The Flyers are gearing up for an intense showdown in Montreal, their penultimate away game, driven by a fierce desire to avenge their earlier 4-1 loss to the Canadiens on March 28th.
The Flyers’ playoff hopes are slowly diminishing, but they remain in contention. They are currently 2 points behind the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division and 1 point behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final Wildcard spot.
Juraj Slafkovsky opened the scoring for the Canadiens just 1:05 into the first period, redirecting Mike Matheson’s shot past Philadelphia goaltender Sam Ersson’s blocker side. Matheson and Cole Caufield were credited with assists.
The Flyers received the game’s first power play at the 10:31 mark of the first period due to the Canadiens having too many men on the ice. Despite several good scoring chances, they failed to register a shot on goal.
Montreal Takes Control
Slafkovsky netted his second goal of the night at 8:43 of the second period after receiving a cross-ice pass from Nick Suzuki and beating Ersson with a shot to the glove side. Suzuki and Matheson recorded the assists.
Brendan Gallagher extended the Canadiens’ lead to 3-0 at 10:46 of the second period by redirecting a shot from Johnathan Kovacevic past Ersson’s glove. Kovacevic and Jordan Harris were credited with assists.
Slafkovsky completed his hat trick at 11:22 of the second period, scoring his third goal of the night on a breakaway set up by David Savard. This gave the Canadiens a commanding 4-0 lead, with Savard earning the lone assist.
Montreal continued to dominate as Josh Anderson crashed the net and slipped the puck past Ersson’s right pad. Harris and Tanner Pearson were credited with assists.
Ersson was replaced by Ivan Fedotov after allowing 5 goals on 16 shots faced.
Christian Dvorak extended Montreal’s lead to 6-0 with a goal past Fedotov’s glove, assisted by Josh Harris.
Flyers Show Some Life
Ryan Poehling finally got the Flyers on the board at 4:54 of the third period with a wrist shot past Montreal goaltender Sam Montembeault, assisted by Owen Tippett and Erik Johnson.
The Flyers had a second power play opportunity when Alex Newhook was penalized for high-sticking, but they struggled to generate offense and remained 0 for 2 on the night with the man advantage.
Dvorak scored his second goal of the game at 10:06 of the third period after a fortunate bounce off Erik Johnson’s stick landed on his tape, allowing him to bury the puck into an empty net, making the score 7-1 in favor of the Canadiens. Rafael Harvey-Pinard recorded the assist.
Gallagher added his second goal of the game at 11:19 of the third period, maneuvering past Jamie Drysdale on a breakaway and beating Fedotov. Joel Armia and Kovacevic assisted on the goal.
Joel Farabee scored the Flyers’ second goal at 15:05 of the third period by capitalizing on a rebound, with Olle Lycksell and Noah Cates credited with assists.
Ryan Poehling notched his second goal of the game at 17:07 of the third period, tipping in a pass from Johnson past Montembeault’s right pad. Johnson and Tippett assisted on the play.
The Canadiens sealed the victory with their ninth goal of the game as Joel Armia fired a snapshot past Fedotov after a setup from Gallagher and Newhook.
Ersson struggled, saving only 11 of 16 shots before being replaced in the second period, while Fedotov also had difficulty, saving 9 of 13 shots faced. Montembeault performed well for Montreal, stopping 32 of 35 shots.
The Flyers went 0 for 2 on the power play and did not face any Montreal power plays.
Goal Summary:
1st Period
Slafkovsky (17) Assists: Matheson (48), Caufield (36)
2nd Period
Slafkovsky (18) Assists: Suzuki (42), Matheson (49)
Gallagher (12) Assists: Kovacevic (4), Harris (9)
Slafkovsky (19) Assists: Savard (14)
Anderson (9) Assists: Harris (10), Pearson (8)
Dvorak (4) Assists: Harris (11)
3rd Period
Poehling (11) Assists: Tippett (24), Johnson (1)
Dvorak (5) Assists: Harvey-Pinard (8)
Gallagher (13) Assists: Armia (7), Kovacevic (5)
Farabee (22) Assists: Lycksell (4), Cates (12)
Poehling (12) Assists: Johnson (2), Tippett (25)
Armia (17) Assists: Gallagher (13), Newhook (18)
Flyers Next Game:
Flyers next game is Thursday, April 11th, in New York against the Rangers.
MEGHAN REILLY IS A CONTRIBUTOR AND LIVE GAME TWEETER FOR HW HOCKEY
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PHOTO CREDIT: AP PHOTO/PAUL VERNON
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