Gameday Preview: Flyers vs. Canadiens
In the sixth game of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers will take on Claude Julien's Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Wednesday. Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised nationally on NBCSN.
Julien was hospitalized after suffering chest pains on the night following Game One of the series. The 60-year-old Jack Adams Award and Stanley Cup-winning coach is not expected to be able to return to the team this series. Associate coach Kirk Muller is serving as interim head coach in his absence.
Leading the series, three games to two, the Flyers have a second opportunity to close out the series. Philadelphia is the designated road team for Game 6. As such, Montreal will have the last line change.
Series Synopsis
In Game 1, the Flyers had the better of play in the first and third periods, particularly the final stanza. In the first period, the Flyers exited with 1-0 lead on the scoreboard, an 11-5 shot edge, and a 54.29% Corsi. In the third period, Philly staged a strong closeout to slam the door with a one goal lead: a 13-6 shot edge for the Flyers, and a 58.33% team Corsi. Montreal barely got a sniff at a comeback.
The second period, though, was very ugly for Philadelphia. The Flyers were utterly caved in that frame and were very lucky to get to the second intermission with a 2-1 lead. Montreal racked up a 17-7 shot edge, a 71.43% Corsi and a 15-6 scoring chance edge including a half-dozen high-danger chances. Owed primarily to stellar goaltending, the Flyers were fortunate to go to intermission with the 2-1 lead they maintained the rest of the way.
A power play goal by Jakub Voracek (1st goal of the playoffs), which was originally credited to Ivan Provorov, staked the Flyers to a 1-0 lead. Shea Weber (3rd) knotted the game briefly in the latter portion of the second period only for Joel Farabee (2nd) to put the Flyers back ahead to stay just 16 seconds after play resumed. Carter Hart (27 saves on 28 shots) made the lead hold up, defeating Carey Price (29 saves on 31 shots). The Flyers went 1-for-3 on the power play. The Canadiens went 1-for-1.
Game 2 was like the second period of Game 1, except on steroids. The Habs dominated and battered the Flyers from pillar to post on the way to a 5-0 shellacking. Montreal, by a huge margin, outskated, outforechecked, outbackchecked, outworked in the trenches and were also the more physical team when it mattered. Special teams were also lopsided, with the Flyers going 0-for-5 on the power play and the Canadiens going 2-for-6.
Tomas Tatar (1st and 2nd of the playoffs) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (3rd and 4th) scored two goals apiece for Montreal, with both players tallying even strength and power play goals. Joel Armia (1st) also scored for the Habs. Max Domi collected three assists.
For most of Game 2, Price saw little beyond routine, clear-sighted shots. He finished with a 30-save shutout. Hart, who lasted 37:57 and stopped 22 of 26 shots, was utterly hung out to dry on all four Montreal goals he allowed before giving way to Brian Elliott (five saves on six shots) for the rest of the game. If not for Hart, the score easily could have been 5-0 or 6-0 by the end of the first period.
In Game 3, the Flyers grinded out a 1-0 victory, as Hart recorded a 23-save shutout and the team made its one-goal lead stand up the rest of the way after a Voracek deflection goal on a set play at 5:21 of the first period. Giroux and Robert Hägg earned the assists.
From a Corsi standpoint, the Canadiens got the better of Game 3. However, per Natural Stat Trick, Montreal had just four high-danger chances for the game and only one in the third period. There wasn't much operating room for either team, and Philly was limited to 20 shots.
VIgneault said his team had to "grease it out" to win Game 3. He was referring to strong checking, hard-hitting (36-23 edge), shot-blocking (24, including a half-dozen by Matt Niskanen), and strong penalty killing (3-for-3), plus several critical saves by Hart.
In Game 4, an early first-period goal by Michael Raffl (2nd) was supplemented by a late second-period tally by Phil Myers (2nd). Hart recorded a 29-save shutout, his second in a row in the series, while Price stopped 20 of 22 shots by the Flyers. The Myers goal was one he'd ordinarily save, although it was partially deflected.
For a full recap, highlights and analysis from Game 4,
click here.''
In Game 5, the Flyers trailed 1-0, led 2-1, trailed 3-2 (nearly 4-2 but for goal being overturned on an offside challenge), tied the game at 3-3 and then quickly fell behind again on the way to a 5-3 defeat.
Joel Armia (shorthanded) scored the lone goal of the first period. In a wild second period, Voracek tallied a pair of power play goals, only for Armia to re-tie the game and Brendan Gallagher to put Montreal ahead, 3-2, on the power play. Voracek set up a game-tying power play goal for Joel Farabee in the third period but Nick Suzuki put Montreal ahead again 22 seconds later. Phillip Danault sealed the Montreal win with an empty net goal.
