It’s never possible for the Toronto Maple Leafs to slip under the radar, even when the team down the road at the “concrete convertible” is making a magical run in the MLB playoffs. The club’s 5-5-1 record is mostly a product of a home-heavy month of October, in which the Leafs went an acceptable 5-2-1, the issue for the Blue and White is their performance on the road.
Toronto is 0-3 on the road, and has allowed a pathetic 5.66 goals-per-game against Detroit, Buffalo, and Columbus. The last of those games was their worst outing of the season, a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Wednesday. Part of the issue was the absence of William Nylander in the second of back-to-back games, who clearly has not recovered from the mid-body injury suffered in Buffalo on October 24, another part was the horrendous performance of backup Cayden Primeau.
The thought behind claiming Primeau was to allow Dennis Hildeby to play regularly in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies, while Primeau would play only the three back-to-backs in October, but that plan turned out to be incredibly flawed, since Anthony Stolarz is not capable of playing a #1 starter workload and proved it with pedestrian numbers in eight starts (3-4-1, 3.27 GAA, .886 save %). The Leafs needed someone to play more than just the back-to-backs to keep Stolarz’s workload manageable in the absence of Joseph Woll.
Primeau was ok in the 7-4 win over Nashville, made a few good saves in the 4-3 overtime victory over Buffalo last Saturday, but was horrendous on Wednesday, giving up six goals on 24 shots. This situation will be rectified soon, as Woll is back with the club and working his way back to shouldering at least a tandem workload, but the Leafs may have to consider leaning heavier on the younger netminder.
That is not to say that the goaltending is the sole reason for the club’s early mediocrity. The injury to Chris Tanev – arguably the Leafs best defenseman – kept the veteran out four games, but more importantly, exposed the club’s depth on the blueline. Philippe Myers is an acceptable 7-8 in a pinch, but when Morgan Rielly could not play in Buffalo one week ago, the club called up Dakota Mermis instead of Henry Thrun – who played 60 games with San Jose last season. Mermis and Myers were directly responsible for two goals in the loss to the Sabres.
The Leafs are slightly above-average offensively this season (3.45 GPG -13th in the NHL), even with a power-play that is not found it’s mojo yet. Nylander will miss his second straight game as the Leafs take on the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday night, but based on the morning skate, former Flyer Scott Laughton will make his return against his former club. Even though Auston Matthews is on about a 40-goal pace, offense is not the issue, it is consistency, limiting turnovers, and getting saves from their goaltender and they will need that on Saturday to get their first road victory.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (5-5-1 – 11 POINTS) vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (6-3-1 – 13 POINTS)
NOVEMBER 1, 2025 ▪ 7:00 PM EST ▪ XFINITY MOBILE ARENA (PHILADELPHIA, PA)
TV: SPORTSNET ▪ RADIO: TSN 1050
MAPLE LEAFS HISTORY vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
| All-Time Record: | 75-94-22-7 (198 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 32-56-8-3 (99 Games) |
| 2024-25: | 3-0-0 |
| Last Five: | 4-1-0 |
| Last 10: | 9-1-0 |
| First Matchup Between Clubs: | January 24, 1968 (Toronto 1 vs. Philadelphia 2) |
| All-Time Record: | 75-94-22-7 (198 Games) |
| All-Time Home Record: | 43-38-14-4 (99 Games) |
| All-Time Road Record: | 32-56-8-3 (99 Games) |
| Last Road Win vs. Opponent: | January 7, 2025 (Toronto 3 at Philadelphia 2) |
MAPLE LEAFS / FLYERS – 2025-26 TEAM STATS
| TORONTO | PHILADELPHIA | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 3.45 (11th) | 2.80 (23rd-T) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.82 (28th) | 2.40 (2nd) |
| Power Play %: | 13.8 (29th) | 20.0 (17th-T) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 83.3 (11th-T) | 89.2 (3rd-T) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 29.7 (8th) | 23.1 (32nd) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 28.4 (14th-T) | 27.1 (11th) |
| Faceoff %: | 54.3 (3rd) | 51.6 (12th) |
| (NHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
Home › Forums › The Road Woe-riers, Leafs vs. Flyers
Tagged: nhl, Toronto Maple Leafs