The game: 7:00 p.m EDT on NBC Sports Philadelphia+ and 97.5 The Fanatic.
Seven losses in a row. An absolute mess against league-worst opponents, after a solid stretch against the best of the Eastern Conference. The Flyers are maddingly mediocre and in free-fall, sitting outside of the postseason with only four games to go. They no longer control their own destiny, but somehow, the Flyers aren’t officially dead – even if it feels like it.
The Flyers sit at 83 points, with the Islanders (85 points), the Penguins (84 points), and the Capitals (83 points) ahead of them in the race for the third Metro spot. The Capitals and Islanders each have a game in hand on the Flyers. Meanwhile, the Red Wings (84 points) hold down the second wild card spot, with one game in hand on the Flyers heading into Tuesday night. It’s a really murky and mediocre race to the finish, and despite the Flyers’s ineptitude, a sudden hot streak would give them a good shot to get in. That likely entails earning at a minimum seven of eight possible points, which would leave the Flyers with 90. That won’t come easy, and if the Flyers want to give themselves that chance, taking care of business against Montreal is the crucial first step.
Like a lot of the Flyers recent opponents, the Canadiens are one of the league’s worst. Entering play Tuesday, Montreal sits at 70 points, good for fifth-worst in the NHL and second-worst in the East ahead of Columbus. On the injury side, the Canadiens announced Monday that young defensemen Arber Xhekaj is headed for shoulder surgery and will miss the rest of the season, a big blow to their defense core. Backup Sam Montembeault will get the start for Montreal, and the Flyers will certainly look to neutralize the dangerous line of Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovsky to win this one.
Players to Watch
Sam Ersson
There’s no question that Sam Ersson is exhausted. The start tonight vs Montreal will be his 29th start in 35 games, after being thrown to the wolves as the starter in early February. On Monday, even John Tortorella admitted the toll this stretch has taken on the rookie netminder.
Goaltending is far from the only problem for the Flyers right now, but the way Ersson has played leaves little room for error. It’s something that’s been said over and over again in this recent stretch of poor performances – but if the Flyers want to maintain even a glimmer of hope for the postseason, Sam Ersson has to find the little energy he has and deliver a strong performance.
Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost
The Flyers desperately need Tippett and Frost to get it going again. After strong play by the pair throughout the gauntlet, Frost and Tippett have largely disappeared from the score sheet. Tippett had a goal and assist in the loss to Buffalo, but Frost has only had one point in the last five games (the game-tying goal vs NYI). With scoring dried up from the likes of Travis Konecny and Joel Farabee, the Flyers could use a boost from the two other main scorers in the lineup. If the lines from Monday’s practice are any indication, Tippett and Frost will be reunited on the top line in hopes that they do just that against Montreal.
Cole Caufield
Well, the small goal scorer that Flyers fans infamously thought they drafted in 2019 is red-hot. With goals in four consecutive games, the Flyers are catching Caufield at the wrong time. He scores in bunches, as Caufield also had a separate five-game goal streak earlier in the season. Suppressing Caufield’s chances and halting the goal streak will be key for the Flyers in this one.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Tyson Foerster – Morgan Frost – Owen Tippett
Joel Farabee – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny
Olle Lycksell – Ryan Poehling – Garnet Hathaway
Denis Gurianov – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Marc Staal – Erik Johnson
Sam Ersson
(Ivan Fedotov)
Montreal Canadiens
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher – Alex Newhook – Joel Armia
Tanner Pearson – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson
Michael Pezzetta – Christian Dvorak – Rafaël Harvey-Pinard
Mike Matheson – David Savard
Jordan Harris – Johnathan Kovacevic
Jayden Struble – Justin Barron
Sam Montembeault
(Cayden Primeau)
Gameday Tunes
“I don’t know, but I believe, we’ll get another day together.” Feels like the appropriate description of this race.
