Instant Replay: Flyers 2, Maple Leafs 1

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BOX SCORE

They talked about it on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
 
How nice it would be to go into the All-Star break riding a three-game winning streak and how pivotal it would be to do it by beating Toronto, which was battling them for a wild-card spot.
 
Well, the Flyers delivered on both fronts Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center with a 2-1 victory over the Maple Leafs.
 
Roman Lyubimov scored off his own rebound with 2:37 left in regulation to break a 1-1 tie. The Flyers retained their second wild-card spot with the win.
 
Notable goals
Wayne Simmonds’ 21st goal in the first period was a momentum goal coming off a four-minute penalty kill in which Simmonds himself logged 1:26 time.
 
Goalie report
Michal Neuvirth made his first start since losing, 4-1, to New Jersey on Jan. 21. Though he tweaked his left knee that game, he was available for spot duty. 

Neuvirth had to weather an early storm as the Flyers sagged badly (again) at the game’s start. He had a clutch pad stop on Mitchell Marner in the second period with the Flyers leading 1-0. He was a bit weak on the tying goal despite the defensive breakdown in front of him.
 
Power play
The Flyers had one and their second unit got a couple of solid tips on net despite being unable to convert.
 
Penalty kill
The Flyers did yeoman’s work to kill off Ivan Provorov’s double-minor for high-sticking in the first period. They held the Leafs to just one shot while clearing the puck six times.
 
Missed calls
Nick Cousins and Brayden Schenn both took sticks to the face in the third period without getting a call. Strange but true.
 
Blocks
The Flyers had 16 blocked shots through two periods.
 
Injuries
Nazem Kadri was shaken up on Radko Gudas’ kneeing penalty in the first period.
 
Scratches
Defensemen Michael Del Zotto (bruised leg), Nick Schultz (healthy) and forward Dale Weise (healthy).
 
Up next
The Flyers are off for yet another break. This is a three-day break for the All-Star Game in Los Angeles. The team will reconvene on Monday at 2 p.m. at Skate Zone for practice.

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