Carter Hart was not at his best on this night after back-to-back shutouts. He finished with 28 saves on 32 shots. Carey Price earned the win with 26 saves on 29 shots.
While the first four games of the series were relatively mild (by playoff standards) in terms of chippiness and animosity, the level of enmity racketed up significantly in Game 5. Kotkaniemi received a boarding major and game misconduct for a second period hit on Sanheim in the neutral zone. Meanwhile, after Gallagher had been feisty and chippy with his stick all game long, a frustrated Matt Niskanen responded to a cross-check with a retaliatory one that caught the Canadiens' forward in the face, breaking his jaw.
For more on Game 5,
click here.
Flyers Outlook
Hart was brilliant in Games 1, 3, and 4 of the series and largely blameless in the Game 2 debacle. He was off his game in Game 5, although he largely settled down after a disastrous second period. Vigneault nearly pulled Hart from the game before Montreal's would-be fourth goal was washed on the offside challenge. The second Montreal goal, a short-sider that Hart normally would stop but misaligned his shoulder when going into the RVH against the post, was a major turning point that altered the momentum of the game at that point.
Showing his mental toughness and resiliency, Hart was fine once the game got to the third period. The winning Montreal goal, scored 22 seconds after Farabee forged a 3-3 tie, was due to the Suzuki line getting the better of the Nate Thompson line and defense pair of Justin Braun and Robert Hägg.
On Thursday evening, the NHL announced that Niskanen has been suspended for Game 6. The Flyers will need to figure out a replacement, but every possibility has potential drawbacks. Niskanen, who was very good pretty much all season, has not been at his best in this series but is still a big loss to the lineup, and not readily replaceable.
Should Vigneault and assistant coach Mike Yeo break up the Sanheim-Myers pair, which has been very good throughout most of the postseason to date? Should they roll the dice that they can get one big game out of Shayne Gostisbehere and accept the defensive risks? Should they move Braun, who was very steady in the second half of the regular season but has struggled in much of this series, to play with Provorov so they can maintain a left-right balance? Do they ask Hägg to play a complementary role alongside Provorov? Do they dress rookie Mark Friedman on the third pair, in lieu of playing Gostisbehere for the first time since Game 3?
Fortunately for the Flyers, they still have a slight margin for error. But no one wants to face a Game 7 against Price.
A silver lining to Game 5: The power play, which was dormant all postseason, broke loose for three goals. Voracek was an offensive force for much of the game, even apart from his three points.
Couturier had two assists in Game 5. He is still looking for his first goal of the postseason, but he's had four near-misses on scoring opportunities -- three of which were Grade A chances -- over the last two games. The two-time 30-goal scorer and Selke Trophy finalist seems to be right on the brink of getting back in the goal-scoring column. Game 6 would be a timely occasion to do so.
Likewise, none among Kevin Hayes (who has had several good opportunities of his own across the series), Giroux (a hit post in Game 1 is as close as he's come), Travis Konency (whom Vigneault has challenged to elevate his game to match the level Hayes has shown in the series) or Provorov (originally credited with Voracek's Game 1 power play goal) have scored a goal yet in the postseason.
Within the current series, Voracek (four goals) and Farabee (two goals) have represented 6/8 of the Flyers' goal output, with one apiece chipped in by Raffl and Myers. More is needed from the likes of Giroux, Konecny and Couturier.
Likewise, while Scott Laughton was red-hot offensively in the round-robin, he's had a tough series offensively against Montreal and had a pair of uncharacteristic own-zone gaffes in Game 4 that were erased by Hart. Derek Grant played well in the seven post-trade-deadline games he dressed in for the Flyers, but he's been a non-factor in the playoffs.
The status of right winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who had a two-goal game during the round-robin and has missed the last two games due to an apparent shot-blocking related lower-body injury in Game 3, is unknown. Vigneault has steadfastly avoided divulging any information since the round-robin as pertains to player availability.
Canadiens Outlook
Gallagher got up after the Niskanen cross-check and, with his mouth bloodied, screamed at the referee over the non-call on the play. He then resumed incessantly trading off chirps with Flyers players (as he had all series). Nevertheless, Canadiens official social media reported on Thursday night that he has a broken jaw that will keep him out remainder of the series. He reportedly has had to leave the bubble to go to Montreal and have surgery.
