Not the Start They Wanted
The trend throughout the series has been that if you score the first goal, you win the game. The Philadelphia Flyers wasted no time scoring 28 seconds into the first period as Travis Konecny scored off a deflected shot for the 1-0 lead that Artturi Lehkonen ended up tipping in. While it may have looked like a soft shot, Carey Price nonetheless had no chance of seeing it.
The Montreal Canadiens would have to break that trend if they wanted any chance of extending their playoffs. However, they proceeded to let in a second deflected shot from Kevin Hayes, allowing the Flyers to go up 2-0. Derek Grant and Tyler Pitlick assisted.
On their first powerplay of the night, the Montreal Canadiens managed to bring their deficit down to one thanks to Nick Suzuki, who managed to both create traffic down the middle and complete the play. Suzuki tapped in the puck off Joël Armia’s shot. Jonathan Drouin also assisted on the powerplay goal.
Canadiens Take Control but are Unable to Tie up the Game
The Philadelphia Flyers once again extended their lead by two goals as Michael Raffl got the puck through the five-hole. Travis Sanheim and Jakub Voracek got the assists. Raffl’s goal would end up being the game-winner.
Nick Suzuki scored his second of the night with a quality pass from Jonathan Drouin to bring the Canadiens back down to 3-2 deficit. Joël Armia got his second assist of the game on the play. Jonathan Drouin received his 7th point in 9 games.
A Tough but Hard-Fought End to their Season
The Philadelphia Flyers came out in the third period, and what would be the Montreal Canadiens final 20 minutes of the season, determined to close out the series. From the very start, the Flyers looked to hold onto their one-goal lead and initiated head coach Alain Vigneault’s infamous trap system to keep the Montreal Canadiens off the scoreboard. To the dismay of the Canadiens, they succeeded.