Flyers-Canadiens: Game 73 Preview

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Montreal Canadiens	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	72	20	56	76	Max Domi	72	24	38	62
Sean Couturier	70	29	40	69	Tomas Tatar	70	22	28	50
Jake Voracek	68	19	43	62	Jonathan Drouin	71	17	33	50
Travis Konecny	72	22	24	46	Brendan Gallagher	72	30	16	46
James van Riemsdyk	56	25	17	42	Phillip Danault	71	11	35	46

 

Player to Watch
25 James van Riemsdyk	11 Brendan Gallagher
Last 5 Games: 6 G, 1 A, 7 P, +6	Last 5 Games: 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, -3

 

In the last 11 games, James van Riemsdyk has 10 goals, including a hat trick in Toronto on Friday and Sunday's game-tying goal in Pittsburgh. Perhaps more impressive than his overall stretch of goal scoring since Jan. 10 — 19 goals in 29 games — or in the last 11 games, is the three-game stretch JVR is on, with five goals against top opponents in Washington, Toronto and Pittsburgh.

 

It's hard to forget the performance Brendan Gallagher had last time the Canadiens faced the Flyers. The forward, who entered the game with six goals in 18 career games against the Flyers, picked up a hat trick. Gallagher followed that with goals in four straight games from Feb. 26 to March 5, but since then, has been held without a goal for five games with just two assists in that time.

 

Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	31 Carey Price
24 GP, 14-9-1, 2.76 GAA, .918 SV%	57 GP, 29-22-5, 2.57 GAA, .915 SV%

Carter Hart returned to the crease last Thursday with his previous two starts being forgettable. He allowed four goals in a loss to Washington that night that wasn't his fault, but didn't show the form that had been expected of the rookie goalie. On Sunday, the kid was back, making 41 saves in a stellar performance to get back in the win column. With the Flyers playoff hopes hinging on every game, he'll likely be back in goal to face the Canadiens.

It should be no surprise that Carey Price is in goal for Montreal. The Canadiens also need this game for their playoff hopes, so Price gets the start looking get back to the win column himself. Price was excellent against the Islanders, making 36 saves in a 2-1 loss. He lost his last start to Chicago as well, despite allowing two goals on 24 shots. Price made 29 saves in a win over the Flyers on Feb. 21.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Phil Myers, Justin Bailey, Cam Talbot, Sam Morin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk	19 Nolan Patrick	28 Claude Giroux
12 Michael Raffl	21 Scott Laughton	11 Travis Konecny
44 Phil Varone	10 Corban Knight	38 Ryan Hartman
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	47 Andrew MacDonald
8 Robert Hagg	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

Phil Myers is out with illness, evidence by his absence in warmups. Andrew MacDonald slots back into the lineup. Justin Bailey took warmups after being called up (again) but will not play.

Canadiens Projected Lineup

Scratches: Nicolas Deslauriers, Charles Hudon, Matthew Peca, Dale Weise, Mike Reilly

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
90 Tomas Tatar	24 Phillip Danault	11 Brendan Gallagher
92 Jonathan Drouin	15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi	40 Joel Armia
62 Artturi Lehkonen	13 Max Domi	65 Andrew Shaw
41 Paul Byron	21 Nate Thompson	43 Jordan Weal
Defense
53 Victor Mete	6 Shea Weber
17 Brett Kulak	26 Jeff Petry
8 Jordie Benn	32 Christian Folin
Goalie
31 Carey Price

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (T-24th, 16th at home), Canadiens (31st, 30th on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (25th, 21st at home), Canadiens (T-16th, 25th on road) 
• Recent History vs. Canadiens
  • Jan. 19, 2019 – Flyers 5, Canadiens 2 (at MTL)
  • Feb. 21, 2019 – Canadiens 5, Flyers 1 (at MTL)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Canadiens 
  • Shayne Gostisbehere – 10 GP, 2 G, 12 A, 14 P
  • Jake Voracek -27 GP, 7 G, 20 A, 27 P
  • Travis Konecny – 7 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 6 P
  • Claude Giroux – 32 GP, 10 G, 13 A, 23 P
  • Carter Hart – 2 GP, 1-1-0, 4.23 GAA, .886 SV%

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 93.3 WMMR