Rosehill makes presence felt in Flyers' win
TORONTO -- Jay Rosehill made quite a first impression in his Philadelphia Flyers debut.
Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, Rosehill had a hit that might result in a call from NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, a fight with a former teammate and the winning goal as the Flyers extended their season-high win streak to four games with a 5-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"You don't expect to go out there and do that stuff, but you get a lucky one that bounces off you and you chip in that way, it's a bonus," said Rosehill, who scored for the first time since Feb. 8, 2011, as a member of the Leafs. "I couldn't have written the script any better."
The Loss snaps Toronto's three-game win streak. The Leafs (20-13-4) also had points in eight straight games entering Thursday.
Brayden Schenn gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead just 54 seconds into the second period. Then Rosehill sent Philadelphia (17-17-3) to its first two-goal lead of the game with just under five minutes remaining in the period. Both goals came off Leafs turnovers.
James van Riemsdyk got Toronto within one nearly seven minutes into the third, beating Ilya Bryzgalov in tight for his 15th goal of the season, but that's as close as the Maple Leafs would get.
Luke Schenn scored an empty-netter with 16 seconds remaining in the third.
Rosehill spent four seasons with the Maple Leafs' organization, collecting 198 penalty minutes along with two goals and three assists in 72 games. He dressed in another 95 games with Toronto's AHL affiliate, the Marlies.
The 28-year-old made his impact felt early when he and fellow Flyers newcomer Adam Hall sandwiched Leafs sniper Joffrey Lupul midway through the first period.
Lupul was slow getting to the Toronto bench and went to the dressing room soon after. He played just three shifts and 1:40. The team announced that Lupul suffered an upper-body injury.
"I couldn't really see Hall coming at him and I was just going to go finish my check," Rosehill said. "I think Hall put him into me and from what the guys said on the TV, his head kind of went right into my shoulder. I didn't even know he was wobbly getting up."
It's Lupul's second injury of the season. He missed 25 games with a broken arm suffered in January.
The 29-year-old has eight goals and six assists in 10 games this season. He was named the NHL's first star for last week after leading the league with five goals and four assists in four games.
"You always take those situations with caution and he feels fine now. That's what happens in the context of the game," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. "I would say he's 50-50 on practicing (Friday)."
John-Michael Liles said, "You feel for anybody who gets a concussion, it's not a fun thing. I don't know if that's exactly what it is, I mean you see somebody wobble off the ice, I think a lot of assumptions are made."
Soon after the hit, Rosehill and former teammate, Colton Orr dropped the gloves. The two are good friends from their time with both the Leafs and Marlies. Orr even coached Rosehill on fighting when the two were with the Leafs.
"It happened pretty fast, but I think he was having a little retribution for that Lupul hit and he came at me fast," Rosehill said. "It's not like I'm going to stand in there all day and trade with that guy. He's a well-respected guy and he's been known to hurt guys, so I was lucky to get in and get out of there."
Lupul, ironically, was suspended two games earlier this season for a hit to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman.
Lupul suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on March 6, 2012. In all, Lupul has played in just 11 games since Carlyle took over from Ron Wilson behind the Maple Leafs bench on March 2, 2012.
The two teams exchanged four goals in the opening 20 minutes.
Ruslan Fedotenko extended his point streak, assisting on Simone Gagne's fourth of the season 1:19 into the game.
Before the four-minute mark, Nikolai Kulemin tied it 1-1, putting home the rebound off a Dion Phaneuf point shot. Kulemin now has five points in five games. Nazem Kadri picked up his team-leading 40th point with an assist on the goal. Phaneuf had two assists in the loss.
Liles gave Toronto its first lead of the night, beating Bryzgalov with a blast from the point for his second goal of the season near the midway mark of the first.
With less than 1 1/2 minutes remaining in the first period, Jakub Voracek picked up his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Couturier, who assisted on the goal, now has points in four straight games. Couturier finished with two assists.
NOTES: According to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, defenseman Kimmo Timonen suffered an undisclosed injury during the game. ... Newly acquired Flyers goalie Steve Mason is close to a contract extension with Philadelphia. Mason's agent, Anton Thun, said Thursday, "A one-year deal would serve the Flyers' purposes best and, quite honestly, serve Steve's purposes best if we believe he's going to rebound," he said. "The number will be lower than ($3.2 million)." ... Maple Leafs defenseman Ryan O'Byrne, acquired at Wednesday's trade deadline from Colorado, took the pregame skate but did not play. ... Leafs forward Clarke MacArthur missed his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury. ... Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo is out indefinitely with a high-ankle sprain in his left leg.
