Cowan the OT hero, Laughton excellent as Maple Leafs beat Flyers

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

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

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But they stuck with it, as they like to say, and what mattered most was what happened late.

Easton Cowan scored at 2:48 of overtime after taking a behind-the-back pass from John Tavares on a 2-on-1 rush, giving the Leafs a 2-1 victory at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The Leafs put themselves in position to potentially win when Scott Laughton, in his first game in Philly since Toronto acquired him from Philadelphia last March, scored short-handed 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 but coach Craig Berube said afterward that he was fine.

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Three takeaways:

GREAT SCOTT

Laughton has earned a reputation as a steely veteran in the National Hockey League and he leaned on that experience to have his best game in a Leafs uniform.

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, including a 5-on-3 Flyers advantage in the third period that lasted 52 seconds.

Laughton, who played in 661 games with the Flyers after they drafted him in the first round in 2012, gutted through a tribute video in the first period to turn in a fine performance.

“It was definitely an emotional start to the game,” Laughton told the media in Philadelphia. “It probably took me a period to kind of get going. A lot of emotions run through it.

“Getting the start (for the opening faceoff) was a nice touch and it all floods back to you, most of the memories here and all of the people that helped you.”

What about that faceoff dominance? Laughton went into the game with a splendid 58.7% success rate this season.

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“I knew some of their guys like (Christian) Dvorak and (Sean) Couturier, they are really good at the dot, so I watched a little bit of video,” Laughton said. “I always ask John (Tavares) and Auston (Matthews) and (Nicolas) Roy what they do against guys like that, so I think we feed well off each other and try to use each other in those situations.

“Once you start going and start getting competitive, sometimes it works out like that. Sometimes it works out where you’re 16% like (he was against Winnipeg last week).”

Laughton’s unassisted goal came when he snapped a shot from the left faceoff circle past goalie Dan Vladar, high to the short side three seconds before a Troy Stecher minor ended. It was Laughton’s fifth goal of the season and a nice capper to the hard work he has been putting in during the Leafs’ recent run.

“Scotty was really good again,” Berube said. “Did a great job on the 5-on-3, as everybody did, penalty-killing. He had a solid game, it was great to see him get that shorty against his old team.

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THE COWBOY RIDES

Cowan earned the confidence that Berube had in having the youngster on the ice in overtime. On a line with Roy and Nick Robertson, Cowan has been effective and has scored in consecutive games for the first time in the NHL.

“I thought he was having a really good game, so I wanted to use him in OT,” Berube said. “I thought he was on top of things all night, making strong plays, skating well. He was going to be in the picture in 3-on-3 and ended up getting it done.”

Cowan had three shots on goal, tied with Matthews for most among Leafs, and his three hits tied Bobby McMann for team high.

It was the first NHL OT goal for Cowan, who scored his first NHL goal in the same building back on Nov. 1.

Given Cowan’s winning history with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, it’s no surprise that he can handle the heat that comes with overtime shifts. He didn’t waste any time in beating Vladar after Tavares set him up. It was a good look for the 20-year-old.

PLAYOFF-LIKE POINTS

A few times during this stretch, the Leafs have talked about the playoff-like intensity of the games, mostly because the standings in the Eastern Conference are so tight.

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Failure to bring an honest effort likely winds up in a loss, something the Leafs can ill afford right now.

Kudos to the Leafs for staying patient in a game that was tight-checking. Neither side conceded much open ice, but the Leafs stayed within themselves. They weren’t capable of something similar before this string of success started.

Dennis Hildeby was excellent in net, though he had to make just 22 saves. The Leafs had 23 shots on Vladar.

Only Travis Konecny, at 55 seconds of the second period, beat Hildeby. The netminder’s biggest save came in overtime when he stopped Trevor Zegras on a breakaway.

“In OT, it was nice to come up with a save,” Hildeby said. “You usually have to. It was a fun game to play for sure.

“I thought we played unbelievable. I think we really shut them down pretty much the entire game and 3-on-3 opens up a little, but we managed to get the win, so it felt good.”

Hildeby continued to provide the kind of goaltending that should see him get starts more often, no matter how well Joseph Woll is playing. Going to a true alternating of starts between the two could be prudent with the heavy schedule the Leafs have before the Olympic break.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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