Maple Leafs cruise to 5-2 win over Flyers with uninspired effort

The Maple Leafs could only muster an uninspired effort, but it was good enough to defeat the faltering Flyers 5-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

Here’s hoping another Toronto sports team can make it to a different set of Philadelphia on Wednesday when the Raptors, down 2-0, take on the 76ers in their first-round NBA playoff series.

Jason Spezza scored the game-winner in a nice three-in-a-row game with Wayne Simmonds and Mark Giordano late in the second half. Combined, the three veterans are 109 years old.

“We are all here to provide leadership,” said Spezza, 38. “To me, it means a lot.”

Toronto’s other goals came from William Nylander, Timothy Liljegren, David Kampf and Ilya Mikheyev.

Nylander’s was the 32nd, the highest of his career. He came in the second quarter on an assist from Mitch Marner, who had a career-high 95 points from him at the same time.

“It’s good to go past 31,” Nylander said.

Jack Campbell had 36 saves to earn his 30th win of the season in the Toronto net.

The Maple Leafs played their second straight game without star center Auston Matthews. The 24-year-old skated earlier in the day but was excluded from the contest on the advice of club medical officials.

“Even though he feels really good, they say a little more time will benefit him,” head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the morning skate. “So that’s what we’ll give him.”

Matthews is two goals away from becoming the first US-born player in NHL history to reach 60 in a single season. He has four more than Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, who is next best.

Keefe was silent when asked about the nature of what ails Matthews. On Sunday, the coach had called it a minor problem that occurred during last night’s victory in Ottawa over the Senators.

Is it something in the lower part of your body? Is it something upper body related? Is it bigger than a bread box?

Keefe didn’t bite.

“We’re not just resting Auston in this case. He has an injury,” he said. “It just speaks to the fact that we’re looking at the big picture here.

“The ultimate goal is to be ready to compete come playoff time. That’s what it’s about.”

Having to change the line-up with Matthews in the injury zone, Keefe moved captain John Tavares to center forward with Mikheyev on his left flank and Marner on his right.

“When you miss someone like Auston and with the season he’s having, you know you don’t expect to fill his shoes with one or even two,” Tavares said.

Matthews and defenseman Jake Muzzin, who has missed four of the last five games, also due to an undisclosed health issue, will accompany the team on a road trip with stops in Tampa on Thursday, Sunrise, Fla., on Saturday and in Washington on Sunday.

Toronto ranks second in the NHL Atlantic Division eight points behind the Florida Panthers. Tampa Bay is third, eight points behind the Maple Leafs, and Boston is fourth and nine points behind.

All four have already qualified for the playoffs; the outcome of the handful of games remaining in the regular season will determine who plays who and where.

Toronto’s most likely first-round opponent is Tampa, which has won the last two Stanley Cups.

“We’re focused and confident,” Keefe said. “The guys really believe in what we’re doing, they believe in each other and they believe in themselves.

“They know we have to put ourselves in the best possible place.”

Philadelphia came in with five straight losses during which it was outscored 27-11. After an 8-4-2 start, the Flyers won just eight of their next 40 games and will miss the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 1992-93 and 1993-94.

They have 10 wins in 38 away outings and have lost nine of their last 11 contests overall.

The first half was hectic but neither team could score. Both Campbell and Philadelphia’s Martin Jones were sharp on the nets. Jones turned down Simmonds, Colin Blackwell and Mikheyev on especially dangerous chances.

The Maple Leafs had two power plays, but couldn’t generate a shot on either one and were seemingly out of sync without Matthews. Fifteen of his franchise-record 58 goals so far have come with a man up.

Liljegren scored his fifth goal of the season and fourth in the last nine games to put Toronto ahead with 18:25 left in the second period. Liljegren fired a strong wrist shot over Jones’s left shoulder after a cross from behind the net by Alexander Kerfoot.

That was a good omen for the Maple Leafs and a very bad one for the Flyers. Toronto is 34-6-2 when scoring first, while Philly is 5-34-4 when their opponent is up 1-0.

Former Maple Leaf James van Riemsdyk won a battle at the net to level the score with 11:53 left in the second. It was the 21st of the season for the 32-year-old left winger.

Toronto made good on its third power play. With Ivan Provorov in the penalty area for holding, Nylander scored with a hard wrist shot from the left flank.

After a turnover in Philadelphia, Spezza, 38, combined in a back-and-forth with Simmonds, 33, and Giordano, also 38, on the prettiest play of the game. It was Spezza’s eleventh goal and his first in 21 games and made it 3-1.

“It was a beautiful goal,” Nylander said. “I loved.”

That was more bad news for the Flyers: They had won just two of 38 games when they trailed after 40 minutes. Let them be two of 39.

Kampf scored with 9:49 to go in the third, while Mikheyev netted a late empty.

Toronto improved to 51-20-6 and now has 108 points for the season. Both are franchise records.

Now, the Rays and the Panthers and the playoffs are looming.

“We know what’s coming here, but we’re not losing focus,” Spezza said. “It’s important that we’re playing good hockey and moving the needle forward.”