Flyers at Maple Leafs: Live Stream, Storylines, Game Time and More

Next up: the Maple Leafs.

A night after suffering a 5-2 loss to the defending champion Capitals, the Flyers (34-28-8) meet another Stanley Cup contender in the Maple Leafs (42-23-5).

Let's get into Friday night's essentials:

• When: 7 p.m. ET with Flyers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m.
• Where: Scotiabank Arena
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia+
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app

• Toronto comes in with the NHL's third-best goal differential at plus-46 and it scores 3.57 goals per game, tied for third with the Flames.

The Maple Leafs are actually on a two-game losing streak. They've lost three in a row only once this season.

Back on Nov. 24, Toronto walloped the Flyers, 6-0, at Scotiabank Arena without Auston Matthews. Andreas Johnsson scored a hat trick in the opening 12:20 of the game and has not combined to score three goals against any other club this season.

The good thing for the Flyers: Calvin Pickard started in net and that won't be the case Friday night, as they should have a much better shot with Brian Elliott starting and Carter Hart backing up.

• Friday night is a big one for the Flyers. Every game is big at this point, but considering the Blue Jackets will be dropping the puck the same time the Flyers do, it should be an eventful night of watching hockey and the NHL scoreboard.

Columbus hosts the Hurricanes, who are 15-4-1 in their last 20 games. The Flyers enter Friday night five points back of the Blue Jackets for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot with 12 games remaining.

On Saturday night, Columbus (81 points) visits the Bruins, while the Canadiens (81 points) host the Blackhawks. The Flyers (76 points) are idle before traveling to Pittsburgh for a Sunday night matchup with the Penguins.

• For the second time, James van Riemsdyk will return to Toronto, where he put up a pair of 30-goal campaigns and played in three postseasons from 2012-18.

JVR is on a roll right now for the Flyers, scoring 15 goals in 27 games since Jan. 10. For some context, Alex Ovechkin and Vladimir Tarasenko both have 16 over that span.

Since Jan. 10, the Flyers are 19-6-2.

• Elliott went 2-0-0 against the Maple Leafs last season, stopping 48 of 52 shots faced. That Toronto team did not have John Tavares, who has 19 career goals in 43 games against the Flyers, his second-most markers vs. any NHL club.

Projected lineup

Forwards
James van Riemsdyk-Nolan Patrick-Claude Giroux
Oskar Lindblom-Sean Couturier-Jakub Voracek
Michael Raffl-Scott Laughton-Travis Konecny
Phil Varone-Corban Knight-Ryan Hartman

Defensemen
Ivan Provorov-Travis Sanheim
Shayne Gostisbehere-Philippe Myers
Robert Hagg-Radko Gudas

Goalies
Brian Elliott
Carter Hart

Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.

More on the Flyers

• Does it matter who's in net? Flyers seeing grim reality of their situation

• Flyers' playoff hopes take another gut punch from defending champs

• Appreciating the underappreciated Raffl, still here for another run

• Flyers left scratching their heads after Voracek suspension

• A look at 4 Flyers prospects to crack top-50 list of best young players