A sloppy first period proved to be the undoing of the Philadelphia Flyers in their preseason opening 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night in London, Ont. The Flyers fell into a quick 3-0 hole in the first period, battled back to tie the game early in the middle stanza but let in the next goal shortly thereafter and were unable to find another equalizer.
The game was scoreless until the 6:52 mark of the opening period. The Maple Leafs generated a 2-on-1 one rush, and Nazem Kadri turnstiled Flyers tryout defenseman Hal Gill before snapping a shot past starting goaltender Steve Mason. Mason Raymond and Andrew MacWilliam earned the assists.
Less than a minute later, the Leafs doubled their lead. Troy Bodie received a pass from 2013 first-round pick Frederick Gauthier and beat Mason from the doorstep. Jamie Devane got the secondary assist at the 7:48 mark.
At 9:57, the Flyers' deficit grew to three goals. With the Flyers on the power play, Erik Gustafsson lost the puck to Mason Raymond and was unable to catch up to the speedy forward, who soloed against Steve Mason for a shorthanded goal.
The Flyers got one goal back at 13:02 of the opening period. Recent minor league signing Doug Clarkson did the honors, with Nicklas Grossmann and Nick Cousins earning helpers.
Philadelphia came out forechecking hard in the second period, forcing multiple turnovers by Toronto. Brayden Schenn converted one of the turnovers into a goal at the 3:10 mark. Gustafsson and Zac Rinaldo got the assists.
The Flyers forged a 3-3 tie at 5:27. Cousins backhanded home a Gill shot that hit the back boards and came out in front. Brayden Schenn was credited with the secondary assist.
Mason (12 saves on 15 shots) gave way to Anthony Stolarz (14 saves on 15 shots) at the next stoppage of play. Shortly therafter, Leafs starter James Reimer (14 saves on 17 shots) was replaced by Christopher Gibson (13 saves on 13 shots).
Before settling in, Stolarz yielded a fat rebound on the first shot he saw, which Paul Ranger claimed and stashed home to give the Leafs a 4-3 advantage at the 8:41 mark. Both Gill and a late-arriving Gustafsson were beaten by their respective checks on the initial give-and-go sequence between Kadri and David Broll.
The Flyers had their share of chances to tie the game, including a 2-on-1 with Scott Hartnell and Cousins (who was easily the Flyers' most effective forward last night) but were unable to solve Gibson. Later in the game, Philadelphia lost Rinaldo to an upper-body injury.
Tonight, the Flyers Group A squad and Maple Leafs rematch as the scene shifts to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Game time is 7 p.m. and the Philadelphia roster is below. The status of Rinaldo is unknown as of this writing but it seems unlikely he'd play even if he was initially slated to do so.
FLYERS ROSTERS
FORWARDS
10 Brayden Schenn
15 Tye McGinn
18 Adam Hall
19 Scott Hartnell
21 Scott Laughton
23 Ben Holmstrom
24 Matt Read
25 Maxime Talbot
36 Zac Rinaldo
37 Jay Rosehill
47 Marcel Noebels
52 Nick Cousins
56 Tyler Brown
64 Brandon Alderson
65 Rob Bordson
74 Doug Clarkson
DEFENSEMEN
8 Nicklas Grossmann
22 Luke Schenn
26 Erik Gustafsson
27 Bruno Gervais
38 Oliver Lauridsen
39 Mark Alt
41 Andrej Meszaros
75 Hal Gill
GOALIES
33 Cal Heeter
35 Steve Mason
49 Anthony Stolarz
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At the same time Group A and head coach Peter Laviolette are in Toronto playing the Maple Leafs, Group B will take on the Washington Capitals at the Wells Fargo Center. The game starts at 7 p.m.
The Flyers roster for the game in Philly is below.
FORWARDS
12 Michael Raffl
14 Sean Couturier
17 Wayne Simmonds
40 Vincent Lecavalier
42 Jason Akeson
45 Kris Newbury
46 Andrew Johnston
51 Petr Straka
53 Tyrell Goulbourne
54 Matt Mangene
57 Derek Mathers
58 Taylor Leier
59 Kyle Flanagan
61 Zack FitzGerald
76 Chris VandeVelde
93 Jakub Voracek
DEFENSEMEN
3 Brandon Manning
5 Braydon Coburn
32 Mark Streit
44 Kimmo Timonen
50 Maxim Lamarche
55 Samuel Morin
60 Steven Delisle
62 Tyler Hosteler
63 Cullen Eddy
68 Todd Orlando
70 Mark Nemec
GOALIES
29 Ray Emery
30 Yann Danis
67 Carsen Chubak
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