The Flyers’ second game of the preseason doesn’t have a lot of the shiny new toys the Washington game did. As a result, the Flyers struggle in a forgettable 5-0 pasting at the hands of Montreal Monday night at the Bell Centre.
The Basics
First period: No scoring
Second period: 8:18- Luke Tuch (Jared Davidson)
Third period: 3:06- David Savard (Jared Davidson, Lane Hutson), 3:56- Emil Heineman (Alex Barré-Boulet, Oliver Kapanen), 5:39- Josh Anderson (Joshua Roy, Logan Mailloux), 17:43- Alex Barré-Boulet (Emil Heineman, Oliver Kapanen)
SOG: 26 (MON) — 25 (PHI)
Some takeaways
Chippy, ordinary start
For those who were able to see the game it begins with a bit of chippiness as Nic Deslauriers and the Habs’ Lucas Condotta get minor penalties, for Deslauriers it’s one minor and for Condotta a double minor. Deslauriers throws a hard hit on Montreal defenseman Adam Engström that sends him flying. Condotta took exception to that and despite dropping the gloves a whole lot of nothing transpired.
It’s an omen of what’s to come in what is a rather chippy, penalty-filled first period. The first minute also sees two Flyer blueliners block shots as Egor Zamula and Rasmus Ristolainen get back in John Tortorella’s good graces by not allowing the shots to need saves from Flyers goalie Eetu Mäkiniemi early on. Zamula gets Philadelphia’s first shot on goal but the slapper is rebuffed by Habs goalie Cayden Primeau.
Not a lot of action early on — unless you count a goal for the Flyers which did not count in the end — just two teams with both rosters getting their legs under them for their first taste of preseason action. The Flyers get a four-minute power play just over three minutes in when Hunter McDonald gets high-sticked by Jared Davidson. Yet it’s the Habs who get the first shot on goal during the four-minute penalty, showing the rather hideous power play system that was replaced by a decent power play Sunday afternoon in Washington. Philadelphia’s first shot on the power play is by McDonald but otherwise it’s a lackluster lengthy man advantage down the drain.
Penalty trouble of their own
Roughly 10 minutes into the first the Flyers have two infractions on the same play as Ronnie Attard takes a cross-checking minor and Anthony Richard hooks Alex Barré-Boulet. The full two-minute, two-man advantage for Montreal sees Eetu Mäkiniemi hold the fort while Patrik Laine and Lane Hutson have chances but don’t give the Canadiens the lead. With just under five minutes to go Bobby Brink, one of only two Flyers dressed for the first two games, hits the post but still seems to be feeling it. The period concludes much like it began as Deslauriers and Condotta seemingly wanting to start something but nothing really comes of it.
More of the same
The second period doesn’t have much oomph despite the fans trying to get the Habs going. The Flyers get the first two shots of the period, both by Louis Belpedio. Brink again has a great chance but this time he hits iron again as the puck hits the crossbar. This comes about 30 seconds after the Habs have a chance to break the double goose eggs but Kirby Dach hits the post. Eight minutes into the period Ronnie Attard (who might have been on the outside looking in to begin with regarding making the team) has an absolutely awful giveaway in his own end that Jared Davidson picks up and feeds Luke Tuch opening the scoring.
Goalie changes
A little bit over the halfway mark of regulation both Montreal and Philadelphia changes their goaltenders as Jakub Dobeš replaces Primeau and Cal Petersen becomes the new Flyers goalkeeper. Petersen, possibly seeing one of the only times (barring a string of injuries) that he sees action with the Flyers this season, is not asked to do much the first few minutes, making a save on David Savard that is rather ordinary.
The rest of the period is up and down but judging by the first 100 minutes of the preseason it’s clear the first game was hopefully a forerunner of what’s to come with highlight reel offense and just high hockey IQ plays. The second game looks more like the Flyers under Tortorella year one: at times sluggish and everything seeming more like a struggle, whether it’s generating offense or trying to keep the defensive zone play sound. The Habs get another power play near the end of the second and Petersen surprisingly comes up huge. Montreal forward Alex Newhook feeds a thick saucer pass to Laine who shoots and looks to score but Peterson makes a fantastic stop. The save even has the Montreal announcers confused. Still in it after 40 minutes. And yes, thanks to Cal Petersen.
Habs add insurance (and a lot more insurance)
The Flyers start the third period looking far from crisp and it begins to burn them. First a puck deflected off a skate goes directly to David Savard who scores to put the Habs up 2-0.
But wait a minute (well, 50 seconds actually), there’s more. And it’s not good.
The Flyers look out of sorts on the third one as Emile Heineman is in the slot and does what shooters usually do against Cal Petersen. But wait there’s a little bit more.
Less than two minutes later the floodgates are confirmed to be open as Josh Anderson scores to make it 4-0, resembling a mini 9-3 romp from earlier this calendar year. Fortunately it means nothing at the end of the night. The Habs have a few more great chances in close with about six minutes left in the game but they miss on the first one and Petersen stops the second opportunity.
As the clock winds down it’s clear that nobody who was on the fence in terms of making the team really made a noteable impression in a good way. On the whole it’s a game that makes you long for what transpired in Washington roughly 27 or 28 hours prior. Oh, before I forget, Montreal put a fifth goal in the net on this evening.
