Just as it was on Sunday, a nail-biting finish ensued as the Flyers were clinging to a one-goal lead. Ray Emery couldn't fend off the Canadiens forever and with 7:22 to play, Montreal tied the game.
From that point, it was Montreal's game to lose if they could find a way. The Flyers, who scored just 51 seconds into the game, had not mounted much of an attack in the final 40 minutes. It was only a matter of time.
The shame of the Flyers 2-1 overtime loss to the Canadiens on Tuesday is the nature in which it ended. Even a shootout loss would have been easier to take than the mass confusion on the ice as Montreal capitalized on a mistake and finished off the Flyers as they probably should have all along.
As with nearly every other game on this now seven-game points streak for the Flyers, they owe their goaltender for getting it to overtime.
"There's a lot of battle in our game tonight," head coach Craig Berube said. "Emery played really well, we blocked a lot of shots. Our forwards didn't attack enough.
"We had it right there and we let them tie it. I think that we let them come at us too much."
Despite being massively out-played in the third, all bets are off in the four-on-four overtime period. With their best players on the ice, the Flyers would have just as great a chance to win as the Canadiens.
Vincent Lecavalier has been a part of the Flyers "fourth line" for months now. The term fourth line holds little weight at this point, as Berube was using that line more in this game over others given its recent success.
Lecavalier's only shift in overtime last 1:13, his longest of the game and only his second on the night more than a minute long. An outlet pass came his way right in front of the Flyers bench. At the end of his shift and unsuspecting of the pass, Lecavalier didn't gain control and get the puck deep, leading to the two-on-one that gave Montreal the game-winning goal.
Lecavalier didn't even get a minus on the play, as he hopped off the ice for Jake Voracek. Claude Giroux was already on the ice. It was the second shift of overtime for the top two forwards.
Moments before, Lecavalier elected not to shoot in position for a scoring chance. It was just one of many missed opportunities for the Flyers.
"Every point matters," Matt Read, who scored the Flyers lone goal, said. "It's tough to swallow, coming into the third with a one-goal lead, we have to find a way to win that game."
The first period was ancient news by the time overtime came, so it's easy to forget the Flyers missed opportunity on the power play – their only one of the game – and the breakaway chance for Giroux on the delayed call that Carey Price was able to stop. Early in the second, Giroux had a two-on-one with Voracek that went by the wayside and another foiled breakaway for Sean Couturier.
That may be how the Flyers lost the second point. There may not be any more room for moral victories, but the point the Flyers earned thanks to Emery is one. Even in defeat, the Flyers closed the gap on the final playoff spot to eight.
"We can't really look at the standings," Read said. "We have to look at how we're playing as a team. We haven't lost in regulation in the last seven, but two points is always better."
If there was any question over Emery being capable of keeping the Flyers playoff hopes alive in the absence of Steve Mason, you saw it on Tuesday. The Flyers held a 9-7 shot advantage after the first. Montreal out-shot the Flyers, 34-15, for the remainder of the game.
"I think you get more comfortable as you play more consistently," Emery said. "I felt fine but would have liked the win."
There were also a few unsung heroes that helped the Flyers earn the point. The penalty kill was excellent again, kill all three Montreal power plays including one in the final three minutes of regulation. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was at the center of that, finishing the game with a team-high five blocked shots.
The schedule progresses and with 28 games to play, the Flyers didn't help themselves by simply extending their points streak. But for another night, a goalie helped keep the Flyers alive as well. Given the upcoming schedule, that may be a victory after all.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
