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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – Tyler Bozak wasn’t sure he would be playing Thursday night until minutes before puck drop.

His Toronto Maple Leafs were facing a Philadelphia Flyers team equally desperate for points to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt, and while Bozak missed the morning skate with an undisclosed ailment, he soldiered through a tight-checking contest to tally two points and help lift the Maple Leafs to a 4-2 victory.

“I’m getting older every year so the body isn't as nice to you as it is when you're younger,” Bozak joked after. “I wasn’t sure until warm-ups, but felt good enough out there to go. It was a pretty important game for us and not one you want to miss, so I was happy I was able to play."

Bozak ended up scoring the goal of the night, picking Sean Couturier’s pocket near the blue line and carrying the puck through traffic before sniping a shot over Michal Neuvirth’s blocker. It was a superb individual effort that gave the Maple Leafs a second period lead they would not relinquish.

This week was billed as a critical stretch for Toronto in continuing to build towards a postseason berth. The Flyers were two points behind them heading into the game, and the Maple Leafs were one point out of a wild card. Toronto remained a point back of the Islanders when New York beat the Canucks in overtime late Thursday, but pulled four points clear of the Flyers.

“It was a big one for us. We knew that coming in and I think the guys responded,” said Morgan Rielly. “We knew what we had to do and we came out and did it, so it’s a good feeling.”

Those have been in short supply for Toronto lately, but stringing a pair of wins together on home ice before heading off on another road trip could have a rejuvenating effect, especially considering how those victories have come about. The third period has been a nemesis of the Maple Leafs this season, but they have begun tightening up when it matters most.

Toronto overcame a slow start against Philadelphia to lead 3-1 in the final minutes of the third period, until a Shane Gostisbehere 6-on-5 goal with 2:26 left in the frame cut the lead to one. The Maple Leafs have blown seven two-goal third period leads this season, but the precariousness of their situation has elicited flashes of a maturity that was not always prevalent before.

“I thought pressure didn’t get to us tonight and we played the way we wanted the whole sixty. That’s how we need to be,” said Mitch Marner. “We were moving the puck well with good speed coming into the zone, and I think we just have to keep doing that all the time and we’ll be successful.”

What has worked for Toronto since putting their lackluster west coast trip behind them has been playing to their strengths regardless of the score, a long-time aspiration that looks to be coming closer to fruition.

“We didn’t really change the way we were playing,” said Rielly of the third period. “We continued to go after them, tried to play offence and not sit back and execute plays and just continue to play hard. We’ve been in these situations a lot this year so we’re certainly used to it, but it’s just a matter of making sure we can pull those wins out.”

The Maple Leafs will need several more victories before playoffs become a reality, but each one they earn means more meaningful nights lay ahead.

"It was a tough game. It was a huge game for both of us,” Bozak said. “It was exciting. It was nice. There's going to be a lot of games like that throughout the end of the year so it was nice to hang on."


Takeaways

Wild Willy: With as many as nine rookies on the team throughout the season, first-year records were destined to fall for Toronto. William Nylander added his name to another when he scored his ninth power play goal of the season, picking the top corner behind Neuvirth. He tied Dan Daoust, Walt Poddubny and fellow Swede Alex Steen for the club mark, with 16 games left to write a new record. That tally was Nylander’s 18th marker and team-leading 21st power play point of the season. While his work on the man advantage has been impressive all year, Mike Babcock pointed out after the game it’s Nylander’s strides in 5-on-5 action that have most impressed him. The 20-year-old has been a minus player in only two of his last 15 games.

Fantastic Freddie: If the Maple Leafs do make the postseason, much of the credit will deservedly go to Frederik Andersen. He played poorly out of the all-star break but has bounced back even better than before as he passed his career-high in his 54th start of the season on Thursday. In one of his best moments, Andersen made a pair of huge saves on Brandon Manning and Michael Del Zotto in the middle frame, allowing Toronto to transition back the other way and set up Bozak’s goal. In the third, Andersen got stung by a slapper in the final seconds of the penalty kill while making a critical save, an effort that earned him a smattering of “Freddie” chants from the crowd. The netminder finished with 36 saves on 38 shots.

Blueline blues? Alexey Marchenko had one of his best games of the season against his old Detroit Red Wings team on Tuesday, but for an encore he saw his second-lowest ice time of the year against the Flyers. Marchenko was benched by Babcock near the end of the second period, taking just two shifts in the third and none in the final 15 minutes. Toronto’s other five defencemen played over 20 minutes each, with Nikita Zaitsev leading the way at 22:33. Marchenko wasn’t on the ice for any goals against and finished with 50 per cent puck possession. He replaced Connor Carrick in the lineup when Carrick was injured on Feb. 21, but there has been no timetable given for when Jake Gardiner’s usual partner might return. Martin Marincin has had an inconsistent campaign and played his way out of the lineup with a string of subpar performances, but he would be the obvious candidate to replace Marchenko if needed.

Special teams snafu: Babcock said before Thursday’s game that what worried him most about the Flyers was their power play, and they showed why early. Mitch Marner took a tripping penalty early in the first period and the Flyers quickly got set up on the man advantage, allowing Gostisbehere to rip a point shot that was tipped in by Wayne Simmonds. That was Simmonds’ fourth goal in three games against Toronto this season, and put the Leafs in an early hole. The home side seemed to learn their lesson, staying out of the box until late in the third period when Zaitsev and Connor Brown each got the gate. Toronto’s penalty kill – and Andersen’s goaltending – kept the Flyers from capitalizing again, but they were self-inflicted mistakes the Maple Leafs need to clean up down the stretch. Toronto’s own power play went 1-for-2.

Next game: Toronto heads out on its last extended road trip of the season, facing the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.