Flyers

Flyers-Canadiens: Game 27 Preview

Kevin Durso Sports Editor

Published30 Nov 2019

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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers faced a difficult schedule in November, with 16 games on the schedule and very few breaks of note. It was going to be a test of fortitude for the team to stay afloat and put themselves in a playoff position at the crucial measuring marker of the season that is Thanksgiving.

The Flyers are looking to put a bow on a very solid month. They have points in 13 of 15 games played this month. They are currently on a three-game winning streak. They have 22 points in the standings this month and continue to hang around with the top teams in the league.

They face the Montreal Canadiens, a team they already defeated in overtime during the month back on Nov. 7. The Canadiens started the month on a decent stretch of their own, going on a six-game points streak from Nov. 5 to Nov. 16 where their only two losses were to Philadelphia and New Jersey. But that overtime loss to New Jersey started a six-game losing streak that continued with a Thanksgiving night loss to the Devils, 6-4.

Game time is at 3 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Montreal Canadiens	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	26	8	16	24	Tomas Tatar	25	7	15	22
Sean Couturier	26	8	12	20	Shea Weber	25	8	12	20
Jake Voracek	26	6	13	19	Brendan Gallagher	25	10	9	19
Claude Giroux	26	8	10	18	Phillip Danault	25	6	12	18
Oskar Lindblom	26	10	7	17	Max Domi	25	6	11	17

Player to Watch
13 Kevin Hayes	11 Brendan Gallagher
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, +4	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -4

Kevin Hayes was on a 12-game goalless drought that spanned from Oct. 27 to Nov. 19, but since then has three goals in the last five games.

Brendan Gallagher has two goals and two assists on Montreal's six-game losing streak, but has known success against the Flyers with 10 career goals in 21 games.

Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	31 Carey Price
13 GP, 6-2-2, 2.68 GAA, .915 SV%	21 GP, 10-8-3, 3.19 GAA, .897 SV%

Brian Elliott gets back between the pipes on Saturday to face the Canadiens. Elliott was particularly stellar in his last start, making 15 third-period saves to secure a 3-2 win over Columbus.

The Canadiens have a back-to-back over the weekend, so it can be assumed that goaltending duties will be split. Carey Price did get the start against the Flyers on Nov. 7, but with Montreal facing Boston on Sunday, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Keith Kinkaid in goal for Saturday's game. Head coach Claude Julien said that Kinkaid will get a start this weekend, but did not specify which game, so for now, assume Price gets the start on Saturday.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick

Scratches: Chris Stewart, Phil Myers

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
28 Claude Giroux	48 Morgan Frost	11 Travis Konecny
49 Joel Farabee	13 Kevin Hayes	21 Scott Laughton
25 James van Riemsdyk	12 Michael Raffl	18 Tyler Pitlick
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim	61 Justin Braun
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott	79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

Any lineup changes for the Flyers will not be known until warmups. Phil Myers was a healthy scratch on Friday, but could possibly return to the lineup if the team decides to make a change.

Canadiens Projected Lineup

Injuries: Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Noah Juulsen, Michael McCarron

Scratches: Christian Folin, Cale Fleury, Gustav Olofsson

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
90 Tomas Tatar	24 Phillip Danault	11 Brendan Gallagher
62 Artturi Lehkonen	13 Max Domi	14 Nick Suzuki
21 Nick Cousins	15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi	40 Joel Armia
54 Charles Hudon	44 Nate Thompson	43 Jordan Weal
Defense
8 Ben Chiarot	6 Shea Weber
53 Victor Mete	26 Jeff Petry
17 Brett Kulak	28 Mike Reilly
Goalie
31 Carey Price	37 Keith Kinkaid

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (11th), Canadiens (17th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (3rd), Canadiens (30th)
Recent History vs. Canadiens
- Jan. 19, 2019 – Flyers 5, Canadiens 2 (at MTL)
- Feb. 21, 2019 – Canadiens 5, Flyers 1 (at MTL)
- March 19, 2019 – Canadiens 3, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- Nov. 7, 2019 – Flyers 3, Canadiens 2 (F/OT) (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Canadiens
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 12 GP, 2 G, 12 A, 14 P
- Jake Voracek – 29 GP, 7 G, 21 A, 28 P
- Travis Konecny – 9 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 P
- Claude Giroux – 34 GP, 10 G, 15 A, 25 P
- Brian Elliott – 15 GP, 7-3-1, 2.87 GAA, .910 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Kevin Hayes needs one goal to reach 100 for his career.