Maple Leafs stay hot with win against Flyers, gain in Atlantic

TORONTO --William Nylander had a goal and an assist for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

"I think we've wanted to dial up our game, and I think we were getting a little bit off our game," Nylander said. "I think we've come back to where we want to be. Maybe not tonight, wasn't the best for us, but over the course of [the past few] games, I think we've been playing really well and more towards our system and how we want to look out there."
Jack Campbell made 37 saves for his 30th win of the season for the Maple Leafs (51-20-6), who have won four in a row are 11-1-1 in their past 13 games.
"It's all credit to the team. We're playing great right now and we're just trying to keep working and getting ready for the playoffs," Campbell said.
"I just think we are sharpening up every area, not that there were any weak spots or anything like that, but we're really focused on improving all areas of the game, and the coaches have done a good job on the game plan and the guys in front of me have been executing it."

Toronto, which was playing its second straight game without Auston Matthews (undisclosed injury), moved eight points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning for second in the Atlantic Division.
"He's feeling good. He had a really good skate today," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Like I said the other day, we think this was a pretty minor situation, that he was going to push through pretty quickly. We just have to make sure that we are putting him in a good spot at the appropriate time. It's a new injury for him, something that he hasn't dealt with before, so we want to make sure he's feeling good and comfortable before he gets back in."
Martin Jones made 24 saves for the Flyers (23-43-11), who have lost six in a row.
"I thought we battled hard tonight," Jones said. "Some breakdowns cost us. They're a talented team and they finished on some plays. Overall, I thought the effort was pretty good, but some bad breakdowns led to goals, and that was the difference tonight."

Timothy Liljegren gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 1:35 of the second period when he received a pass from Alex Kerfoot from below the goal line and shot glove side from just above the right hash marks.
James van Riemsdyk tied it 1-1 at 8:07 when he put in his own rebound at the top of the crease after Keith Yandle's point shot produced a rebound.
Nylander put Toronto back in front 2-1 at 13:39, scoring a power-play goal from the left circle off a cross-ice pass from Mitchell Marner. It was Nylander's 32nd goal of the season, an NHL career high. Marner's assist was his 95th point this season, also an NHL career high.
"I actually went and watched, I took two games from the first whatever (earlier part of the season) and just randomly watched them and saw two from the later half and just saw the difference in my game," Nylander said "I saw that it was all about skating more and stuff like that, so I put a bit more focus on to that part of my game.
"I was kind of [upset] and wanted to get back to the way I can play."

Jason Spezza made it 3-1 at 19:35. He finished a return pass from Mark Giordano in front after Yandle fell over earlier in the play when Wayne Simmonds carried the puck into the zone.
"Definitely some teaching moments, some learning moments for the young guys," Flyers coach Mike Yeo said. "Time management, clock management, understanding the situation of the game. We have to make sure we do a better job to get those pucks in deep. Turnover there towards the end of the period that made the 3-1 lead, that was the big goal."
It was Spezza's first goal since Feb. 22 (21 games).
"It's always nice to score," Spezza said. "I had been in a bit of a drought, but that's not the main objective for me or the team.
"[The Flyers] were tired and got a little sloppy in the neutral zone. [Simmonds] made a good call for the puck and gave me and 'Gio' time to get up in the rush. It was great poise by Gio to hold it that extra second allowing me to get to the back post."
David Kampf extended the lead to 4-1 at 10:11 of the third period when Ilya Lyubushkin's point shot deflected off him in the slot.
Ronnie Attard cut it to 4-2 at 17:24 with a shot over Campbell's left shoulder, but Ilya Mikheyev shot into an empty net with 1:33 left for the 5-2 final.
NOTES: Flyers defenseman Kevin Connauton left in the third period with a lower-body injury. Yeo said after the game that he is "not good" and expects him to miss some time. … Campbell (30 years, 100 days) became the third goalie this season to record his first 30-win season after turning 30, joining Darcy Kuemper of the Colorado Avalanche (31 years, 320 days) and Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames (32 years, 53 days). … Nylander extended his point streak to five games (four goals, four assists).