After turning in their best 60-minute effort of the season Friday, the Flyers (10-10-2) head north of the border tonight to square off against the Maple Leafs (15-8-0).
Friday's 4-0 win has us wondering if the Flyers have found a cure to their identity crisis. Tonight will be a good indication if they have.
Let's take a look at tonight's essentials.
• When: 7 p.m. ET
• Where: Scotiabank Arena
• Broadcast: NBCSP
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
• With their backs up against the wall — a phrase that we've said too often already this season — the Flyers produced their most complete effort against a quality Rangers team.
The Flyers were difficult to play against and went on the offensive. They had a season-high 46 shots on goal, the most they've had in a regulation game since March 15, 2016. It was the first time since April 6, 1978, they had 46 or more shots in a shutout win, the seventh time ever in franchise history. They discovered a blueprint for success.
It's a hockey purist point of view, but Travis Konecny's fight with Ryan Strome was something this team has lacked this season: the willingness to stand up for one another.
NHL
Fighting will not help the Flyers beat this Maple Leafs team, and it will take a minor miracle for the Flyers to beat Toronto, but if they show up with the same type of energy and want-to that they had Friday, it's not impossible to believe they can win this game.
• James van Riemsdyk makes his return to Toronto for the first time since signing back with the Flyers, and Friday, he penned a pretty cool piece in The Players' Tribune paying tribute to his time with the Maple Leafs and what it meant to play in the toughest hockey market in the world. In it were some hilarious tidbits about playing with Phil Kessel.
In the Players' Tribune article, JVR recalls what he told Claude Giroux after deciding to come back to the Flyers. Giroux was the first person he called. It went like this:
“Hey, I got one question for you.”
“Yeah Reemer, what’s that?”
“Are you going to pass me the f---ing puck?”
Van Riemsdyk has been limited to just six games this season after suffering a knee injury in the Flyers' second game. JVR returned Nov. 15 and had a three-point game last Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has four points in six games this season.
• With two goals and an assist Friday, Sean Couturier now has 15 points in his past 11 games. He's back to playing at the elite all-around level he was in 2017-18.
• Claude Giroux took sole possession of second place on the team's all-time assist sheet, passing Brian Propp with his first of three assists Friday. He now has 483 career assists.
Giroux is on pace for 104 points this season and his 28 points have him in the top eight of the NHL scoring list. The top line of Giroux, Couturier and Konecny has been on fire lately.
On Friday, the line produced nine points. In the past three games, the trio has combined for seven goals and 18 points. They've been absolutely dynamic, and the Flyers need it.
• Where to start with this Maple Leafs team, which is actually without Auston Matthews right now because of a shoulder injury and William Nylander because of a contract holdout?
This team is just dangerous all over the ice. Mitch Marner leads the team with 28 points, John Tavares has 14 goals and 26 points in his first season in Toronto and defenseman Morgan Reilly has 26 points. The team is loaded offensively.
The Leafs are fourth in the NHL in scoring, with 76 goals and also prevent goals well too, allowing just 62 goals in 23 games this season. Tonight is a true test of character for the Flyers.
• Add another weird wrinkle to the Flyers' goaltending situation. Shortly after Calvin Pickard recorded his first shutout since Feb. 7, 2017, the Flyers recalled goalie Anthony Stolarz from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms without announcing a corresponding move.
Per the Courier-Post's Dave Isaac, the Flyers retroactively placed Brian Elliott on injured reserve. Stolarz will back up Pickard tonight because Alex Lyon is day to day with a lower-body injury.
Projected lineup
Forwards
Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Travis Konecny
Dale Weise-Nolan Patrick-Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk-Jordan Weal-Wayne Simmonds
Oskar Lindblom-Scott Laughton-Tyrell Goulbourne
Defensemen
Ivan Provorov-Robert Hagg
Shayne Gostisbehere-Christian Folin
Travis Sanheim-Radko Gudas
Goalies
Calvin Pickard
Anthony Stolarz
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