Despite roaring back from a 3-0 deficit, the Toronto Maple Leafs fell 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
Owen Tippett, Travis Sanheim and Morgan Frost scored the first three goals of the game for the Flyers before the Maple Leafs could respond with goals from William Nylander and Tyler Bertuzzi.
It was Nylander’s 37th goal of the season, with Bertuzzi adding his 14th of the campaign.
Flyers center Scott Laughton would answer in the third period, enough to lift the Flyers to the win. Maple Leafs captain John Tavares scored late, his 22nd goal of the year.
Tavares finished with three points, while Bertuzzi finished with two of his own. Center Auston Matthews finished with two assists, while Tippett and Frost had multi-point games for the Flyers.
Maple Leafs’ goalie Ilya Samsonov stopped 24 of 28 shots in the loss, while Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson picked up the win, turning aside 27 of 30 shots. It’s Samsonov’s first loss since Feb. 27 against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Toronto was without star winger Mitch Marner, who hasn’t played since March 7 against the Boston Bruins due to a lower-body injury. Defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin was also out of the lineup on Tuesday night.
After a torrid stretch in February that saw Toronto win seven games in a row, the Leafs have struggled more of late, with a 3-4 record in their last seven games. That included two losses to the Bruins, who remain ahead of Toronto in the Atlantic Division.
The Leafs will travel to Washington for a back-to-back on Wednesday night with a matchup against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Goalie Joseph Woll is expected to start for Toronto.
