Montreal Canadiens battle the Philadelphia Flyers with a couple of teams nipping at their heels

The Montreal Canadiens have fallen asleep behind the wheel in a couple of their recent starts, allowing opponents to jump out to leads early, and having to play comeback kings late in games.

In any situation, you expect that the top guys are going to be looked at to step up, to nip a potential trend in the bud early. This means Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky will be leaned on to tighten up and start games faster.

It doesn't exude much confidence when the team is battling from behind early in the game, and when it happens in consecutive games, you need to correct that immediately. Heading into the playoffs opponents will rip the Habs apart if they failed to clean up their slows starts. Falling behind in any game during a seven-game series is difficult to overcome, if it happens consistently, it puts a heavy weight on the offense to force a comeback.

Understandably, this will wear the forwards down, which you don't want during a marathon like the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Caufield, one of the guys who will be looked to for goals, and to right the ship out of the gate tonight against the Flyers, knows they will come out flying. With John Tortorella getting axed on Thursday morning, Philadelphia will conceivably look for a quick start, to potentially gain some ground in the standings.

The Flyers will look to play spoiler to the Habs, but they are also looking to stop their current six-game skid, and the Habs need to get back in the win column. With a pack of teams lurking behind them, the Canadiens are aware that the remainder of the schedule is essentially all must-win games

The Broadstreet Bullies' are known forever by the nickname, and without Tortorella calling the shots, I expect the Habs and Flyers to put on a show that resembles in every facet, a playoff game.

If ever there were a time, it is now for the Habs to lay it all on the line, the expectations are low, setting the stage for a great underdog story. "It came in the bubble, during the Covid-19 Pandemic," some will argue. Blah blah blah, is my response to them.

Tampa spanked the Habs god, and everybody will remind us of that. But those same folks are awfully quiet, in providing no acknowledgement of what that Habs team did to the Leafs, Jets, and then the Vegas Golden Knights in the conference final.

Hockey fans live for this, and the fact that before the Four Nations Break the Canadiens lacked any real playoff expectations, it was par for the course. But since their return the team has played a completely different game, and the Bell Centre gave the team an early glimpse of what sort of home ice advantage they will provide the Habs in the playoffs, even as the second wildcard team.

I expect an instant classic game tonight, and anything less would be a disappointment for the Canadiens, who look the part of a team that can squeak in, and then make some elbow room for themselves in the playoffs.

Onto the game

For the fourth-consecutive game the Canadiens have conceded the first goal of the contest, putting themselves behind the 8-ball and making their lives more difficult.

Matvei Michkov has his 21st goal of the season, with assists contributed by Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny. 1-0 Flyers within the first two minutes of the contest.

Mike Matheson passed an absolute gift to Jake Evans in the low slot, but he was just behind on the play, so nothing formulated. After a disappointing effort against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, there is some real jump in No. 8 early in this game.

Nick Suzuki just missed wide on a one-touch half-slapper on his off wing, from a great feed by Cole Caufield. But Samuel Ersson stood tall and kept the puck out.

Alex Newhook exploded through the neutral, and devastated a very good skater in Jamie Drysdale, before firing a laser short-side past Ersson for his 14th goal of the year. Lane Hutson recorded his 50th assist of the season and 55th point. While David Savard collected his 14th assist of the campaign.

Montreal has slowly found their legs and pushed the Flyers back, who were certainly the better team through the majority of the first 10 minutes of the game. The Canadiens dug deep, however, to tie the game up.

Unfortunately, the Canadiens have no answer for the Flyers' fourth line - Olle Lycksell - Rodrigo Abolz - Nicolas Deslauriers - a heavy, forechecking, meat-and-potatoes-type of line. Just no fun to play against, and they just displayed why. 2-1 Flyers.

Before the Habs knew what hit them, Couturier just scored another for the Flyers, putting them up 3-1, with more than nine minutes left in the period.

The Flyers are absolutely working the Habs, both physicaly - on the forecheck, and backcheck - and offensively, they have created significantly more than Montreal. And Bobby Brink just cranked a wrist shot off the bar.

It has gone the opposite of the way that the Habs drew it up. With the second wildcard spot hanging in the balance, this isn't a very encouraging trend. Especially when you consider that the Flyers are the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference with a 1-8-1 record over their last 10 games.

Matheson put a gorgeous tape-to-tape pass on Michkov's blade at the Flyers blueline. Jakub Dobes saved his defenseman's behind.

Hutson operated the Habs attack, helping hem the hem the Flyers in their zone. Flyers ride their two-goal lead into the first intermission.

Second Period

One minute in, and the score remains 3-1, with the shots tied 11-11. Montreal is trying to assert themselves on the forecheck, and get some pucks deep in the Flyers zone. To no avail thus far.

Josh Anderson collected a Laine feed off the boards, and erupted into the Flyers' zone, pulling a change-up to throw off Flyers defender Nick Seeler, before firing a great slapshot toward Ersson, who turned it aside.

A couple of minutes later, Suzuki almost cashed in on a great play, after playing a little keep-away in the attacking zone. Ersson once again came through for Philadelphia.

