For the first time since opening night, we can say the Flyers won a hockey game. But they can't rest on their laurels as they have to deal with the Canadiens in the second half of a back-to-back. This is already the second time the Flyers have game on consecutive nights.
These two did matchup during the preseason. It ended up being a 5-0 shutout victory for the Canadiens. It was a game to forget from Ronnie Attard, who was sent down shortly after this game. It was the second game of the preseason so there's not much to take from it.
There will be one similar thing as Cayden Primeau is expected to be in the net for Montreal. He stopped 13/13 shots in 31:14 of that preseason game. But again, things are different in the regular season so we'll see if the Flyers can beat him now that the games count.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers did get bad news before yesterday's game. Cam York is expected to miss at least two weeks with an upper-body injury. He took a hard hit into the boards from Nic Dowd and would not return. The game was in its final minutes so that may have been partly precaution, but the following news was not a good sign. In his absence, Jamie Drysdale was moved up to the top pairing and has a solid opportunity to showcase what he can do.
Emil Andrae was called up last night and could make his season debut on Sunday night. He was up at the beginning of the season with Nick Seeler's injury, but he did not play. With the length of possible time York will be out, it's unlikely the Flyers will keep Andrae up this long and not play him. He was the most impressive defenseman during training camp and has a clear edge over his competition.
Another move the Flyers made on Saturday night was recalling goaltender Alexei Kolosov. He is expected to make his NHL debut against the Canadiens. While his AHL numbers are nothing to write home about, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with that. With Ivan Fedotov's struggles behind Sam Ersson, Philadelphia needs to see if they have something in Kolosov. After the drama-filled summer and part of preseason, the time is now for Kolosov.
Flyers Projected Roster
Travis Konecny - Sean Couturier - Matvei Michkov
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Garnet Hathaway
Scott Laughton - Ryan Poehling - Joel Farabee
Nic Deslauriers - Noah Cates - Tyson Foerster
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula - Emil Andrae
Alexei Kolosov
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are also looking to make it two wins in a row. They are coming off a convincing 5-2 win over the Blues on Saturday night. Kirby Dach scored for the first time in over 500 days as he missed the majority of last season due to injury. So getting him back and on the scoresheet is a big positive for Montreal.
It's the captain Nick Suzuki who is leading the way with nine points. Seven of those have come via assists. It's Cole Caufield who has seven goals. He has scored in five of the team's eight games and has a point in six of them. In his career, Caufield has seven points against Philadelphia in seven games. No one else on the Canadiens has more than two goals so if the Flyers can shut Caufield down, it will go a long way to victory.
Cayden Primeau's numbers haven't been great in his three games this season. He is winless thus far and has posted a 4.21 GAA and a .880 SV%. However, he has good numbers against Philadelphia. He is 2-1-1 in four games. Primeau has a 1.69 GAA and a .948 SV% against the Flyers. He has allowed two goals or fewer in every start.
Canadiens Projected Roster
Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Kirby Dach
Josh Anderson - Jake Evans - Brendan Gallagher
Joel Armia - Alex Newhook - Oliver Kapanen
Michael Pezzetta - Christian Dvorak - Emil Heineman
Mike Matheson - David Savard
Lane Hutson - Logan Mailloux
Jayden Struble - Arber Xhekaj
Cayden Primeau
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBCSP
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Live Stream: FuboTv
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