FLYERS CLAIM ODUYA OFF WAIVERS, LOSE ALT
The Flyers have claimed 36-year-old defenseman Johnny Oduya off waivers from the Ottawa Senators, per general manager Ron Hextall. A veteran of 849 NHL regular season games and 106 playoff games, Oduya owns two Stanley Cup rings from his years with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 51 games with the Senators this season, the Swede has posted eight points (four goals, four assists), 32 penalty minutes and a plus-three rating.
Oduya is known as a good skater and puck mover as well as positive presence in the locker room. He has slowed down in recent years since battling through an injury-plagued tenure with the Dallas Stars.
The Flyers have lost 26-year-old defenseman Mark Alt on waivers to the Colorado Avalanche. Philadelphia waived Alt in an effort to get him onto the Lehigh Valley Phantoms "clear day" roster for Calder Cup Playoffs eligibility before recalling him. A regular healthy scratch as the Flyers' seventh defenseman after playing solidly in eight games of spot duty for the team earlier this season, Alt could get an opportunity in Colorado to compete for a third-pairing spot.
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GAME 63 PREVIEW: FLYERS @ CANADIENS
Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (32-19-10) are in Quebec on Monday to take on Claude Julien's Montreal Canadiens (23-29-9) at the Bell Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised nationally on NBC Sports Network and locally on NBCSP.
This is the third and final meeting this season between the teams -- all in February -- and the lone game in Montreal. On Feb. 8 at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers prevailed by a 5-3 score. On Feb. 20 in Philly, the Flyers rallied late to skate off with a 3-2 overtime victory.
The Flyers enter Tuesday's game one point behind the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. The Flyers and Caps are in a dead heat in the tiebreaking ROW category (32-32) in the event of a tie in points. Philly is tied in points with Pittsburgh and the Penguins have a 34-32 ROW edge. However, by virtue of having played one fewer game to date, the Flyers are in second place in the Metro. The Penguins are idle on Monday before hosting the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
The Canadiens are hopelessly out of the playoff race this season, and have been sellers in the days leading up to Monday's trade deadline. The team dealt 15-year veteran Tomas Plekanec to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. It is possible that veteran power forward Max Pacioretty could also be traded before the 3 p.m. deadline on Monday.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers have won five games in a row and have points in 11 straight games (9-0-2). The club brings a 17-10-4 road record into Monday's match; the team's final game in February.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a 5-3 win in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. The Flyers got goals from Ivan Provorov (11th), Robert Hà¤gg (2nd), Claude Giroux (22nd), Nolan Patrick (9th) and Brandon Manning (6th). Giroux (52nd assist of the season), Shayne Gostisbehere (40th), Manning (8th and 9th), Jakub Voracek (NHL leading 56th) and Radko Gudas (8th) provided assists. Petr Mrazek stopped 25 of 28 shots to get the win in goal.
Entering Monday's game, the Flyers have scored an average 3.02 goals per game (11th in the NHL) and have a team 2.79 GAA (14th). At 5-on-5, the Flyers have scored 115 goals (17th) and allowed 101 goals (4th fewest in the NHL).
On the power play, the Flyers bring a 21.3 percent efficiency rating (44-for-206, 9th) but have yielded 9 shorthanded goals (tied with three other teams for the second most in the MHL). On the penalty kill, Philly comes in at 75.1 percent (133-for-177, 29th) with one shorthanded goal apiece by Scott Laughton and Wayne Simmonds.
CANADIENS OUTLOOK
Montreal has been much better at home (15-10-7) than on the road (8-19-2) this season. The club is 3-4-3 over its last 10 games overall. The Canadiens enter this game coming off a 4-3 home shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Veteran goaltender Antti Niemi got the start in goal, in place of Carey Price (dealing with a concussion suffered in last Tuesday's game in Philadelphia). He made 36 saves, including six in overtime, to get the game to a shootout.
