Maple Leafs beat Flyers 5-2 as Tanev stretchered off after collision

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night, but the victory was overshadowed by a serious injury to veteran defenseman Chris Tanev, who was stretchered off the ice after a third-period collision. Rookie Easton Cowan scored his first NHL goal in the game, and the Leafs produced enough scoring depth to chase Flyers starter Dan Vladar from the crease.

The Flyers struck first when Christian Dvorak converted a quick sequence about a minute into the contest. Auston Matthews answered for Toronto with a power-play marker that knotted the score, and Jake McCabe added a second-period goal to give the Leafs the lead. Nick Robertson contributed a goal and an assist, and Calle Jarnkrok sealed the result with an empty-netter late in the third. Anthony Stolarz, in net for Toronto, settled after an early shaky moment and finished with 31 saves.

Cowan’s milestone came midway through the third period when he finished a feed from John Tavares to make it 4-1 and force Vladar from the game. The tally was a highlight in an otherwise tense final frame that culminated in Tanev’s removal from the ice. Tanev, 35, collided with Flyers forward...