Air Canada Centre; Toronto, ON 7:00 PM ET; CBC (National) SBN Cheesesteaks: Broad Street Hockey
Preview
The Leafs play the Philadelphia Flyers for the second time this season, and the first time in Toronto. Their last matchup was Jan. 19 in Philadelphia, which the Leafs won 3-2 on a last-second goal from Matt Hunwick. That, by the way, is one of only two regulation wins (and four overall) that the Leafs have amassed since January 7.
But, enough about how bad we all know the Leafs are. The Flyers sit 11th in the Eastern Conference, five points back of a playoff spot. They're also not very well-rested, coming off a 3-2 shootout loss in Montreal (thanks for nothing, guys). To no one's surprise, Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek are the leading scorers, with 49 and 45 points, respectively. Wayne Simmonds leads with 21 goals.
The big player to watch on the Flyers is Shayne Gostisbehere, who aside from having a name that is the source of many great puns, is having quite the rookie season. His 33 points in 39 games put him sixth in rookie scoring, and first among defensemen. Even more impressive is that his 0.85 PPG is third among rookies to only Connor McDavid (1.18) and Artemi Panarin (0.97). It's also a higher PPG than pretty much every defenseman not named Erik Karlsson. He probably deserves a Calder nod.
Probable Leafs Lineup
Leo Komarov will sit tonight serving a three-game suspension and Hunwick is day-to-day with an injury. Shawn Matthias, who was injured against Ottawa two weeks ago, will return to the lineup tonight. Jonathan Bernier will start tonight. Viktor Loov, who made his NHL debut Thursday, will play again.
Grabner - Kadri - Holland
Greening - Arcobello - Parenteau
Matthias - Spaling - Winnik
Clune - Froese - Boyes
Rielly - Corrado
Gardiner - Polak
Marincin - Loov
Bernier
Probable Philadelphia LIneup
The Flyers didn't practice today on account of the back-to-back, but the lineup likely to remain the same as last night against Montreal. Michal Neuvirth played last night, so the Leafs can expect to face Steve Mason. UPDATE: Claude Giroux won't play tonight; according to Dailyfaceoff, Sam Gagner will skate in his spot.
Brayden Schenn - Sam Gagner - Wayne Simmonds
R.J. Umberger - Nick Cousins - Jakub Voracek
Michael Raffl - Scott Laughton - Matt Read
Chris VandeVelde - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Ryan White
Andrew MacDonald - Shayne Gostisbehere
Steve Mason
Prediction
I dunno, but I'm hoping for a Leafs win because this would be pretty cool.
If the Flyers lose tonight I am going to gently brush up against the Statue Of Liberty with my triceps, knocking it over and ruining it
— Scott T. (@NHLFlyera) February 20, 2016
