Flyers-Canadiens: Game 60 Preview

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Montreal Canadiens	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	59	20	49	69	Max Pacioretty	58	16	19	35
Jake Voracek	59	11	54	65	Brendan Gallagher	58	21	13	34
Sean Couturier	59	29	30	59	Alex Galchenyuk	58	12	22	34
Shayne Gostisbehere	55	10	35	45	Jonathan Drouin	53	9	20	29
Wayne Simmonds	59	20	17	37	Jeff Petry	58	8	19	27

 

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	11 Brendan Gallagher
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 5 A, 7 P, +3	Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, -5

 

When the Flyers and Canadiens last met on Feb. 8, Travis Konecny was an absolute force, earning the second multi-goal effort of his career with the opening goal in the 2nd period and an insurance marker in the 3rd. He's earned four goals and nine points over his last six games, and torched the Rangers with three points on Sunday. Konecny's been playing confidently all season, and continues to provide a secondary scoring threat.

 

Also, keep an eye out for Oskar Lindblom in his NHL debut, where he's expected to figure into the third line. In 54 American League games this season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Lindblom has 16 goals and 34 points, and represented the Phantoms at the AHL All-Star Classic.

 

When healthy, Brendan Gallagher's always a threat in the offensive zone, and has earned points in four out of his last five games. Despite a rough year for the Canadiens — one that sees them currently tied with Ottawa for second-last in the Eastern Conference — Gallagher's three goals away from tying his season-high.

 

Goalie Matchup
49 Alex Lyon	31 Carey Price
1-1-0, 3.27 GAA, .895 SV%	15-22-5, 2.98 GAA, .904 SV%

It's no surprise that Alex Lyon's looked shaky in his limited action so far this season — completely expected from a guy who's been tossed from the frying pan into the fire — but he was nothing short of phenomenal in the Flyers' 7-4 win on Sunday. He made 25 saves on 26 shots in relief of an injured Neuvirth, earning his first professional win. Despite the Mrazek trade, he'll earn the start tonight.

It's been quite a rough year for Carey Price, between injuries setting him back and a cavalcade of misfortune for the Tricolore. He's winless in his last four games, and is just six losses away from tying his career-high. Nonetheless, he'll still give the Canadiens a chance for two points when he's between the pipes.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth, Wayne Simmonds

Scratches: Taylor Leier, Mark Alt

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
40 Jordan Weal	19 Nolan Patrick	93 Jakub Voracek
54 Oskar Lindblom	21 Scott Laughton	12 Michael Raffl
15 Jori Lehtera	51 Valtteri Filppula	22 Dale Weise
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
8 Robert Hagg	47 Andrew MacDonald
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
49 Alex Lyon

Lineup Notes

With Wayne Simmonds out for 2-3 weeks, Jordan Weal will slide up to the second line, and Oskar Lindblom will take over on the third line. Petr Mrazek will serve as a backup.

Canadiens Projected Lineup

Injuries: Ales Hemsky, Andrew Shaw, Shea Weber

Scratches: Jakub Jerabek, Jacob de la Rose, Byron Froese

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
67 Max Pacioretty	92 Jonathan Drouin	62 Artturi Lehkonen
41 Paul Byron	14 Tomas Plekanec	11 Brendan Gallagher
27 Alex Galchenyuk	24 Phillip Danault	54 Charles Hudon
20 Nicolas Deslauriers	49 Logan Shaw	43 Daniel Carr
Defense
22 Karl Alzner	26 Jeff Petry
45 Joe Morrow	8 Jordie Benn
53 Victor Mete	21 David Schlemko
Goalie
31 Carey Price

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (8th, T-19th at home), Canadiens (7th, 11th on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th, 29th at home), Canadiens (26th, 30th on road) 
• Recent History vs. Canadiens
  • Feb. 8, 2018 – Flyers 5, Canadiens 3 (at PHI)
• Milestone Watch
  • Sean Couturier remains one goal away from 100 in his career.
  • Shayne Gostisbehere sits at four assists from 100 in his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philly
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic