PHILADELPHIA — With the local police giving them a loud escort to the rink, the Maple Leafs decided to run some red lights, too.
From puck drop Sunday night after Philly’s finest arranged for their bus to break traffic gridlock caused by the afternoon Eagles football game next door to Wells Fargo Center, they were in go-go mode, a 6-2 win to reach the schedule’s halfway point on a high (25-9-7).
“We just kept pushing tonight,” said winger Mitch Marner. “We still want to improve on some things (in the next 41 games), make sure it’s the same consistency. We still have better.”
The midway mark came in the same road arena where the Leafs last appeared in a second-round playoff series, 19 years ago.
Though it was their third game in four nights and with travel after beating Detroit at home Saturday, they had renewed energy — aided by a few lineup changes.
“We’d like to get things turned around before (starting the second half), but overall we’ve done a good job,” winger Zach Aston-Reese said before the game. “We’ve had a lot of injuries and the guys who’ve been called up have stepped right in and done a great job.”
The Leafs began this productive weekend in the wake of dropping two at home, scalded by many goals against. But after Ilya Samsonov held the Red Wings to one, it was time for Matt Murray to redeem himself with 30-plus stops. Coach Sheldon Keefe thought that might have been the most significant part of Sunday evening.
The Leafs couldn’t have asked for a better start. David Kampf’s speed-and-size line with Pierre Engvall and Alex Kerfoot initiated five straight shots on Carter Hart and set up other forwards for success. They were all around his blue paint before the Flyers got untracked against Murray, their old cross-state rival with Pittsburgh.
Marner struck first, with re-inserted defencemen Conor Timmins adding his ninth assist in 12 games, Marner went across the slot through four Flyers where Calle Jarnkrok one-timed his ninth goal.
On Saturday, fourth liner Aston-Reese had said he was “embarrassed” to be stuck at four points and was able to address that with a goal on a brutal Flyer mix-up in front of Hart
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But while Murray made a huge early pad save on Kevin Hayes, he couldn’t react fast enough when Marner gave up a puck in the middle to Travis Konecny, who cut the Toronto lead entering the second period.
Kampf’s line restored momentum and three goals followed suit. Timmins, who was shaken up in a collision, went to the room and spent a few minutes on the bench, pulled a Bob Baun, hopped on the ice and fired his first NHL goal.
“Got the wind knocked out of me,” Timmins explained.
There was confusion when Timmins asked for the souvenir puck, most Leafs figuring he must have scored after three NHL teams and 53 games. But John Tavares dutifully retrieved it for the trainers to mark. Timmins said he’d send it to his family down the road in St. Catharines.
Marner’s 350th NHL assist on that play moved him past Tim Horton for seventh in franchise history.
After Timothy Liljegren fired high and wide on a short-handed chance, he didn’t miss on his second swing, part of an aggressive penalty kill. Jarnkrok won the draw back and he knuckleballed it past Hart.
Then Jarnkrok’s forecheck and third point helped get Tavares a front door path for the captain’s third goal in 48 hours. Auston Matthews’ 20th goal, coming on the power play wrapped the scoring.
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It would’ve been cruel not to activate eight-year Flyer Wayne Simmonds in the twilight of his career and this back-to-back and Keefe that chance.
Simmonds bumped Dryden Hunt off the fourth line for the night and for old time’s sake, served a coincidental minor with Nicolas Deslauriers in the third.
Timmins returned from a three-game hiatus after Keefe tried to let the six defencemen projected to start the year get re-acquainted after a slew of injuries. TJ Brodie was the blueliner he chose to sit, calling him day-to-day with an injury that’s not related to his oblique muscle pull, one of a few banged up players Keefe has been trying to give a game off. The Leafs don’t play until Wednesday.
“All things considered, this was a tough stretch, our fourth game this week,” Keefe said. “To get this result is nice.”
For the home fans, the announcement the Eagles had won their game was one of the few reasons to cheer. Flyers coach John Tortorella made an example of Tony DeAngelo, parking him on the bench after seven minutes.
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