The Flyers face a familiar face in Danny Briere when they take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Opening night did not go as planned for the Flyers. A
goaltender got the better of them once again, as has been the case time after
time.
However, despite the 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs,
there were many positives to take away from the first game of the season.
Brayden Schenn took
matters into his own hands with a fight and a goal in the first period of play.
His goal, on the power play, would never have happened if not for brilliant
stick-handling by Vincent Lecavalier.
For upwards of two periods, Steve Mason looked excellent in
goal. There were some shaky moments, but those only seemed to happen when there
was a total breakdown defensively.
The power play went 1-for-7 in the opener. Those are not
good numbers. However, the power play also generated numerous scoring chances. Claude Giroux fired five shots on goal
to lead the team. Mark Streit and Kimmo Timonen powered the blue line,
taking seven of the team’s 32 shots on goal. Streit also led the power play
from the blue line, serving as a suitable quarterback to set up ample scoring
chances.
The Montreal Canadiens know what it’s like to run into
Toronto. Their first game of the season was a 4-3 loss to the Leafs.
The player to watch in that game was Lars Eller, who scored two goals and assisted on the third by Brendan Gallagher.
This team is certainly loaded on the forward end of things,
with Tomas Plekanec and Max Patioretty leading the way with
Eller, Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk and
former Flyer Danny Briere on the top
lines.
Defensively, the Canadiens turn to PK Subban but also get strong help from defensemen Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges and Francis
Boullion.
In goal, the Habs are likely to go with Carey Price between the pipes once again. The Flyers will tab Ray Emery as the starter for
their second game of the season.
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The
Fanatic
Kevin Durso is a
contributor for Flyerdelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
