs forward put the team ahead by three! Seconds after Nylander’s goal, Flyers forward Morgan Frost scored! A five-hole finish on Samsonov for the local. After Morgan’s goal, the Flyers struck again! This time it was forward Joel Farabee who got revenge for his breakaway save earlier on. Farabee cut into the inside on his forehand before coming across his body to beat Samsonov with the shot. The game was now in reach for Philadelphia, down only a goal with a good chunk of time remaining! After the Flyers started to come back, it was a little too late, as the Maple Leafs closed this one out. A couple of penalties were called at the end for both sides, but Philadelphia couldn’t get the equalizer! The Maple Leafs beat the Flyers by a score of 4-3 at Scotiabank Arena! The team now enters the short holiday break 21-7-6 and will look ahead to Tuesday’s battle vs. St.Louis!

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