John Tavares

The competition gets tougher once again, as the Flyers start a busy week ahead with Sunday night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Before the holiday break arrives, the Flyers have two games remaining, starting with a rare Thursday afternoon matchup north of the border against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Following a 1-0 overtime loss to the New York Rangers, the Flyers continue their road trip by going north of the border to face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

Facing the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team already playoff bound and in position to potentially host a first-round series, should help in the Flyers pursuit of a lottery pick. The Flyers enter Tuesday's game having lost five straight games.

Auston Matthews scored his 51st goal of the season and Morgan Rielly had three points as the Leafs finished off a 6-3 decision on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center. 

Keith Yandle comes out of the lineup for the first time after 989 consecutive games. Ronnie Attard makes his NHL debut on the blue line, while other newcomers remain in the lineup looking to make a good impression. They get another matchup against a future playoff team, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This game begins a busy remainder of the month for the Flyers. They will play 11 games in the next 21 days, reaching the quarter-mark of the season in the process. It will be no easy task either, as a number of star players and elite teams will appear on the schedule. It starts with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have found a groove after a slow start with wins in five of their last six games. 

The Flyers 6-1 win over Toronto was their fifth straight, and carried some of the success from a 10-2-4 November over to the start of December.

The Flyers responded to a Toronto goal and retook the lead at the midpoint of the third period. They never looked back, adding four more goals down the stretch in a five-goal third period, securing a win on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-1, to extend their winning streak to five games.

The Flyers first opponent of December is a familiar one, a team they faced twice already during November. The Toronto Maple Leafs come back to Philadelphia for the final game of a three-game season series. The first two games went to a shootout with both teams getting one win.