The Canadiens enter this game averaging 2.54 goals per game (28th) and carry a 3.10 GAA (24th). At 5-on-5, the team has scored 97 goals (tied for 29th) and allowed 117 (15th).
On the power play, the Habs come in at 21.0 percent (39-for-186, 11th) and have allowed four opposing shorthanded goals. On the penalty kill, Montreal enters at 76.7 percent success (148-for-193, 26th) and has scored six shorthanded goals.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
FLYERS
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny 54 Oskar Lindblom - 19 Nolan Patrick - 93 Jakub Voracek 40 Jordan Weal - 21 Scott Laughton - 12 Michael Raffl 15 Jori Lehterठ- 51 Valtteri Filppula - 22 Dale Weise
9 Ivan Provorov - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere 47 Andrew MacDonald -3 Robert Hà¤gg 23 Brandon Manning - 3 Radko Gudas
34 Petr Mrazek [49 Alex Lyon]
Scratches: 20 Taylor Leier (healthy), 24 Matt Read (recalled Feb. 26), 29 Johnny Oduya (claimed off waivers Feb. 26), 37 Brian Elliott (IR, core muscle surgery), 30 Michal Neuvirth (lower body, out 4-6 weeks from Feb. 18), 17 Wayne Simmonds (upper-body, out 2-3 weeks from Feb. 18).
CANADIENS
67 Max Pacioretty - 92 Jonathan Drouin - 62 Artturi Lehkonen 41 Paul Byron - 25 Jacob de la Rose - 11 Brendan Gallagher 27 Alex Galchenyuk - 24 Phillip Danault - 54 Charles Hudon 20 Nicolas Deslauriers - 42 Byron Froese - 43 Daniel Carr …‹
53 Victor Mete - 26 Jeff Petry 22 Karl Alzner - 58 Noak Juulsen 45 Joe Morrow - 8 Jordie Benn …‹
39 Charlie Lindgren [37 Antti Niemi]
Scratches: 21 David Schlemko (healthy), 49 Logan Shaw (healthy), 31 Carey Price (concussion), 6 Shea Weber (IR, out for season with torn foot tendon), 65 Andrew Shaw (IR, concussion), 83 Ales Hemsky (concussion).
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TRADE DEADLINE DAY
The NHL trade deadline is at 3:00 p.m. ET on Monday. Technically speaking, the "trade deadline" is a deadline for teams to set their rosters of players eligible for the Stanley Cup playoffs rather than a moratorium on deals.
Although Flyers general manager Ron Hextall will no doubt have discussions with teams leading up until 3 p.m., odds are against the Flyers making a trade. If they do make a move, it would most likely be for a veteran blueline depth or a role playing winger. With veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya on waivers from the Ottawa Senators, it is possible the Flyers put in a claim on the veteran Swede, although there may be teams closer to the playoff bubble with interest.
The Flyers recently traded for goaltender Petr Mrazek. Per the conditions of the trade, the Flyers' 2nd round, 3rd round and 4th round picks in the 2018 Draft are temporarily tied up until the actual compensation owed to Detroit is determined. The deal is currently the 4th rounder but will change to the 3rd round pick if Mrazek wins five regular season games (he's won two so far) and the team makes the playoffs. It becomes the 2nd round pick if the Flyers reach at least the Eastern Conference Final and Mrazek earns six of the requisite eight wins it takes to get the third round of the postseason. The Flyers will also owe Detroit a 2019 third-round pick if impending restricted free agent Mrazek is signed to a new contract after the current season.
As an on-paper move, the Flyers placed defenseman Mark Alt and goaltender John Muse on waivers on Sunday. The former move is strictly to assign Alt to the Phantoms so he can be eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs and then immediately recall him to the big club. The latter is required to sign the veteran goalie to a two-way NHL contract for the rest of the season, because Muse is currently on an AHL contract and not eligible for NHL play. Signing Muse would add another layer of veteran goaltending depth.
If the Flyers make any trades, today's blog will be updated. Ron Hextall will address the media shortly after the 3 p.m. deadline.