Easton Cowan OT hero, Scott Laughton dominant in Philly return

That’s one heck of a way to win a road game.

The Maple Leafs didn’t have much going offensively through much of the game in Philadelphia on Thursday night against the Flyers.

But what mattered most was what happened late.

Easton Cowan scored at 2:47 of overtime after taking a behind-the-back pass from John Tavares on a 2-on-1, giving the Leafs a 2-1 victory at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Cowan snapped a shot past Flyers goalie Dan Vladar for his first NHL overtime goal.

The Leafs put themselves in position to potentially win when Scott Laughton, in his first game at Xfinity Mobile Arena since Toronto acquired him from Philadelphia last March, scored shorthanded at 14:04 of the third period.

The Leafs, who have won 13 of the past 14 meetings with the Flyers, improved to 6-0-2 in their past eight games. They haven’t lost in regulation since Dec. 21 in Dallas. Toronto, now one point out of the second wild-card in the Eastern Conference, improved to 6-10-2 on the road.

Leafs captain Auston Matthews’ hot run of six goals in three games was put on ice. Matthews missed a few shifts in the first period after blocking a shot.

Dennis Hildeby made 21 saves in a game that didn’t have much action until the extra period, including a breakaway by Trevor Zegras in overtime.

Great night for Laughton

Laughton had a terrific night in his return. The 31-year-old went an eye-popping 19-for-20 in the faceoff circle and was a key part of the Leafs’ ability to kill off three power plays.

The tying goal came when Laughton gathered a loose puck at the boards inside the Leafs zone following a missed Flyers power-play shot, skated down the left wing, curled into the faceoff circle and beat Vladar high to the short side.

Through 40 minutes, the only goal was scored by Flyers forward Travis Konecny, coming at the 55-second mark of the second period.

Konecny found a piece of open ice and wasn’t detected by Leafs forward Max Domi. Christian Dvorak fed Konecny, who fired a high shot past Hildeby on the short side.

With 25 seconds remaining in the second, Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly failed to execute on an excellent scoring chance. Rielly fanned on an open net, shooting wide, after Matias Maccelli set him up with a smart pass.

The Leafs had back-to-back power plays midway through the second period, but managed just one shot on goal in four minutes.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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