Montreal Canadiens: Flying like Eagles over to the Flyers
The Montreal Canadiens are back at it in Philadelphia as they take on the Flyers for the first of three games this month.
The last time the Montreal Canadiens played a game, the Philadelphia Eagles won their first ever Super Bowl. Ironically, their first game after that is the same day as the parade to celebrate the championship victory. It may not be as easy a time for the Habs compared to their 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, especially when you consider what the Flyers are playing for.
Philadelphia is in a heated battle to remain in that wild-card spot. With the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders within two points of them, they’ll be fighting for a win tonight to increase the gap. That’ll come off the hands of Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Wayne Simmonds who have been leading the way for the Flyers all season. Additionally, Sean Courtier has been the MVP of their season as he’s more than past his career high in goals.
A lot of aspects of the team are clicking, but they haven’t been able to get consistent goaltending from Brian Elliott and Michael Neuvirth. Elliott has started the most for the Flyers this season, and he’s had games of excellence and others that have cost the team wins. The 32-year-old is coming off a 22 save victory on Tuesday against the Hurricanes. Although Carolina isn’t known for goal-scoring, it must be a comforting performance for him as well as the rest of the team.
More from Habs News
- Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
- Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
- Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
- Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?
What hasn’t been working for the Flyers is their penalty kill as they’ve allowed five power play goals on 13 opportunities. That’s something the Habs may take advantage of considering hot their man advantage has been lately. Brendan Gallagher attributed it to effective puck retrieval, but you always have to give it up to Jeff Petry who scored three of the five power-play goals over the weekend.
The lines and pairings will most likely remain the same from the games over the weekend. Nikita Scherbak is continuing to gain the trust of Claude Julien, and after getting his first point in this latest call-up, he’ll be looked upon to generate more. The bulk of the offence is still going to lie with Gallagher and Max Pacioretty who are close to hitting 20 goals with 16 and 18 respectively.
Additionally, Artturi Lehkonen finally got rewarded for the number of scoring chances he’s involved with and creates. With the two on Ottawa, Lehkonen sits with four on the season, and he’ll be looking for more.
Montreal will be facing Philadelphia two more times this month, so it’ll be interesting to see which side sets the tone first.
What are your expectaions for the game? Will the Habs keep their power play success going? Let us know down in the comments.