John Tavares, Wayne Simmonds, Timothy Liljegren and Pierre Engvall also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have scored 24 goals in a row. Ivan Provorov had two goals and one assist and Kevin Hayes also scored for the Flyers, who have lost five to six. Philadelphia drew level with New Jersey in the Metropolitan Division. Toronto overcame the slow start. “It’s not a very good hockey game for us,” said Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe. “Maybe we showed up in an easy game and they didn’t give it to us. So we look bad for a while. “ The Flyers scratched defender Keith Yandle, breaking the NHL Iron Man record for 989 consecutive games. Matthews put Toronto ahead 3-2 with 12:19 remaining to reach a four-goal lead after beating Rick Vaive for the club’s all-time record of one season goals. Vave scored 54 in the 1981-82 season. “Sometimes you have to turn off those toys,” Matthews said. Mitchell Marner got the Flyers goalkeeper Carter Hart to commit to the shot, then skated around the net and passed in front of Matthews, who shot into the empty net. “I just tried to get to a point where he could give it to me and he made a nice pass,” said Matthews, who has a two-goal lead in the league over Edmonton Euler Leon Dreisitel (the Oilers did not play on Saturday). Matthews’s account began a frantic span of five goals in about eight minutes. Engval’s short goal gave the Sheets a two-goal lead with 8:17 remaining before Provorov’s second night with a long shot that pulled the Flyers to 4-3 with 7:37 remaining. Rielly froze the game with a goal from an acute angle with 6:13 to play. “We were sad and broke a bit there in the third period,” said interim Flyers coach Mike Yeo. “We made more mistakes in the third period than they did. “They have a lot of skills and they used capital.” The Maple Leafs opened a four-game journey by improving to 19-12-3 away from Toronto. THE SERIES WAS CUT Yandle, 35, started his streak on March 26, 2009, with Phoenix. Passed retired center Doug Jarvis for 965 games on Jan. 25 against the Islanders. Yandle was a healthy scratch. “We are at the point of the season where as an organization it is important to have some young players,” Yeo said before the game. “We have to be careful about the future and what comes next. “We have to give some young children a chance.” Rookie defender Ronnie Attard made his NHL debut for Philadelphia. Yadl has one goal and 15 assists in 67 games. “It’s kind of one of those things at the end of the year when you sign young kids and get free players out of college, they give them a chance to play,” Yandle said before the game. “It’s hard to have a bad day in the NHL. “But receiving the news that you are not playing is not what you want to hear.” Arizona Coyotes striker Phil Kessel now has the most active streak with 968 consecutive games. COACH ROOM Maple Leafs: D Ilya Lyubushkin is back in the squad after losing Thursday night’s 7-3 home win over Winnipeg with an upper body injury. Κά Jack Campbell returned to the net for the first time since March 8 due to a rib injury. He made 29 saves. Flyers: Hart also returned to the net after sitting for two games with an unspecified injury and stopped 22 shots. Scott C Scott Laughton lost his 11th consecutive game due to a concussion he suffered on March 10. Laughton was licensed to continue skating. Ate Nate Thompson played for the first time since November 26 due to shoulder surgery. NEXT Maple Leafs: In Tampa Bay on Monday. Flyers: At the New York Rangers on Sunday night.
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