Wrapup (9:50 PM)
Strong goaltending, good penalty killing and sheer hard work propelled the Flyers to a 2-1 win to close out the three-game road trip with five points. The Flyers did a lot of the little things well tonight, and were rewarded for their efforts. Tonight's game was arguably the Flyers' best 60-minute performance of the season.
After a scoreless first period, the Flyers scored a pair of goals on plays that started with solid defense. Scottie Upshall re-directed a shot past Jaroslav Halak, while Jeff Carter nicely roofed a wrist shot for what proved to be the game-winner. Throughout the game, Martin Biron made clutch saves when the Flyers needed him to come up big. The lone Montreal goal came about on a sequence where they gained control off an offensive zone faceoff, and Alex Tanguay got away from Luca Sbisa to convert Saku Koivu's feed.
From a Philadelphia standpoint, it was heartening to see the club clamp down late in the game after their 2-0 lead was cut to one goal. In particular, Mike Richards was tremendous in the closing minutes of the game.
Notes:
* John Stevens changed up his top two defensive pairings during the game, putting Kimmo Timonen with Luca Sbisa and Braydon Coburn with Matt Carle. Carle, Timonen and Andrew Alberts were all outstanding tonight. The 18-year-old Sbisa, however, has been struggling of late. Coburn continues to a few too many potentially costly gaffes in addition to the good plays he makes, but he and Carle were strong together after the pairings were changed. Lasse Kukkonen, apart from taking a bad delay of game penalty for accidentally flipping the puck over the glass when he wasn't under any pressure, had a solid game.
* Tomas Plekanec was fortunate that he only got a two minute minor for his dangerous hit from behind on Jared Ross. If Ross had been any further away from the Philadelphia player bench, the results could have been pretty ugly.
* An indication of the Flyers' balanced effort and work ethic tonight: Eleven different Philadelphia players blocked at least one shot (25 in all).
* The Phantoms took a 3-2 lead into the third period tonight in Hershey, but were strafed for five goals (and outshot 23-6) in the final period. Jonathan Matsumoto scored a pair for the Phantoms, one on the powerplay and the other on a penalty shot. Danny Syvret also tallied a powerplay goal in a three-goal second period for Philadelphia.
* Special thanks to Team 990 for having me on the pregame show to talk about the Flyers.
Preview (2 PM, EST)
The Flyers (5-6-3) travel to the Bell Centre tonight to take on the Canadiens (9-3-2) for the second time this season. The last time the clubs met, the Flyers let a third period lead slip away and went on to lose by a 5-3 score.
The Habs are coming off an ugly 6-1 loss against Boston on Thursday. The same night, the Flyers were unable to close out a victory in Pittsburgh that night and went on to lose in a shootout.
When the Flyers play Montreal, the Canadiens usually have the territorial advantage and the edge in scoring chances. Nevertheless, the Flyers are often opportunistic offensively against Montreal. Establishing leads hasn't been a problem, protecting leads has been the issue. (Even during last season's playoff meeting, Philly had a tough time holding third-period leads).
For the Habs, Christopher Higgins was held pointless in the Boston game but had four goals and six points in the four previous games, including a hat trick against Ottawa. Alex Tanguay, who leads the Canadiens with seven goals and 16 points, has five points (one goal) in his last four games.
Saku Koivu has a history of success against the Flyers (11 goals, 31 points in 36 games) and has two goals and three points in his last three games. Alexei Kovalev (26 goals, 52 points in 66 career games against the Flyers) is pointless in the last two games. Veteran defenseman Roman Hamrlik scored a crucial goal on a backdoor feed the last time the Flyers played Montreal.
For the Flyers, Joffrey Lupul and Jeff Carter got back on the scoreboard last game, while Simon Gagne scored a pair of shorthanded goals in the second period to help turn a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead.
Montreal will be without shutdown defenseman Mike Komisarek tonight, while Sergei Kostitsyn (upper body injury) will be a game-time decision. Tom Kostopoulos is still serving his suspension. The Flyers are still without Daniel Briere (groin) and Ossi Vaananen (finger).
Jared Ross has been recalled from the Phantoms, and will dress as the fourth line center.
Martin Biron will start in goal tonight, opposed by Jaroslav Halak.
FLYERS LINES AND SCRATCHES
Gagne - Metropolit - Knuble
Nodl - Richards - Lupul
Hartnell - Carter - Upshall
Gratton - Ross - Asham
Coburn - Timonen
Sbisa - Carle
Alberts - Kukkonen
Biron
[Niittymaki]
Scratches: Briere (groin), Cote (oblique muscle), Powe (concussion), Jones (IR, hip), Parent (IR, shoulder), Hatcher (LTIR, knee)
Contact Bill at
[email protected]
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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