Maple Leafs subdue hot Flyers, end road trip with win

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The Maple Leafs had a tough road to their first road win on Saturday.

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A strong 5-2 win in Philadelphia that included Easton Cowan's first NHL goal and another from Nick Robertson on a clean sheet ended the defense. Chris Tanev leaves on a stretcher and a difficult and chaotic final half.

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Tanev was hit from behind by Flyers' Matvey Michkov in his first game back from the concussion. The Leafs had some penalty trouble when things got a little sticky, including goaltender Anthony Stolarz losing his temper, but Toronto survived to run their record to 6-5-1.

The game started ominously, just a minute after Stolarc's first hit. The Flyers were paced by the defensive tandem of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Tanev. Christian Dvorak completed the relay started by last year's Leaf winger Nikita Grebenkin.

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Auston Matthews got it back by taking advantage of the Flyers' Tyson Foerster going down after blocking Morgan Rielly's shot. Matthews, who started the forecheck, scored his fifth goal of the season after one of the previous six games from Rielly and the final front-line right winger Robertson. Matthews also had a 12-game point streak against the Flyers.

Both Leaf players moved the puck well on the power play but found themselves empty in the first period as a result of a double minor by Travis Konecny. After Toronto killed a fringe player off the bench in the second period, Jake McCabe took a shot from the blue line for his second goal of the season. Later in the period, Robertson scored his third goal.

Cowan's long-awaited first league goal came from John Tavares to open the final frame. After a subdued celebration of his 500th NHL goal in a 6-3 loss to Columbus, Tavares provided assists to Robertson and Cowan as Toronto forced Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar out of the game. He led the league with a .939 save percentage.

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Kalle Jarnkrok scored an empty net.

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LAWTON IS NOT RETURNED YET

Scott Laughton was close to leading the morning warm-up for the Maple Leafs, but a timely return to the lineup against his former team in Philadelphia did not materialize.

His return from the leg injury is now scheduled for Monday at home against Pittsburgh. On Saturday, he was represented in a roundabout way by Nikita Grebenkin, who started for the Flyers. The young Russian was part of a package that Toronto sent to Philadelphia at the trade deadline for a package that included a 2027 first-round draft pick.

It was Laughton's unexpected absence in the first month of the season that led to Toronto actively juggling lines in a secret attempt to find chemistry. Laughton was scheduled to center Steven Lorenz and rookie Easton Cowan, but when the Red Wings' Moritz Seider hit him as the exhibition schedule ended, the Leafs had to move pieces on all four lines.

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The situation was further complicated last week by injuries to Lorenz (upper body) and William Nylander (lower body). Nylander missed his third game of Toronto's last four games after leading the team in scoring to start the season with 15 points.

Lorenz has been able to practice with the team the past two games after hitting his head on the boards during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to Columbus, his second suspected head injury.

Laughton played the Flyers once after the trade, playing 14:51 without a point in the Leafs' easy 7–2 win.

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DOES PRACTICE MAKE PERFECTION?

Coach Craig Berube didn't put much pressure on the Leafs regarding practice times during the busy first month of the season, but that changed on Friday and Saturday.

Back-to-back full sessions, including the team's meeting and Saturday morning game, followed a lopsided loss in Columbus that sent the team into Philadelphia for a game below .500.

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The Leafs' attempts to put square pegs into round holes on offense have been cited by scorers like Matthew Nice as a problem area.

“Yes, we want to score, but we can’t force things,” Berube said in the morning. “If it's not there, live another day. A careless turnover and it's 2-on-1, 3-on-2, 4-on-3. It's not a good picture. It's costing us a lot right now.”

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KAMPF STAYS AT HOME

Sportsnet's Elliott Friedman reported Saturday night that demoted center David Kampf is at home reassessing his future rather than be with the Marlies for an AHL game in Chicago.

The 30-year-old Czech veteran did not claim any refusals and made one assist in four matches in the lineup. He played 301 games in Toronto and 536 NHL games. The deal is likely Kampf's desired outcome, but he has a cap hit of $2.4 million in the United States and is under contract until next year.

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