The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 7-2 on Tuesday (March 25). The Flyers have scored 1-10-1 in the last 12 outings, while the Maple Leafs have won four of the last five games. In Tuesday’s game, Toronto compared the flyer 10-1-0 in previous 11 meetings. It’s a big mismatch on paper, but after giving up the gunfight decision to the San Jose Sharks on March 3 and losing to the Nashville Predators on March 22 (March 22), the Maple Leafs shouldn’t have gently brought any opponents.
What caused more damage to the sharks and predators was that Leaf took a 2-0 lead in two games. However, the flyer scored first in Tuesday’s game, solving the problem. Maple Leaf thinks it’s icing on the cake, but after John Tavares rolled it over, the flyer stole the puck and Ryan Poehling fired it into the net from the top of the circle. When Morgan Rielly doesn’t stop it, Anthony Stolarz may forget it. Matthew Knies also tried to change initially until it was too late. It’s a mistake comedy, but it’s the only flaw in the performance, as the Maple Leafs occupy the freefall flyer.
The second line shines again
The second line, composed of William Nylander, John Tavares and Bobby McMann, is the offensive catalyst for the game. The trio combined 5 goals and 10 points. Nylander and Tavares had two goals and two assists, while McMann scored one goal and an assistant. They are also the star of the Maple Leafs defeating the New York Rangers 4-3 on March 20.
Related: Nylander & Tavares’ 4-minute night lifts maple leaves to 7-2 flyer
Tavares scored his ninth goal in 12 games after McMann’s Forecheck released hockey for Nylander. Tavares’ shots stood out from the toes of Philadelphia’s Cam York and Samuel Ersson to lead the game 1-1. The 34-year-old Tavares once again hit the puck behind the flyer and played the puck on the wall, and Mitch Marner spotted Tavares on the bench. Tavares flew around the middle of the ice before gaining the abbreviation’s chance to leave. He had five goals and four assists in four straight wins, and he led the league with 10 goals in March.
Nylander’s centered pass slipped away from pilot Blulena Nick Seeler’s pilot and potted the Toronto power drama in the first phase. After a strange bounce caused the tournament, Nelander scored his second goal in the second quarter. After a hockey search by Tavares below the goal line, he shot his wrist from the high slot. Nylander ranked second in the sport with 40 goals. He reached the 40-goal plateau for three consecutive seasons, with Lanny McDonald (1976-79) and Rick Vaive (1981-84) playing the second consecutive 40-goal campaign in the history of the Maple Leafs series. Matthews has five (2019-24) records. Buffalo Saber’s Nylander and Tage Thompson scored the most goals on Home Ice this season (23), with the Leafs winger even scoring the second point in March (18) with Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh Penguins.
Throughout the game, McMahon was a threat to pre-censorship. In the attack on Emil Andrae, who lost his stick in the collision, forced Nylander to intercept the early pass. Nylander bypassed the goal and then drove the puck to the net, McMann scored his 20th goal in 2024-25. The 28-year-old McMann has three goals and two assists in the past five outings as he continues to provide valuable scoring depth outside the team’s core forward panel.
Winning a special team battle
The Maple Leafs struggled with a 70.0% success rate, ranking 26th in the league. The club surrendered nine goals after 30 harsh speeds. In Tuesday’s game, the flyer had only one powerful game, and the leaves killed it effortlessly. Although Philadelphia’s Power Game has been working hard – the team entered the game without gaining a man’s advantage in 31 straight games in 12 games, Leaves desperately needed clean sheets in the case of free throw kills, as it was a black mark that needed improvements before the playoffs began.
Instead, Toronto’s power play has been hot. The Maple Leafs scored in the first-period power game, improving the league’s highest success rate of 42.9% in March. Within this range, the team even reached their biggest goal goal with the Colorado Avalanche (12). Despite its high start rate, the Maple Leafs have finished the top three in the league for most of 2024-25 and are currently ranked fifth. Toronto has had success, especially since the trade deadline, in the top power division’s five-ball pile. With the end of the regular season, it is crucial to keep the hit rate of strength playing and re-hit killing the track.
Production from all four lines
Even though the highest line didn’t score in the win, Knies, Marner and Auston Matthews hit the scoring table with four assists. The Cavaliers have two assistants and worked with Matthews on a powerful goal from Nylander. As mentioned earlier, Knies and Marner helped establish the second cycle mark of Tavares with Matthews leaving the ice.
In the second phase, David Kampf lightly entered the fourth line on the board with a break-in. This is a sure sign that everything about Maple Leaf in the game is correct. This is also what Kampf needs to do as it ends 11 droughts. He was a healthy scratch in the news box ahead of Tuesday’s showdown. It shows that he can contribute on both ends of the ice, which could make him play in the game as the roster victory in the playoffs intensifies home court.
The third goal in the third stage before Max Domi escaped and scored before Ersson scored. The 30-year-old Domi did not score after three straight games after scoring two goals and two assists in his first four games. Scott Laughton had five hits and a block on his former team, but no scoring list was found in nine games against the Maple Leafs. It was a tough adjustment for him and he needed to do it offensively, but former head coach John Tortorella said patience is worth the wait.
What’s next for maple leaves?
Toronto started three games against the Sharks in California on March 27 (March 27). Maple Leaf visited the Los Angeles Kings on March 29 (March 29) before riding the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday (March 30). The King will be a challenging opponent, but the sharks and ducks are favorable for the showdown. The Maple Leafs were unable to play their game, especially how nervous they became in the first game in the Atlantic Division. Toronto and Florida Panthers had 89 points, and Tampa Bay Lightning had 87 points.
After the maple leaves caused disappointing losses to predators, they responded appropriately to the leaflet. Toronto played structure and did all the little things that often lead to league wins. They effectively moved the hockey, won most hockey battles, and did not give flyers room to play, allowing only 19 goals. If Toronto ends March the same way, the club will have a lot of momentum against the Panthers and the Chargers in early April.
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