Flyers Will Extend Miserable Stretch From Toronto

Philadelphia vs. Toronto, 7:30 ET

Are we over the Olympic Hockey yet? I am not. I still am pretty pumped up at how great that tournament was. There were a lot of blowouts, don't get me wrong, but when the games mattered most, the games were awesome. The NHL players have returned to action, and now we have just a few weeks remaining before the playoffs start. That's another stretch of what I consider great hockey. Before we get there, let's try and build out bankroll with a game between the Flyers and Maple Leafs. 

The Flyers come into tonight's game with a decent 27-21-11 record for the season. They are fairly average on the road, going 13-12-4 for the year. I would think they are highly unlikely to make the playoffs this season given that they are sitting at just 65 points overall for the season and are sixth in the Metropolitan Division. For the season, the team has only scored about 2.86 goals per game, and they are allowing 3.10 goals against per game. They are playing fairly decent since the return to action, winning two of their past three games. All of these games have been low scoring, and I'm not sure if that is because the team is getting used to game speed again. Maybe the defenses are just sharper, but whatever the case is, the totals for the games have been four, five, and four goals. Tonight, they are going to have Dan Vladar in the net. He is having a decent year in terms of goals allowed, ranking eighth in the league at 2.42 per game. 

TORONTO, CANADA - FEBRUARY 28: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs warms-up before facing the Ottawa Senators at the Scotiabank Arena on February 28, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Maple Leafs are not having their typical success that you've come to expect from Toronto. For the year, the team is just 27-24-9. At home, they have been better, but they are 16-16 overall when you factor in the overtime losses. They are in dead last for the Atlantic Division and have just 63 points this year. For a team with a guy, Auston Matthews, who is considered one of the best players in the game, it is fairly sad. Just looking at the stats alone, it feels like the problem is the defense. The Maple Leafs are averaging 3.45 goals allowed per game on almost 32 shots per game. That's almost five more shots allowed than they are taking. Since they have returned to action, they have allowed opponents to score at least four goals in all three games and have lost all three. They have only mustered five goals on offense while the team has allowed 14 goals. Tonight the hope is that Anthony Stolarz can give them some relief, but he is allowing 3.51 goals per game, so I don't have that much hope for them. 

If we go by form, Philadelphia is clearly in better shape than their opponent. However, if you're going to count on Toronto anywhere, it really should be when they are at home. The Maple Leafs have won the first two games of this series and the first game was with Stolarz in the net. Perhaps the Maple Leafs just have Vladar's number. I don't think that is the case, and I really don't like what I'm seeing out of Toronto. Give me the Flyers to win on the moneyline.

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