Flyers aiming for fourth straight victory against Canadiens

Aug 21, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) makes a save against Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) during the second period in game six of the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 21, 2020; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) makes a save against Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier (14) during the second period in game six of the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Flyers are making their first trip to Montreal of the season as they’ll take on the Canadiens this evening. This is the first of three meetings between the two teams. Philadelphia will be the home team on March 13th and they’ll head back out to Canada to finish things up on April 21st.

The Flyers come in winners of their last three games after dropping 10-straight before that. Their last victory was a dominating, complete effort against the New Jersey Devils. Cam Atkinson recorded his first hat trick in a Philadelphia uniform. Travis Sanheim also grabbed his first goal of the season in the 6-1 blowout win.

The Canadiens are on the opposite end of the spectrum as they have dropped their last seven games. Montreal never held a lead in their last game as the Penguins cruised to a 5-2 victory. Overall, the Habs have gone 0-6-1 during this streak. They’ve scored two goals or less in their last four games.

Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 11-12-4 (26th points, 6th in Metro)

With their recent win against the Devils, Philadelphia was able to move into sixth place in the Metro. They remain five points out of a wild card spot, currently held by the Detroit Red Wings.

While goals had been hard to come by during the losing streak, they’ve certainly come in bunches during the winning streak. The Flyers have scored four or more goals in their last three games, outscoring opponents 15-7 in those games. Montreal has given up nine goals in their last two games so Philadelphia has a chance to keep the offense going.

Atkinson has caught fire recently as he has four goals and six points in his last five games. He leads the team in goals (12) and is second in points (19). Claude Giroux remains hot as well as he has three goals and five points in his last five games.

Giroux is also on the brink of more franchise history. He recently became the Flyers leader in power play points and now has a chance to move into second place on the franchise’s all-time points list. He sits at 882 points and needs two to move ahead of Bill Barber. Giroux would need to be here a few more seasons to catch Bobby Clarke’s numbers (1,210 points).

Carter Hart will tend the crease once again. He’s faced 71 shots between his last two games. He gave up just four goals combined. So he is feeling confident right now. He’ll be looking to win his third straight game.

Projected Lineup

Laughton – Couturier – Konecny

Lindblom – Giroux – Atkinson

van Riemsdyk – Hayes – Willman

Cates – Brown – MacEwen

Provorov – Braun

Sanheim – Ristolainen

Yandle – Connauton

Hart

Montreal Canadiens

Record: 6-21-3 (15 points, 8th in Atlantic)

The Canadiens have lost more games in a row than they have won through the entire season thus far. Anything that could’ve gone wrong, has gone wrong for Montreal. They lost Shea Weber to injury and Carey Price stepped away for personal reasons as he starts to make his way back to the ice. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was signed via offer sheet by the Hurricanes.

Scoring has not been their strong suit as no player has more than seven goals on the season. They do have seven players with double-digit points. Josh Anderson leads the way with seven goals while Nick Suzuki has the team lead in assists (12) and points (18).

Goaltending hasn’t necessarily been their biggest problem as Jake Allen has down all that he could do far. In 23 games played, he’s been in net for five of the team’s six wins. He has a 3.10 GAA and a .903 SV%. Their backups, however, haven’t been as strong. Sam Montembeault has a 3.65 GAA and a .897 SV% while Cayden Primeau’s has a 4.82 GAA and a .877 SV%. The latter has only appeared in two games, however.

It will be Primeau who is projected the tend the net, though. The Flyers needs to get shots in on the young goaltender early as it’s been almost a month since he’s appeared in an NHL game.

Projected Lineup

Hoffman – Suzuki – Evans

Drouin – Dauphin – Ylonen

Lehkonen – Poehling – Caufield

Pezzetta – Paquette – Perreault


Chiarot – Savard

Romanov – Petry

Kulak – Clague


Primeau

When, Where, and How to Watch

Time: 7:00 PM

Where: Bell Centre

TV BroadcastNBC Sports Philadelphia+

Radio Broadcast: 93.3 WMMR

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