Philadelphia @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 2, 2019 ) Toronto 4, Philadelphia 3

The Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs each worked overtime to win their last game, but that likely seemed like a short day at the office after the clubs navigated through 11 rounds of a shootout last weekend. The Maple Leafs got the better of the Flyers in that marathon and will look to get a leg up on Saturday when they reconvene in Toronto.

Captain John Tavares missed the Maple Leafs' 4-3 shootout win in Philadelphia while recovering from a broken finger, but he made his presence felt on Thursday with an assist on Auston Matthews' third-period goal before scoring in overtime of a 2-1 victory versus Vegas. The win was the season-high third in a row for Toronto, which sports a 6-2-3 record at Scotiabank Arena entering the finale of its three-game homestand. The Flyers rebounded from their marathon loss to the Maple Leafs by outlasting Carolina on Tuesday before Sean Couturier scored 55 seconds into overtime two nights later in a 3-2 win over Montreal. The late theatrics are nothing new for Philadelphia, which has ventured past regulation in three of its last four games (3-0-1).

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, CBC, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific (Toronto)

ABOUT THE FLYERS (8-5-2): Couturier solved Carey Price on Thursday to record a goal in his second consecutive contest and extend his point streak to five games (three goals, three assists). "I think we are starting to be a little bit more structured," the 26-year-old said of the team's recent good fortune. "Guys are starting to play the right way. Everyone is starting to push in the same direction." Count captain Claude Giroux in that mix, as the 31-year-old Ontario native scored and set up a goal in the first game against Toronto to ignite a three-game point streak (two goals, three assists).

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (9-5-3): Mitch Marner boosted his point total to four (one goal, three assists) over his last five games on Thursday after registering the lone assist on Tavares' overtime goal. Marner has 10 primary assists and a team-leading 14 overall this season, with 12 of those coming on home ice. Matthews has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his last six games, although he was held off the scoresheet in the previous meeting with Philadelphia.

OVERTIME

1. Giroux has recorded 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) in 35 career encounters with Toronto.

2. Toronto D Morgan Rielly has four assists in his last five games, including one against Philadelphia.

3. Flyers LW James van Riemsdyk, who played from 2012-18 with the Maple Leafs, has answered a seven-game point drought with eight (four goals, four assists) in his last eight contests.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 5, Flyers 2