Gallagher's loss for Montreal is a major one. Although not tall in stature, he is a tenacious forechecker and always buzzing around the net. He's also his team's No. 1 agitator, although Ben Chiarot can get under opponents' skin as well.
The 20-year-old Suzuki annoyed some of the Flyers for tauntingly patting Hart on the head in a "thanks for the gift goal, buddy" gesture on the Armia tally the second period of Game 5 that tied the score at 2-2.
The Flyers' Danny Briere once did the same thing to Buffalo's Ryan Miller after a goal in Game 7 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals but there were a few differences: Briere and Miller were friends and had been long-time Sabres teammates, whereas Suzuki and Hart barely know one another (they played in different CHL circuits and played for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in different years).
Suzuki got the last laugh in Game 5, as he scored the game-winning goal 22 seconds after Farabee tied the game at 2-2. Meanwhile, fellow fast-rising young center Kotkaniemi will be back for Game 6 and looking for redemption after getting booted from Game 6 for boarding Sanheim, which resulted in the game going from a 1-0 Canadiens lead to a short-lived 2-1 deficit.
Charles Hudon entered the Canadiens' lineup for Game 5. Alex Belzile exited.
At the end of Game 5, the Canadiens took exception to Couturier going after Phillip Danault; his series-long nemesis on the Montreal side. It was mostly "message sending" stuff ca. 2020. Due to rule changes and a general decline in fighting in the game, there were no full-fledged fights that ensued.
With so much on the line for Game 6 -- for the Flyers, a chance to move on the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and, for Montreal, a chance to force Game 7 --it's unlikely there will be any carry-overs from Game 5. However, if there is any carryover, there's a pretty high chance that there will be active whistles from the referees early in Game 6 to keep the temperature of the game in check.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (Based on Game 5, will be updated for changes)
FLYERS
12 Michael Raffl/ 28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
49 Joel Farabee - 13 Kevin Hayes - 11 Travis Konecny
28 Claude Giroux/12 Michael Raffl - 38 Derek Grant - 21 Scott Laughton
82 Connor Bunnaman/12 Michael Raffl - 44 Nate Thompson - 18 Tyler Pitlick
9 Ivan Provorov - ?????
6 Travis Sanheim - 5 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hägg - 61 Justin Braun
79 Carter Hart
[37 Brian Elliott]
CANADIENS
90 Tomas Tatar - 24 Phillip Danault - ????
13 Max Domi - 14 Nick Suzuki - 92 Jonathan Drouin
41 Paul Byron - 15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi - 62 Artturi Lehkonen
54 Charles Hudon - 71 Jake Evans- 40 Joel Armia
8 Ben Chiarot - 6 Shea Weber
77 Brett Kulak - 26 Jeff Petry
61 Xavier Ouellet - 53 Victor Mete
31 Carey Price
[39 Charlie Lindgren]
Comparative Team Stats (League ranking, via NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick)
GPG: PHI 3.29 (7th), MTL 2.93 (19th)
GAA: PHI 2.77(T-7th), MTL 3.10 (T-19th)
5-on-5: PHI +18 (153-135), MTL +15 (157-142)
Power Play: PHI 20.8% (14th), MTL 17.7% (22nd)
Penalty Kill: PHI 81.8% (11th), MTL 78.7% (19th)
Special Teams Index: PHI 102.6, MTL 96.4
SHG: PHI 8 (T-6th), MTL 6 (T-10th)
SHGA: PHI 6 (T-14th), MTL 5 (T-7th)
Average Shots: PHI 31.4 (16th), MTL 34.1 (2nd)
Shots Against: PHI 28.7 (1st), MTL 31.1 (T-13th)
Corsi: PHI 51.02% (9th), MTL 54.43% (2nd)
Scoring chances: PHI 50.91% (13th), MTL 51.44% (11th)
High-danger chances: PHI 50.83% (12th), MTL 54.64% (3rd)
Expected goal differential: PHI 50.64 (14th), MTL 54.01% (2nd)
Faceoffs: PHI 54.6% (1st), MTL 50.4% (12th)
Series Schedule
Wednesday, August 12 - Flyers 2 - Canadiens 1
Friday, August 14 - Canadiens 5 - Flyers 0
Sunday, August 16 - Flyers 1 - Canadiens 0
Tuesday, August 18 - Flyers 2 - Canadiens 0
Wednesday, August 19 – Canadiens 5 - Flyers 3
Friday, August 21 – 7:00 PM
Sunday, August 23 – TBD*
*if necessary
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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