The Maple Leafs look to repeat last week’s feat in Philadelphia as they visit a Flyers team that is healthy scratching its captain and two highest-paid forwards for tonight’s rematch (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).
Game Day Quotes
Flyers captain Sean Couturier on sitting as a healthy scratch:
I’ve been putting the work in for a while. I’ve been struggling, but I’ve been working on my game, and it’s frustrating the way I’ve been treated around here lately. But it is what it is.
Couturier on whether he’s received direction from John Tortorella on what he needs to do to play more and stay in the lineup:
Not really. I have gotten the same answer as [the media]. “I just need to see more.”
I am still looking to find out what that is. I am trying every game. It is not like I am just sitting around and doing nothing.
I have felt that in the last couple of games, in the limited ice time or opportunities I am getting, I am doing alright.
I guess we are going with the best lineup available tonight to get a win, so it is what it is.
John Tortorella on where Couturier’s game stands:
I think there are a number of players — him being one — that need to be better.
Tortorella on what a player such as Couturier needs to show him in limited ice time to earn more minutes:
Him, Cam… A number of guys need to play better. It is the old chicken-or-the-egg. “Give me ice time, and I’ll show you.”
I have given people plenty of ice time. The people that I have slotted and given more minutes deserve it.
There is no special answer I can give you. You have to play better. I don’t care if it is 10 minutes. I don’t care if it is 17-18 minutes. I don’t care if it is seven minutes. You have to give me something to hang my hat on to keep on earning more ice time.
I am coaching 20 guys, not just one, two, or three. Those are the decisions I have to make.
Tortorella on how he handles players who disagree with their ice time allotment:
You talk about it. That is easy. Those are conversations. A lot of times, you don’t agree, but you still have to make the call in terms of ice time and I go about my decision that way.
Certainly, when you are dealing with players who want more, you want the conversation. You want to hear what they have to say. They need to listen to us, too.
When people want more ice time in the team sport, they forget that there are other people who are playing around them, too, who might be playing better. Those are the decisions I have to make.
For me, I don’t care about name, stature, veteran… especially at this time of year, I don’t care who you are. I am going to put the guys that I think give us the best chance to win that particular game. We have talked about this.
We certainly have discussions. They have a right to disagree. They have a right to have a discussion with me. I think that is how you develop relationships within a team over a long year.
Sheldon Keefe on the type of response he is expecting from the Flyers after the news of Couturier’s scratch:
They are a team that is playing to qualify for the playoffs. Things are getting tight around you. For that reason — and they are a proud team coming off of a loss to Boston and a loss to us — they are going to play well and play hard.
I fully expect a response. I talked to our team today. Something like scratching their captain gets the team’s attention. We certainly expect their best tonight.
Joel Edmundson on what the team did well last week vs. the Flyers:
We just limited their odd-man rushes. They are good off the rush. We just played as a five-man unit all over the ice and didn’t give them many chances.
Bobby McMann on the type of response he is expecting from Philly:
A hard one, I am sure, especially when you have beat a team in their own building. They are going to come back, and they are going to come back hard. I am sure the first five minutes will be fast, and hopefully, we can grab the game from there and take it to them.
Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. Flyers
In the season-to-date statistics, the Leafs hold the advantage over the Flyers in four out of five offensive categories, but the Flyers hold the advantage in four out of five defensive categories.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#59 Tyler Bertuzzi – #34 Auston Matthews – #29 Pontus Holmberg
#74 Bobby McMann – #11 Max Domi – #88 William Nylander
#23 Matthew Knies – #91 John Tavares – #89 Nick Robertson
#24 Connor Dewar – #64 David Kampf – #75 Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
#44 Morgan Rielly – #78 TJ Brodie
#2 Simon Benoit – #22 Jake McCabe
#20 Joel Edmundson – #37 Timothy Liljegren
Goaltenders
Starter: #35 Ilya Samsonov
#31 Martin Jones
Extras: Joseph Woll, Noah Gregor, Conor Timmins
Injured/Out: Ilya Lyubushkin, Mitch Marner, Calle Jarnkrok, Mark Giordano
Philadelphia Flyers Projected Lines
Forwards
#74 Owen Tippett – #48 Morgan Frost – #11 Travis Konecny
#86 Joel Farabee – #21 Scott Laughton – #10 Bobby Brink
#71 Tyson Foerster – #25 Ryan Poehling – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #27 Noah Cates – #62 Olle Lycksell
Defensemen
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#18 Marc Staal – #23 Ronnie Attard
#5 Egor Zamula – #77 Erik Johnson
Goaltenders
Starter: #33 Samuel Ersson
#40 Cal Petersen
Scratched: Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Denis Gurianov
Injured/Out: Rasmus Ristolainen, Jamie Drysdale, Nick Seeler
