97.5 The Fanatic Flyers Roundup: Snider’s Legacy, Maple Leafs Measuring Stick
When the Toronto Maple Leafs play an intense home-and-home series, the NHL world pays attention. The drama heightened with two fights and one fine handed out in their quick set against the Philadelphia Flyers.
- Sunday 1/5 at Scotiabank Arena: Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Flyers 2 (OT)
- Tuesday 1/7 at the Wells Fargo Center: Toronto Maple Leafs 3, Flyers 2
- Thursday 1/9 at the Wells Fargo Center: Dallas Stars 4, Flyers 1
Maple Leafs Sweep Flyers in Home-and-Home
Consecutive games against the Atlantic Division leaders provided an important measuring stick for the Flyers at the midway point of the 2024-25 season.
Craig Berube has helped the Maple Leafs take a step forward after repeated playoff disappointments. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner lead a loaded offensive attack that showed their superiority to the Flyers in somewhat of an unexpected way.
Toronto pulled out an overtime victory in a heated battle north of the border on Sunday. The Flyers blew a second period lead in Philadelphia two days later for a disappointing 3-2 loss despite two goals off the stick of Travis Konecny.
Owen Tippett missed a gaping cage in the final minute that could’ve pushed the game past regulation. Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll also stoned Konecny twice late in the game to keep Philadelphia’s chippy winger from his third career hat trick.
Is Konecny encouraged by the effort for a rebuilding team to stick with a Stanley Cup contender?
“I think we’re a top team too. I don’t look at that like (I’m) proud of us to compete with them. We can compete with anybody.” -Travis Konecny
John Tortorella spoke about how the Flyers internally tracked the scoring chances evenly between the two teams during the home-and-home set. The Flyers won the expected goal share 4.99-4.41..
Why did Toronto come out on top? The Leafs benefit from finishers like Matthews who expect to finish at the top of the league in scoring every season. Their goaltending hasn’t dragged them down this season to the same detriment as the Flyers. They also executed better on both special teams units.
The veteran bench boss didn’t let his team off the hook with a moral victory mindset either.
He stressed the need to limit opposing chances against more talented teams like the Maple Leafs while the Flyers figure out their nagging goaltending problems.
“This is where the result counts. We don’t get the results. I think we could’ve had four out of four points. We only get one out of four. With players, they need to see the result to keep believing that it’s working.” -John Tortorella
When NHL teams speak positively about playing well despite bad results, the idea suggests that continuing good habits will eventually lead to better results.
That certainly didn’t play out against Dallas. The Flyers fumbled the puck around and allowed a strong Stars team to cruise to victory.
“We haven’t got the results, but we have played some really good hockey. Tonight, we sucked.” -John Tortorella
Ed Snider Legacy Game
The Flyers honored their franchise founder Ed Snider three days after what would’ve been his 92nd birthday.
The second annual Snider Legacy Game included a special pregame video tribute and a ceremonial puck drop from Flyers alumni Wayne Simmonds, Kimmo Timonen, and Paul Holmgren.
Ed Snider brought hockey to Philadelphia as part of the NHL expansion wave of 1967. The Broad Street Bullies quickly became the first expansion franchise to defeat an Original Six franchise on the way to their first of two Stanley Cups in 1974.
“If you forget where you came from, you never will find where you’re going. Mr. Snider is the epitome of everything that the Flyers are. It was his actions in the community. It was his actions toward the players. It was who he was as a man.” -Todd Fedoruk on 97.5 The Fanatic
The Snider Youth Hockey Foundation is his greatest legacy. The foundation creates opportunities for under-resourced youth of the Greater Philadelphia Region to prosper.
The continuing initiative serves about 1500 children ages 5-24 annually, and it’s a tribute to Snider’s legacy as a philanthropist beyond his recognition as a successful NHL owner.
The Cutter Gauthier Grudge Match
Notorious castoff Cutter Gauthier will play at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time in his NHL career on Saturday night.
The Flyers traded Gauthier for Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick on January 8, 2024.
Related Content: Flyers Fans Prepare For Cutter Gauthier at Wells Fargo Center
The resulting fallout from the organization and fans has driven Gauthier into a status reserved only for the worst Philadelphia castoffs who struck a particular nerve.
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Upcoming Schedule
- Saturday 1/11 vs. Anaheim Ducks, 7pm on 97.5 The Fanatic
- Monday 1/13 vs. Florida Panthers, 7pm on 97.5 The Fanatic
- Tuesday 1/14 @ Columbus Blue Jackets, 7pm on 93.3 WMMR
- Thursday 1/16 @ New York Islanders, 7:30pm on 97.5 The Fanatic
All advanced stats at 5-on-5, courtesy of Natural Stat Trick, unless otherwise noted
