GAME 27: FLYERS @ CANADIENS
In the final game of a 3-in-4 Thanksgiving holiday gauntlet and second half of a home-road set of back-to-back games, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (14-7-5) are in Quebec on Saturday to take on Claude Julien's Montreal Canadiens (11-9-5). Game time at the Belle Centre is 3:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast will be on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on
Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the second of three meetings between the teams this season and the lone game in Montreal. The season series will conclude in Philadelphia on Jan. 16.
On Nov. 7, Carey Price stole a point for the Habs in a game that the Flyers largely dominated but were unable to nail down a 2-0 lead. However, a Sean Couturier goal that dribbled through under Price's arm after using defenseman Victor Mete as a screen ended the game at 55-seconds of OT. Phil Myers and James van Riemsdyk scored in regulation for Philly. Ben Chiarot and Shea Weber answered for Montreal.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers are 4-0-1 in their last five games with points in 10 of the last 12 (7-2-3). Thus far, Philly is 6-6-1 on the road and 8-1-4 at home.
On Friday afternoon, the Flyers earned a
6-1 home win over the woeful Detroit Red Wings.
The Red Wings arguably outplayed the Flyers in the opening 40 minutes but had nothing but a two-goal deficit to show for it. Disheartened, they wound up getting blown out. Detroit saw its losing streak extend to eight games (0-6-2) with the last six losses coming in regulation.
Scott Laughton (2nd), Shayne Gostisbehere (power play, 2nd), Sean Couturier (8th), Kevin Hayes (7th), Oskar Lindblom (10th) and James van Riemsdyk (5th) scored for the Flyers, while Jakub Voracek collected three assists (11th, 12th and 13th).
Carter Hart earned the win in goal, and was the Flyers' best player in the first and second periods before the score got lopsided. He stopped 32 of 33 shots overall, including all 17 he faced in the second period.
Matt Niskanen took a puck to the face in the first period, requiring 15 stitches across his right nostril and gauze pads up both nostrils. He returned to the game in the second period, wearing a full face cage.
From a fatigue factor standpoint, Saturday's game is gut-check for the Flyers: the team's 16th game in 30 days, third in less than four nights (across three different flying-distance cities, to boot) and fourth in less than six nights. The Habs, who had an off-ice day and idle night on the schedule on Friday, are paying for the 13th time in November, and had only two back-to-backs and no three-in-fours this month. The Flyers have had to work through three separate of three-in-four stretches.
Somewhat mitigating the fatigue factor: The fact that the Flyers held a 5-1 lead by the early stages of the third period on Friday enabled Vigneault to roll all four lines and four D pairs. Only Ivan Provorov logged more than 20 minutes of ice time in the Detroit game.
Brian Elliott will get the start in goal on Saturday. Phil Myers was a healthy scratch on Friday, with Gostisbehere returning to the lineup after sitting out the previous three games.
Entering this game, the Flyers have averaged 3.00 goals per game with allowing 2.69 per game. The power play is at 20.2 percent and the penalty kill at 86.5 percent with two shorthanded goals. The team has won faceoffs at a 53.9 percent clip.
CANADIENS OUTLOOK
Despite playing a moderate November schedule in terms of game volume with nine of their 13 games at home, it's been a tough month for Montreal. The team in winless in its last six, has won only three of its last 10 games (3-4-3) and stands 6-6-2 at home.
On Thursday, the Canadiens sustained a 6-4 home loss to the New Jersey Devils. Montreal has been strafed for a combined 20 goals over its last three games, including an 8-1 home debacle against Boston on Tuesday.
In need of a mental reset day, the Canadiens had an off-ice day on Friday with only about five players taking the option to skate.
The Canadiens are dealing with their share of injuries. Jonathan Drouin confirmed on Friday that he suffered a torn tendon in his left wrist in a Nov. 15 game in Washington. He underwent wrist surgery three days later. He is expected to miss at least eight weeks. Additionally, the Canadiens placed veteran forward Paul Byron on injured reserve on Friday. He underwent knee surgery on Nov. 19 and is expected to be out for roughly a month.
Former Flyers defenseman Christian Folin, who has been relegated to the No. 8 role on the Montreal depth chart and has hardly played, was sent to the AHL's Laval Titan earlier this week on a conditioning assignment. On Friday, the Canadiens recalled defenseman Gustav Olofsson from Laval to fill the spot.
Entering this game, the Habs have averaged 3.32 goals per game and allowed 3.52 per game. The power play comes in at 18.4 percent and the penalty kill at 72.7 percent. The team has won 50.1 percent of their faceoffs.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
28 Claude Giroux - 48 Morgan Frost - 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
21 Scott Laughton - 13 Kevin Hayes - 49 Joel Farabee
25 James van Riemsdyk - 12 Michael Raffl -18 Tyler Pitlick
9 Ivan Provorov - 15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim - 61 Justin Braun
8 Robert Hägg - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
37 Brian Elliott
[79 Carter Hart]
Power Play 1: Giroux, JVR, Frost, Konecny, Provorov
Power Play 2: Couturier, Lindblom, Voracek, Sanheim, Niskanen
Scratches: 5 Phil Myers (healthy), 44 Chris Stewart (healthy), 55 Sam Morin (torn ACL)
LTIR: 19 Nolan Patrick (migraines)
CANADIENS
90 Tomas Tatar - 24 Phillip Danault - 11 Brendan Gallagher
62 Artturi Lehkonen - 13 Max Domi - 14 Nick Suzuki
21 Nick Cousins - 15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi - 40 Joel Armia
54 Charles Hudon - 44 Nate Thompson - 43 Jordan Weal
8 Ben Chiarot - 6 Shea Weber
53 Victor Mete - 26 Jeff Petry
17 Brett Kulak - 28 Mike Reilly
31 Carey Price
37 Keith Kinkaid
Power Play 1: Domi, Kotkaniemi, Armia, Weber, Reilly
Power Play 2: Tatar, Suzuki, Gallagher, Hudon, Petry
Scratches: 61 Gustav Olofsson (recalled Nov. 29), 20 Cale Fleury (healthy), 32 Christian Folin (AHL conditioning assignment).
Injured reserve: 41 Paul Byron (knee surgery), 92 Jonathan Drouin (left wrist surgery).
*********
Phantoms Avert Disaster, Beat WB/S 6-5 in OT
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms seemed well on their way to a home blowout win over the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, leading 4-0 by the first intermission and 5-0 entering the final minute of the second period. Even after Jamie Devane scored a power play goal with 34 seconds remaining in the middle stanza, the Phantoms seemed to be in firm control with a four-goal lead.
That is, until the Pens struck for four unanswered goals in the third period to forge a 5-5 tie and send the game to OT. Thankfully for the Phantoms, defenseman T.J. Brennan's first goal of the 2019-20 season (and, almost inexplicably, first in the 2019 calendar year) rescued a victory with one minute left on the overtime clock.
In regulation, Carsen Twarynski scored even strength and power play goals (1st and 2nd) back in the first period. The Phantoms also received an early power play goal by Matthew Strome (first AHL goal) and then a tally by Pascal Laberge (3rd) on the very next shift, assisted by Twarynski. Early in the second period, rookie Isaac Ratcliffe (2nd goal of the season) was rewarded for going to the net and redirecting home a setup from Andy Welinski.
J-F Berube stopped 38 of 43 shots to earn the win in net. The Phantoms (9-7-5) host the Atlantic Division leading Hartford Wolf Pack (11-4-5) on Saturday. Game time at the PPL Center is 7:05 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»