The Game: 7:00 p.m. EST on NBCSports Philadelphia, ESPN+/Hulu, and 93.3 WMMR
Got ’em!
Anyway. We can all breathe a small sigh of relief: the Flyers survived their version of March Madness with a 5-5-3 record since March 1, which has been good enough for them to maintain third place in the Metropolitan Division as the Washington Capitals somehow refuse to lose (they’re one point behind Philadelphia with two games in hand). The Flyers’ postseason hopes may very well come down to the last game of the regular season against those Capitals–but that’s a couple weeks away, so let’s get back to tonight’s matchup in Montreal.
The Canadiens enter tonight’s tilt off an upset win over the Colorado Avalanche that snapped the Avs’ nine-game win streak. The Habs are 4-4-2 in their last 10, and sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with 66 points. They’re not good, folks! Still, the last time the Flyers faced them, a few lucky bounces had the Canadiens up 2-0 before the Flyers won the game in a shootout 3-2–they can’t treat this team with kid gloves, is what we’re saying.
It was a big trade deadline for Montreal, who were once again sellers; this time, they made one of their biggest moves early, sending Sean Monahan to Winnipeg for a 1st round pick. Monahan, you may recall, was given to the Canadiens by Calgary as part of a cap dump that included a 1st round pick–that’s two 1st rounders for one player! Much like Ivan Provorov for the Flyers, Monahan is the gift that keeps on giving for Montreal. The only other transaction of note for the Habs was the trade of Jake Allen to New Jersey, which helped out Montreal as they’d been carrying three goalies all season (sound familiar?).
The Flyers come into today’s game off a wild overtime loss to the New York Rangers that saw them squander a 2-0 lead, then exchange goals throughout the third to end regulation in a 5-5 tie, capped off with some baffling OT line choices that led to the eventual loss. Tonight’s matchup is a must-win for the Flyers if they want to hold onto their spot in the standings (should the Caps beat the Maple Leafs), and the Canadiens have enough budding talent to punish the Flyers if they come out the gate slow. Even if it’s a messy win, like the one against the San Jose Sharks a few weeks ago, the Flyers have got to find a way to take care of business and come out with two points.
Players to Watch
Ronnie Attard
He hit the net! It didn’t go in, but one of Attard’s shots finally got on goal over the weekend. He’s still looking for a goal this season, and a weak Montreal team is a perfect opportunity for him to actually put one in the net, and not just sailing high and/or wide.
Bobby Brink
It’s been touch and go for Brink since returning to the lineup, as his minutes have stayed low. However, his time on ice has been trending up in the last four games, and for the most part seems warranted: by the eye test, he’s checking more aggressively and playing a more involved game on the whole. Watch for him to set up some plays and maybe net a goal.
Juraj Slafkovsky
The first overall pick of the 2022 draft (a draft the Flyers shockingly didn’t pick any players in the 1st round) is beating the “bust” accusations with aplomb: he’s riding an eight-game point streak coming into tonight and has begun to look the part of a top-line NHL power forward. Worth remembering he’s only 19–sometimes it doesn’t click right away, and giving young players time to figure it out is essential.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Owen Tippett – Morgan Frost – Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee – Scott Laughton – Bobby Brink
Tyson Foerster – Ryan Poehling – Garnet Hathaway
Noah Cates – Sean Couturier – Olle Lycksell
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Adam Ginning – Ronnie Attard
Egor Zamula – Erik Johnson
Sam Ersson
(Felix Sandstrom)
Montreal Canadiens
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher – Alex Newhook – Joel Armia
Josh Anderson – Jake Evans – Jesse Ylonen
Michael Pezzetta – Colin White – Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Mike Matheson – Kaiden Guhle
Arber Xhekaj – David Savard
Jayden Struble – Jordan Harris
Sam Montembeault
(Cayden Primeau)
Gameday Tunes
The Weeknd’s early work was unrivaled, and Trilogy still holds up. “Montreal” isn’t one of the best tracks, but it’s still pretty good and bang on the nose for tonight.
Stats via Hockey Reference
