Flyers hold off third-period rally from Maple Leafs, pick up crucial win as playoffs loom

Adversity has been a common theme throughout the Flyers’ season.

And they were facing some more on Tuesday. Hours after captain Sean Couturier was healthy scratched, they were facing yet another Stanley Cup contender and, they responded once again: this time with a 4-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Wells Fargo Center.

Entering the night, the Flyers had lost of three of their past four, outscored 19-7 in those losses. They were 0-2-0 to start their seven-game stretch against an Eastern Conference murderers’ row, including a 6-2 defeat to these same Maple Leafs just five days ago. And the Flyers were playing without Couturier. Thirty-four days after Couturier was handed the “C,” he was watching from the press box.

» READ MORE: Sean Couturier ‘frustrated’ by John Tortorella’s decision to bench him Tuesday vs. Toronto

But instead of playing on their heels, they put the pressure on the Leafs. Just 19 seconds into the game, Owen Tippett curled above the left faceoff circle and scored through the screens of Toronto defenseman Joel Edmundson, Morgan Frost, and Leafs captain John Tavares in front of goalie Ilya Samsonov.

The Flyers struck again 56 seconds into the second period, extending their lead to 2-0. Olle Lycksell, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley on Monday, returned to the lineup for the first time since March 4 and put pressure on Morgan Rielly in the offensive zone. After Ryan Poehling forced Leafs defenseman TJ Brodie into making a bad play, the Flyers recovered and Garnet Hathaway found Travis Sanheim at the right point for the goal.

Frost extended the Flyers’ lead to 3-0, and extended his point streak to four straight games, with a shot from the left point. Coming off the bench, he stayed at the point and got a pass from Ronnie Attard before scoring just under the bar for his third goal in four games.

After holding the Leafs’ high-octane offense off the scoreboard despite allowing 18 shots on goal through the first two periods, the visitors broke through on Sam Ersson in the third period. William Nylander cut the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal from the left circle. Then, Tyler Bertuzzi made it a one-goal game with 9 minutes, 44 seconds left in regulation after Rielly found him surrounded by Flyers players, but free in front of the net.

Things weren’t looking good when Scott Laughton was called for hooking 34 seconds later. The Leafs were already 1-for-2 on the power play and entered Tuesday tied for fourth in the NHL with the man advantage. But the Flyers kept Toronto at bay and, as Laughton was coming back into the game, the Leafs made an errant pass right to him. Skating down, he made a spin move around defenseman Simon Benoit and fed Tippett, who was stopped by Samsonov. But Tippett stuck with it and, with Samsonov pulled out of position, fed Laughton in front of the net for the Flyers’ fourth goal.

The Leafs did make it a one-goal game again with 2:10 left in the game as Tavares banged home a pass by Bertuzzi with Samsonov pulled as the extra attacker. But the Flyers blocked four shots and stopped one from Rielly to close out the win.

In addition to Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Marc Staal and Denis Gurianov were each a healthy scratch. … Adam Ginning returned to the lineup after being recalled Monday.

» READ MORE: Flyers must get off the canvas after knockdowns from two superior teams

The Flyers head south to North Carolina and will face the Hurricanes on Thursday (7 p.m. on NBCSP).