Anderson nearly tucked home a great effort, off a rebound created by a Jayden Struble point shot. It didn't come together for the Habs, however. No. 17 has been an energy generator, and he drew a hooking penalty against Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim.

The Canadiens are off to their first power play of the night, with a two-goal deficit to dig themselves out of.

Laine had two great opportunities but was off the mark by inches on both efforts. It's been a night of effort for Laine, but he can't put the biscuit in the net. So far, that is.

Juraj Slafkovsky and Travis Konecny got into a spirited exchange after a Flyers scoring chance. The pair got into it after the whistle and earned offsetting roughing minors. Both sides will play with four.

Six minutes remain on the clock, and the Flyers have bent but not broken, in their quest to maintain their two-goal lead.

Brendan Gallagher, however, took a penalty against Drysdale. Flyers are off to the power play. Nearly right away, Konecny is in Savard's grille, driving the veteran crazy.

Dvorak forced a turnover at Philly's blueline and found Suzuki entering the zone on the opposite side of the blueline with a great saucer pass. Suzuki collected the pass quickly, and wound up for a howitzer, that Ersson got the best of.

Gallagher, Newhook and Anderson have noticeably been playing with a bit of an edge - I have an idea - put the three together, and let them cause some problems for the Flyers - what could it hurt?

1:28 remains on the clock, and Brink is in the box for slashing Arber Xhekaj. Giving the Habs a glorious opportunity to draw within one of Philadelphia before intermission rolls around.

Suzuki pumped a snapshot off the crossbar, and before the Habs could collect the loose change, the Flyers worked it around the perimeter of their zone, to kill off the final seconds of the frame. 3-1 Flyers after 40 minutes.

Third Period

Montreal is going to need all hands on deck, to try and execute a comeback here in the third, with a hostile Philadelphia crowd, it is going to be a wild ride.

32 seconds remain on the Canadiens power play, and they promptly enter the zone after the faceoff win. Then the Flyers forced a turnover, and transitioned the puck into the Habs zone, Dobes was forced to make a couple of quick saves.

The Flyers killed the remained of the penalty, and the teams are back at five-on-five.

Laine and Hutson tried to create some confusion for the Flyers' defence but made one move too many, allowing the Flyers to force a turnover, and chug ahead to the Canadiens zone.

Nobody was watching the five-foot-eight sniper wearing No. 13, and he caught Ersson sleeping for his 34th goal of the season. Hutson collected his second point of the night, and Jayden Struble has his 10th assist of the year.

Now, Struble heads to the sin bin for slashing Tyson Foerster, who heads to the power play to try and restore Philadelphia's two-goal lead.

With 18 seconds left on the man advantage for the Flyers, Anderson is off to the box for roughing against Brink. Flyers will play five-on-three for 28 seconds.

Montreal killed the final 28 seconds off, and now have the second penalty to chip away at.

And there it is, both penalties were successfully killed off.

At the 11-minute mark of the third, the Habs are one shot away from tying the game up, and the luck to be in this position shouldn't go to waste.

Well, the Flyers got the next one, and the Habs are back in a two-goal deficit, with 9:51 left in the period. Foerster doubles the Flyers lead.

Martin St. Louis is looking at the replay, just to be sure that it wasn't goalie interference against Brink, who was close to Dobes during the sequence leading up to, and after Foerster shot the puck into the net.

He decided to challenge, and this could be a risky choice, if the call stands, then Montreal is down 4-2 and a man for two minutes.

And...Montreal is off to the penalty kill, with Gallagher serving the two-minute minor for delay of game.

Montembeault robbed Couturier off a cross-crease feed, and then Montreal skated into Philadelphia's zone on a 3 on 1 rush but failed to get the puck past Ersson. Then the Flyers skated down the ice, and Couturier beat Montembeault for the Flyers' fifth goal of the game.

Thankfully for the Canadiens, Dvorak had a goal in him, and he went for his patented backhand finish, making great use of a fantastic pass from Anderson.

Seconds later, Dobes let in a squeaker, and the seams are starting to split. Samuel Montembeault's name might come up soon, with Dobes struggling. But this is more of a deployment issue, and the fact that St. Louis needs to address the goaltending starts.

Dobes' confidence is shot, getting dominated by the lowly Flyers isn't going to help much. And Montembeault is exhausted from playing so much. Montreal has a predicament on their hands, and going into the playoffs with an exhausted starter, and a backup lacking confidence is quite the recipe.

I wouldn't call it a successful one though.

Montreal trails by three, in a game where they have played from behind since the first 1:55 of the game. It's only one game, but they played poorly against the Blues on Tuesday also. So, it's becoming a problem.

St. Louis pulled the goalie with 3:30 on the clock, and after the puck ping-ponged around the netfront of Ersson, Laine slapped his 18th goal of the season into the back of the net. Now, Hutson got hooked, with an official watching on, and it was left uncalled.

6-4 Philadelphia.

Dobes is back on the bench, and Montreal is looking to strike again and pull within one, as the final two minutes are just 14 seconds away.

Montreal was unable to pull any closer to the Flyers, losing 6-4, but if not for Arber Xhekaj, it would have been 7-4.

Tough loss.