Game 44 Scoring Chances and Zone Entries: Leafs 3 v. Flyers 2

Toronto recovered well from losing a last minute heart-breaker against Boston, dealing their own late blow to Philadelphia to get back to winning ways.

Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick both scored their first goals of the season, with Hunwick’s winner just seven seconds from the end.

The possession numbers went back and forth in this game. After trailing midway through the first period, the Leafs had a strong stretch that saw them open up an advantage. Philadelphia responded, and had a dominant last half of the third period to finish ahead in Corsi. That push also saw them go ahead in chances, where they had a comfortable lead at even strength, although the Leafs had good numbers on the powerplay. Neither side had many controlled entries, but the Leafs were able to carry the neutral zone effectively.

Team	Chances	1st	2nd	3rd	ES	ESClose	ESCh%	NZEnt%	ContEnt
Tor	21	8	9	4	14	12	41.2%	53.1%	32.9%
Phi	22	7	8	7	20	15	58.8%	46.9%	29.9%

You can see how well the Leafs finished the first period, as they had eight of the last ten chances, after the Flyers had the first five of the game. Toronto were definitely hanging on at the end of the game, generating just one chance in the last eleven minutes, with the Hunwick goal coming against the run of play.

Period	Time	ST	SO	Team	How	State	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5	T6	O1	O2	O3	O4	O5	O6
1	19:46	0	0	Phi	Couturier wide from Raffl	ES	2	34	40	43	44	47	3	10	12	14	15	35
1	17:35	0	0	Phi	Bellemare drives	ES	25	26	34	46	52	56	3	15	25	35	76	78
1	16:24	0	0	Phi	Schultz from Raffl	ES	3	15	23	34	43	51	10	12	14	32	35	55
1	11:52	0	0	Phi	Streit from Couturier	ES	3	15	23	34	43	51	10	12	14	32	35	55
1	08:54	0	0	Phi	GOAL! Read from Medvedev	SH	24	34	43	44	52		14	21	24	32	35	82
1	08:04	0	1	Tor	Bozak from Matthias	ES	15	23	34	42	46	51	3	15	17	28	35	93
1	06:42	0	1	Tor	Boyes from Holland	ES	19	24	28	34	44	46	20	21	24	35	53	82
1	06:41	0	1	Tor	GOAL! Polak from rebound	ES	19	24	28	34	44	46	20	21	24	35	53	82
1	05:45	1	1	Tor	Kadri from giveaway	ES	2	34	40	43	44	47	3	17	28	35	55	93
1	03:26	1	1	Tor	Bozak from loose puck	ES	15	23	34	42	46	52	15	20	21	24	35	82
1	03:20	1	1	Tor	Parenteau from Bozak	ES	15	23	34	42	46	52	15	20	21	24	35	82
1	02:09	1	1	Tor	Kadri wide from Komarov	PP	19	24	34	43	47	51	3	14	15	35	76
1	00:37	1	1	Phi	Giroux from faceoff	ES	2	25	26	34	44	56	17	28	32	35	53	93
1	00:35	1	1	Phi	Simmonds wide from rebound	ES	2	25	26	34	44	56	17	28	32	35	53	93
1	00:25	1	1	Tor	Winnik drives	ES	2	25	26	34	44	56	17	28	32	35	53	93
2	18:45	1	1	Tor	Bozak drives	ES	3	15	23	34	42	51	10	12	14	32	35	53
2	17:03	1	1	Phi	Umburger wide from Laughton	ES	3	25	26	34	51	56	3	15	20	21	24	35
2	14:10	1	1	Phi	Gostisbehere drives	ES	3	19	24	28	34	51	25	35	53	76	78	82
2	14:08	1	1	Phi	Vandevelde from rebound	ES	3	19	24	28	34	51	25	35	53	76	78	82
2	13:14	1	1	Tor	Marincin drives	ES	25	26	34	46	52	56	3	15	20	21	24	35
2	10:03	1	1	Tor	Matthias from giveaway	ES	3	15	23	34	42	51	3	10	12	14	15	35
2	09:13	1	1	Phi	Raffl wide from Couturier	ES	2	3	34	40	43	47	10	12	14	32	35	55
2	07:53	1	1	Tor	Lupul deflects Kadri shot wide	PP	19	24	34	43	47	51	3	14	24	35	55
2	07:11	1	1	Tor	Holland from Gardiner	PP	19	24	34	43	47	51	3	14	24	35	55
2	05:49	1	1	Tor	Winnik drives	ES	3	25	26	34	51	56	17	21	32	35	53	93
2	05:08	1	1	Tor	Lupul drives	ES	3	19	24	28	34	51	20	21	24	35	53	82
2	04:51	1	1	Tor	Phaneuf from Kadri	EN	3	19	42	43	46	47	20	21	24	35	53	82
2	04:50	1	1	Tor	GOAL! Lupul from rebound	EN	3	19	42	43	46	47	20	21	24	35	53	82
2	04:09	2	1	Phi	Raffl drives	ES	3	15	23	34	42	51	10	12	14	32	35	55
2	04:04	2	1	Phi	Couturier deflects Streit shot	ES	3	15	23	34	42	51	10	12	14	32	35	55
2	02:07	2	1	Phi	Read drives	SH	2	34	40	46	47		12	14	24	32	35	82
2	01:11	2	1	Phi	Lupul wide from Holland	ES	3	19	24	34	43	44	15	25	35	76	78	82
3	18:32	2	1	Phi	Schenn deflects Giroux shot wide	ES	3	19	24	28	34	51	10	12	28	35	53	55
3	16:11	2	1	Tor	Matthias from Phaneuf	PP	3	15	23	28	34	42	3	14	35	55	76
3	15:43	2	1	Tor	Parenteau from loose puck	PP	3	15	23	28	34	42	3	14	35	55	76
3	14:02	2	1	Phi	Couturier deflects Gostisbehere shot wide	ES	25	26	34	46	52	56	10	12	14	35	53	55
3	11:30	2	1	Tor	Matthias from Parenteau	ES	3	15	23	24	34	51	3	10	12	14	35	55
3	10:57	2	1	Phi	Read from Gostisbehere	ES	3	19	24	28	34	51	15	24	25	35	53	78
3	09:34	2	1	Phi	Simmonds from Couturier	ES	2	34	40	43	44	47	14	17	35	53	55	93
3	08:42	2	1	Tor	Matthias from Froese	ES	23	26	34	46	52	56	3	24	25	32	35	78
3	07:01	2	1	Phi	GOAL! Gostisbehere drives	ES	3	19	24	28	34	44	14	17	35	53	55	93
3	02:24	2	2	Phi	Schenn post from Couturier	ES	3	26	28	34	44	56	3	10	12	14	15	35
3	02:14	2	2	Phi	Simmonds from rebound	ES	2	15	23	34	42	44	17	28	32	35	55	93

