Flyers takeaways: Outshooting the Maple Leafs but missing opportunities, penalty kill excelling, and more

The Flyers lost 5-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending a three-game winning streak and five-game heater inside Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Here are three numbers to know.

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The Flyers had 72 shot attempts, compared to 50 for the Maple Leafs. It’s a big number, but so are the numbers 20 and 19; that’s how many shots the Flyers had blocked and how many missed the net, respectively.

While those numbers look good, the Flyers passed up plenty of good opportunities to put the puck on net. The best example was before Nicholas Robertson’s goal for Toronto, when Travis Sanheim tried to pass the puck to Christian Dvorak instead of shooting it on goal. Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver-Ekman Larsson intercepted it, leading to a Toronto goal.

“Offensively, we’re struggling. We were passing up opportunities to shoot the puck, and we don’t have people going to the net. It’s probably the biggest struggle for me this year, trying to get these guys to understand that,” coach Rick Tocchet said.

“ … We’ve got to start delivering pucks. We need people to shoot the puck with people at the net. That’s probably the best offense. Yeah, the other stuff will happen after you shoot the puck, but we’re trying all this fancy stuff before that, so we’ve got to correct it, and it’s on me to get these guys to start to do that.”

Rodrigo Ābols left the bench for a bit in the second period. It was hard to pinpoint a moment he got hurt, but postgame, he revealed an unusual injury.

“Yeah, I just bit my tongue,” he said. “So I had to get, actually, five stitches. Not the greatest feeling, but it is what it is.”

The versatile forward shifted to wing for this game, as Jacob Gaucher made his season debut with Sean Couturier on the shelf. Ābols, who normally slots in as center on the line, won all five of the face-offs he took with Gaucher going 4-for-8.

“It’s that center-center relationship, where I think the other center can feel full confidence that if I’m the first guy back, I can play as the center comfortably and not kind of look for that change,” Ābols said.

“I think today was a really good game for my line. Obviously, we’d like to get a goal there on the board, but I think every shift we created, we drew some power plays and kind of felt like we gave our team a chance to try to crawl back.”

The fourth line was indeed strong. According to Natural Stat Trick, it outchanced the Maple Leafs 16-8 and was the only line that played considerable minutes together without allowing a goal.

They also scored a goal — technically — as Ābols tipped a shot and then banged in the puck; however, the referees said it was hit with a high stick.

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“Sometimes they [mess] up. I don’t know,” said Tocchet.

Added Ābols, who said one camera angle showed his stick was under the bar: “My issue is kind of just, I feel like you can let it play out, because there’s 17 cameras, just let it play out.”

“There’s two ways I can probably look at it: get [ticked] off and be a baby about it, or just look at it positively, and I feel like every shift there’s something coming, so hopefully it’s going to come soon.”

When it comes to special teams, a lot of the focus has been on the Flyers’ power play. But the penalty kill should get its flowers.

Entering the night, the penalty kill was tied for the third-best in the NHL (89.2%). It killed off three more penalties Saturday: a double minor to Travis Konecny in the first period for high-sticking and unsportsmanlike conduct, and an interference call on Matvei Michkov in the third period.

The Flyers have now killed off 19 straight power plays, dating back to Oct. 20 against the Seattle Kraken. After the goal by Jani Nyman, the Flyers killed off three more power plays against the Kraken. They then killed off all five given to the Ottawa Senators, two power plays each for the New York Islanders and Nashville Predators, with a 4-for-4 effort against the Pittsburgh Penguins sandwiched in between.

In the third period, Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev and Matvei Michkov collided in the neutral zone. Skating in his first game after missing time with a concussion, Tanev stayed down on the ice and did not really move before being taken off the ice on a stretcher. The broadcast showed that he did give a thumbs-up and, according to Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube, he was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

“Just an unfortunate play,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “You hope that he’s OK, and you feel bad for Mike too. He’s obviously upset about the hit, and going through that and experiencing it from his shoes as well. Just overall, not something you want to see. And, like I said, hopefully he’s OK.”

Added Tocchet: “It was an unfortunate play. I hope he’s OK. He’s a warrior. … Mich was trying to get out of the way. There was no foul play; it was just interference. It’s a tough play. I hope Chris is OK.”

The Maple Leafs announced on Sunday morning that Tanev was evaluated overnight for precautionary purposes and has been discharged. He will return to Toronto.