Flyers prevail in Leafs' first shootout of season

[March 28, 2019]  Sean Couturier scored in the fifth round of a shootout to lift the host Philadelphia Flyers past the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-4 on Wednesday.

Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, who made 38 saves through regulation and overtime, stopped William Nylander's fifth-round attempt to preserve the win. Couturier had the only successful shootout attempt among the 10 skaters who participated.

Travis Konecny, Radko Gudas, Couturier and Ryan Hartman each scored in regulation for the Flyers, who remained mathematically alive in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Travis Sanheim and Scott Laughton each had two assists.

The Flyers snapped their three-game home losing streak.

Connor Brown and Auston Matthews each scored a goal and had an assist in regulation for the Maple Leafs, who participated in a shootout for the first time this season. Nazem Kadri and Nylander added one goal apiece.

Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen made 40 saves.

Brown gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 5:03 of the first period. The puck was jarred loose, and Tyler Ennis sent a backhand pass to Brown, who tapped it into a vacated net.

The Maple Leafs went ahead 2-0 at 12:02 of the first when Kadri scored his 16th goal.

Philadelphia sliced the deficit in half at 3:39 of the second when Konecny collected his 23rd goal. Konecny snapped his eight-game goalless streak.

Leafs right wing Connor Brown (28) celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Gudas later tied the game at 2 with a nifty wrist shot at 8:15 of the middle period for his fourth goal of the season. The play developed after the Maple Leafs turned the puck over in their own zone.

The Flyers took a 3-2 advantage when Couturier recorded his career-best 32nd goal at 15:46 of the second. Couturier had 31 goals last season.

Toronto equalized at 3 at 1:43 of the third period on an unassisted goal by Matthews.

Soon after a power play was killed off, Hartman pursued a bouncing puck and sent it past Andersen for a 4-3 Flyers lead at 9:00 of the third.

The Flyers later turned the puck over, and Nylander tied the game at 4 at 11:33 of the final period.

Sanheim appeared to have scored the winner with 2:26 left in overtime, but the goal was disallowed since the whistle had blown.

--Field Level Media

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