Leafs Player Data

ended up	ESChF	ESChA	ESCh%	ESTOI	ZS%	NZ%	ContEnt	OppContEnt
Bozak	5	3	62.5%	16:11	61.5%	47.1%	29.2%	22.2%
Matthias	7	5	58.3%	17:40	62.5%	50.9%	37.0%	30.8%
Parenteau	6	5	54.5%	16:53	62.5%	52.2%	41.7%	36.4%
Holland	4	6	40.0%	10:56	50.0%	57.6%	36.8%	42.9%
Winnik	4	6	40.0%	07:23	50.0%	53.8%	21.4%	58.3%
Froese	4	6	40.0%	08:13	50.0%	57.1%	31.3%	58.3%
Clune	3	5	37.5%	06:56	50.0%	59.1%	30.8%	55.6%
Lupul	3	6	33.3%	09:42	50.0%	57.1%	31.3%	41.7%
Boyes	3	6	33.3%	09:38	50.0%	53.3%	37.5%	42.9%
Grabner	1	3	25.0%	12:29	55.6%	50.0%	29.4%	0.0%
Komarov	1	3	25.0%	13:03	55.6%	53.8%	28.6%	0.0%
Kadri	1	6	14.3%	15:40	58.3%	56.1%	30.4%	11.1%
Polak	7	2	77.8%	16:27	53.3%	56.3%	37.0%	33.3%
Marincin	4	2	66.7%	08:39	80.0%	56.5%	30.8%	20.0%
Gardiner	6	9	40.0%	14:50	69.2%	48.8%	38.1%	36.4%
Rielly	4	8	33.3%	20:10	47.1%	53.3%	31.3%	35.7%
Phaneuf	5	13	27.8%	15:54	66.7%	50.0%	34.8%	30.4%
Hunwick	2	6	25.0%	19:52	46.7%	53.1%	29.4%	20.0%

There was a bit of a reshuffle in the top lines, with Nazem Kadri getting some time with Shawn Matthias and P.A. Parenteau after his regular line — with Leo Komarov and Michael Grabner — struggled to produce much offensively. The Bozak line was the most effective, as he and his regular linemates were the only three Leaf forwards to finish above even in chances. The top two lines both split time against the top Philadelphia forwards, but they had very different results. The bottom lines were both modestly out-chanced, and Daniel Winnik’s line struggled to prevent controlled entries.

It’s been rare this year for Roman Polak to have such good numbers, but he was easily the best Leaf in chances, finishing at an impressive +5. He and Marincin did well as the regular third pairing, but he also was used with other partners, particularly against the Schenn line, where he was quite successful. Dion Phaneuf almost totally avoided the Giroux line, but had a miserable night defensively, on for thirteen Philly chances at ES — one of the worst numbers put up by a Leaf this year. Matt Hunwick and Morgan Rielly, who got the bulk of that top line matchup, also had poor numbers, both finishing -4 in chance differential.