Flyers-Canadiens: Game 48 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Two games this week for the Flyers have required extra time, but ended in thrilling fashion. A daunting schedule that included four teams in the Top 6 in the NHL standings ended with the Flyers posting a 3-1-0 record. 

Perhaps the bigger test for the Flyers now is maintaining that success at home against teams out of the playoff picture. Thursday night brings one of those challenges, as the Flyers take on the Montreal Canadiens.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Montreal Canadiens GP G A P
Sean Couturier 47 13 28 41 Tomas Tatar 48 16 24 40
Travis Konecny 43 15 25 40 Max Domi 48 12 21 33
Jake Voracek 47 9 28 37 Phillip Danault 48 12 20 32
Claude Giroux 47 13 19 32 Shea Weber 48 12 20 32
Kevin Hayes  47 14 12 26 Brendan Gallagher 41 15 17 32
 
Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny 14 Nick Suzuki
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, -2 Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, -2
 
Travis Konecny has been heating up of late with goals in four of his last seven games. The Flyers All-Star regained the team lead in goals with his 15th of the season on Wednesday night after going through a seven-game goalless drought.
 
Nick Suzuki has emerged as a power-play threat for the Canadiens, scoring a pair of power-play goals over the last five games. Suzuki also had a five-game stretch where he posted eight points in late December.
 
Projected Goalie Matchup
34 Alex Lyon 31 Carey Price
0 GP, 0-0-0, -.– GAA, .— SV% 38 GP, 18-16-4, 2.87 GAA, .907 SV%

Alex Lyon has been confirmed as the Flyers starting goalie for Thursday night after being called up to serve as backup for Wednesday's game in St. Louis. Lyon makes his 2019-20 season debut. He has a 4-3-1 record with a 3.05 GAA and .894 save percentage in 13 career NHL games.

Carey Price will face the Flyers for the second time this season in Philadelphia. He suffered a loss in overtime on Nov. 7 despite making 40 saves on 43 shots. Price has been as good as it gets in his last two games. He posted a 31-save shutout against Calgary on Monday and made 41 saves on 42 shots in a win against Ottawa last Saturday. 

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Carter Hart (lower right abdominal, 2-to-3 weeks), Shayne Gostisbehere (knee, 3 weeks), Justin Braun (groin, out until All-Star break), Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)

Left Wing Center Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux 13 Kevin Hayes 11 Travis Konecny
12 Michael Raffl 14 Sean Couturier 93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk 21 Scott Laughton 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
49 Joel Farabee 82 Connor Bunnaman 18 Tyler Pitlick
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 15 Matt Niskanen  
6 Travis Sanheim 5 Phil Myers  
8 Robert Hagg 59 Mark Friedman  
Goalie    
34 Alex Lyon 37 Brian Elliott  

Lineup Notes

Chris Stewart cleared waivers and was sent to the Phantoms, allowing the Flyers to call up Joel Farabee again. He returns to the lineup for Thursday.

Canadiens Projected Lineup

Injuries: Jonathan Drouin, Joel Armia, Paul Byron, Brendan Gallagher, Noah Juulsen

Scratches: Dale Weise, Brett Kulak

Left Wing Center Right Wing
90 Tomas Tatar 24 Phillip Danault 17 Ilya Kovalchuk
62 Artturi Lehkonen 13 Max Domi 14 Nick Suzuki
25 Ryan Poehling 15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi 21 Nick Cousins
63 Matthew Peca 44 Nate Thompson 43 Jordan Weal
Defense    
8 Ben Chiarot 6 Shea Weber  
28 Marco Scandella 26 Jeff Petry  
53 Victor Mete 20 Cale Fleury  
Goalie    
31 Carey Price 39 Charlie Lindgren  

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (T-18th), Canadiens (T-12th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (11th), Canadiens (23th)
  • Recent History vs. Canadiens
    • Nov. 7, 2019 – Flyers 3, Canadiens 2 (F/OT) (at PHI)
    • Nov. 30, 2019 – Flyers 4, Canadiens 3 (F/OT) (at MTL)

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN

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