Wrap: Flyers Defeat Montreal, 6-3
The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 6-3, at the Bell Centre on Thursday evening. The Flyers scored two goals in each period. It was the Flyers' first six-goal output since Dec. 14.
The victory ended a six-game losing streak for the Flyers. The Canadiens have lost seven in a row. The Flyers went 1-0-2 in the season series against Montreal.
James van Riemsdyk (22nd goal of the season) and Ivan Provorov (9th) built a 2-0 lead for the Flyers. Directly off an obvious hand pass by Brendan Gallagher, Mke Hoffman (12th) put the puck in the net and the goal was somehow allowed to stand.
In the second period, after Jake Evans (12th) briefly tied the game at 2-2, Oskar Lindblom (12th) restored a lead for the Flyers. Travis Konecny (15th) then made it a 4-2 lead.
Morgan Frost (4th) added some extra insurance in the latter portion of the third period, before van Riemsdyk's second goal of the game (22nd overall) made it 6-2. Cole Caufield (19th) cut the final deficit to three goals.
Martin Jones earned the win in net. He stopped 30 of 33 shots. For Montreal, Carey Price struggled with tracking and handling the puck. He made 28 saves on 34 shots.
The Flyes went 0-for-3 on the power play. The Canadiens went 0-for-1.
Defenseman Linus Högberg made his NHL debut in this game. He recorded his first assist, blocked three shots and skated 17:25 across 25 shifts. Bobby Brink notched a pair of assists while Ronnie Attard and Noah Cates chipped in one helper apiece. Owen Tippett was originally awarded a secondary assist on the Frost goal but a scoring chance by the NHL on Friday morning took it away based on a puck touch by Montreal's David Savard before it went to Cates.
The Flyers frequently double-shifted Travis Sanheim and Ivan Provorov. Sanheim logged 32 shifts and 29:46 TOI while Provorov (1g, 1a) skated 25:57 across 33 shifts. The three rookie defensemen played about 16:40 to 17:30 apiece. Veteran Keith Yandle was limited to 7:01 over 11 shifts.
For a full recall, analysis and highlights of Thursday's game, see the Postgame 5 on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com.
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Phantoms Open Home-and-Home vs. Hershey
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (27-30-14, .479 points percentage) return to action on Friday night, hosting the Hershey Bears (33-30-10) at the PPL Center in the front end of a home-and-home set. Game time is 7:05 p.m. EDT. The game will be streamed on AHL-TV (subscription required).
In addition to taking care of their own business, the last-place Phantoms need some outside help toward strengthening their chances at earning the sixth and final playoff spot out of the Atlantic Division. The sixth-place Bridgeport Islanders (30-29-11, .507) host the Springfield Thunderbirds (39-23-9, playoff spot clinched) on Friday night. The free-falling Hartford Wolf Pack 30-31-8, .493) host the Charlotte Checkers (40-24-6, playoff spot clinched). Hartford has lost three in a row in regulation and are 1-8-1 over their last 10 games.
IF the Phantoms win three more games in regulation, they will clinch the tiebreaker advantage over both Bridgeport and Hartford in the event of a tie in points percentage at .500. The Phantoms, who have five games remaining, have won 23 games in regulation. So has Bridgeport, which has two games remaining. Hartford has three games remaining.
None of this matters if the Phantoms, who have lost three in a row beyond regulation, fail to go on a winning run over the final week of the season. After Friday's game in Allentown, the scene shifts on Saturday to the Giant Center in Hershey. Bridgeport and Hartford play head-to-head on Saturday.
The ideal scenario for the Phantoms would be to sweep the home-and-home with the Bears, for both Bridgeport and Hartford to lose in regulation on Friday and for the Wolf Pack to defeat the Islanders on Saturday.
Make no mistake: There's an awful lot that needs to go right for the Phantoms not just on Friday but over the final week. They've only won four of five once over the course of this season and will need to do something similar in addition to having the out-of-town scoreboard go their way, too.
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Flyers Alumni Walk/Run Stroll
The Flyers Alumni/Flyers Warriors Walk/Run/Stroll event is tomorrow (April 23) at Washington Crossing Historic Park. Here is some important information for those participating.
Schedule:
8:00 AM - Registration/Packet Pick Up Opens; located at the General Sullivan Pavilion. 10:00 AM - 5k Walk Begins 10:00 AM - 1k Stroll Begins 10:45 AM - 10k Run Begins 10:45 AM - 5k Run Begins
Address: Washington Crossing State Park (look for signs for the Thompson Neely House) 1638 River Road. New Hope, PA. 18938.
Parking: Please note, for the safety of participants there will be no parking within the park after 9:45 AM There is free parking at the venue. Please follow the signs and staff directions to the dedicated parking area. We are in a state park so there is no parking on the grass.
For your information: * Please proceed to registration/packet pick-up to receive your bib number and event t-shirts * Family stroll participants will receive their finisher medals at packet pick-up. All other participants will receive their medal after they finish their walk or run * The weather is looking beautiful with a high of 64 degrees, but with spring weather that can always change, please be prepared with anything you may need to Walk.Run.Stroll comfortably. * There will be hydration stations at the start/finish area and at the turnarounds/halfway point of each distance. * Strollers are only allowed on the Family Stroll * No dogs are permitted at any of the events. This is due to how narrow portions of the course are.
Route Information:
Sections of the towpath are narrow- please stay to the right and run in single file except for passing. Remember the course is out-and-back. There will be two-way traffic on the course and the park will be open to the public throughout the race.
Please check the official website for additional information.