The Flyers celebrate around Sean Couturier after his goal in the first period of the Flyers 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
The Wells Fargo Center has been home sweet home for the Philadelphia Flyers. After being away from their home ice for six games and nearly two weeks – and going 5-1 in the process – the Flyers returned home with a nine-game home winning streak.
One of those wins was against the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 12. With Montreal back for more in the new year, the Flyers picked up where they left off, picking up their 10th straight win on home ice with a 3-1 victory over the Canadiens on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers wasted no time getting on the board, as a shot from the point by Andrej Meszaros was stopped by Peter Budaj. But Budaj left a huge rebound that Sean Couturier was waiting for and buried for the game's first goal at 6:27.
At 14:39, Zac Rinaldo jumped on a turnover and fired a shot past Budaj for his first goal of the season to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. They would lead, 2-0, after the first.
The Flyers kept things going in the second. After a couple of chances early for Montreal, the Flyers controlled the period. They would cash in at 8:24 with Michael Raffl scoring on a rebound to make it 3-0.
Late in the period, some sloppy play on the power play ended the shutout bid. Mark Streit was pick-pocketed by Brian Gionta. He passed to a wide-open Tomas Plekanec who beat Steve Mason for a shorthanded goal.
The Flyers had to dodge a few bullets in the third, but Mason was up to the task, making 19 saves in the win.
Meszaros recorded three assists in the win. Vincent Lecavalier also recorded an assist on Couturier's goal, bringing his career total to 499. Wednesday's win marked the end of Scott Hartnell's eight-game point streak.
The 10-game home win streak is the longest for the Flyers since the 2003-04 season – when they won 11 straight games on home ice – and first since 1984-85 that the Flyers won all 10 games in regulation time.
The welcome return home continues as the Flyers face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
