(Photo: Kate Frese)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The schedule turns the corner to the final quarter of the season. With 22 games left on the schedule for the Flyers, each one gets bigger and bigger. Thursday's may be their biggest yet.
The Flyers get the first meeting with a team holding one of the playoff spots they are chasing. The Montreal Canadiens are eight points ahead in the standings, but the Flyers can create a four-point swing with a win.
Game time is at 7:30 p.m.
Team Leaders
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Montreal Canadiens | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 60 | 17 | 44 | 61 | Max Domi | 60 | 20 | 32 | 52 |
| Sean Couturier | 58 | 24 | 32 | 56 | Jonathan Drouin | 60 | 17 | 29 | 46 |
| Jake Voracek | 60 | 15 | 35 | 50 | Tomas Tatar | 59 | 19 | 25 | 44 |
| Travis Konecny | 60 | 18 | 18 | 36 | Phillip Danault | 59 | 11 | 29 | 40 |
| James van Riemsdyk | 44 | 15 | 14 | 29 | Jeff Petry | 60 | 10 | 28 | 38 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 14 Sean Couturier | 90 Tomas Tatar |
| Last 5 Games: 1 G, 7 A, 8 P, -1 | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, +4 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 79 Carter Hart | 31 Carey Price |
| 21 GP, 13-7-1, 2.67 GAA, .920 SV% | 46 GP, 24-16-5, 2.56 GAA, .916 SV% |
Tuesday night was Carter Hart's worst start so far, allowing three goals on nine shots. While not all his fault, the 20-year-old goalie was critical of his own performance in the game and gets another chance on Thursday night. This will be his fourth start in six days.
For Montreal, Carey Price will get the start and face the Flyers for the first time this season. Price is putting together another solid season and has been a big reason the Canadiens are in a playoff position. It could be a goalie duel to decide this matchup that carries critical playoff implications.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Michal Neuvirth
Scratches: Radko Gudas, Cam Talbot
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 25 James van Riemsdyk | 28 Claude Giroux | 11 Travis Konecny |
| 23 Oskar Lindblom | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 21 Scott Laughton | 19 Nolan Patrick | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 44 Phil Varone | 27 Justin Bailey |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 6 Travis Sanheim | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 61 Phil Myers | |
| 8 Robert Hagg | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
| Goalie | ||
| 79 Carter Hart |
Lineup Notes
With Radko Gudas serving a suspension, Phil Myers re-enters the lineup. Myers skated on a pairing with Shayne Gostisbehere for a time during the morning skate, but that could change when the game starts.
Canadiens Projected Lineup
Scratches: Nicolas Deslauriers, Matthew Peca, Christian Folin
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 92 Jonathan Drouin | 21 Nate Thompson | 11 Brendan Gallagher |
| 90 Tomas Tatar | 13 Max Domi | 65 Andrew Shaw |
| 41 Paul Byron | 15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 40 Joel Armia |
| 62 Artturi Lehkonen | 24 Phillip Danault | 54 Charles Hudon |
| Defense | ||
| 53 Victor Mete | 6 Shea Weber | |
| 28 Mike Reilly | 26 Jeff Petry | |
| 17 Brett Kulak | 8 Jordie Benn | |
| Goalie | ||
| 31 Carey Price |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-21st, 29th on road), Canadiens (30th, 30th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (27th, 26th on road), Canadiens (20th, 10th at home)
- Recent History vs. Canadiens
- Feb. 8, 2018 – Flyers 5, Canadiens 3 (at PHI)
- Feb. 20, 2018 – Flyers 3, Canadiens 2 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Feb. 26, 2018 – Flyers 1, Canadiens 0 (F/SO) (at MTL)
- Jan. 19, 2019 – Flyers 5, Canadiens 2 (at MTL)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Canadiens
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 9 GP, 2 G, 11 A, 13 P
- Jake Voracek – 26 GP, 7 G, 20 A, 27 P
- Travis Konecny – 6 GP, 4 G, 1 A, 5 P
- Nolan Patrick – 4 GP, 3 G, 0 A, 3 P
- Claude Giroux – 31 GP, 10 G, 13 A, 23 P
- Milestone Watch
- Sean Couturier needs one point to reach 200 for his career.
- Jake Voracek needs three goals to reach 200 for his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
