Montreal Canadiens: How to keep the Philadelphia Flyers down in Game 3
By Omar L
The series between the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers is tied at one, and the Habs can grab the lead if they stick to what worked in Game 2.
Four playoff series’ were tie at one, including the one between Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers.
The Tampa Bay Lightning figured out Jonas Korpisalo and held on to a 3-2 lead in the third to get the win. The Boston Bruins rallied around Jaroslav Halak to win Game 3 while the Calgary Flames shutout the Dallas Stars. It may not be as “easy” for the Habs in Game 3, but they’re in a good position to repeat what the Lightning, Bruins and Stars did.
The overlaying storyline is how the Flyers start the game. Alain Vigneault and Claude Giroux were visibly displeased with Kirk Muller throwing the top power play unit out in the final minutes of a blowout win. Who knows whether anything will actually come out of this or not.
Some may chalk it up to the team rallying around the coach and captain’s frustrations, but the Flyers didn’t play their game.
The Habs capitalized on this getting into the front of the net, using their speed to win puck battles, and scoring on their chances. Three out of the four lines got on the scoreboard while the man advantage scored twice on six opportunities. Carey Price was also his playoff shutdown self making big saves when the team needed it, but Montreal did a good job at keeping the Flyers from establishing time in the dangerous areas of the offensive zone.
For the Montreal Canadiens, it’ll be about sticking to what worked, and that will likely start with the lines.
Montreal Canadiens
Forwards
Tatar-Suzuki-Gallagher
Lehkonen-Danault-Byron
Domi-Kotkaniemi-Drouin
Belzile-Evans-Armia
Defence
Chiarot-Weber
Kulak-Petry
Ouellet-Mete
Goaltenders
Price
Lindgren
There hasn’t been any word of their being any line changes for the Flyers. Concern flew around Travis Konecny after taking a shot off the ankle, but he was at morning skate in Toronto, which could hint at him being well enough to play.
Philadelphia Flyers
Forwards
Giroux-Couturier-Voracek
Laughton-Hayes-Konecny
van Riemsdyk-Grant-Aube-Kubel
Pitlick-Thompson-Farabee
Defence
Provorov-Niskanen
Sanheim-Myers
Gostisbehere-Braun
Goaltenders
Hart
Elliott
The Habs should look to the top line if they’re worried about a response from the Flyers. Sean Couturier has been solid, while Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek have been relatively quiet. Perhaps they needed some kind of spark to get them going, and if the 5-0 loss is that spark, Montreal has to be on their guard.
Of course, there’s been a lot of patterns for the Habs and Flyers this playoff, so I’ll give you another.
Next. Where will Cole Caufield play?. dark
The Montreal Canadiens have won all of their games in August that landed on birthdays. Dale Weise on the 5th and Shea Weber on the 14th were all victories for Montreal. With Carey Price turning 33 today, they’ll be looking for that pattern to continue. The series won’t be balanced if Montreal comes out on top, but to quote one MCU character, it would put a smile on their face.