Round 1, Game 6 Preview: Flyers-Canadiens

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

Well, after four games of both teams playing pretty standard hockey with mostly calm moments, things were amped up in Game 5 and the blood is boiling going into Game 6.

Montreal forced Game 6 with a 5-3 win on Wednesday, leaving the Flyers still one win away from advancing past the first round for the first time since 2012. It is an extremely important game for the Flyers, who don't want to be pushed to the brink by the Canadiens, while Montreal looks to keep the pressure on and do just that. Both teams will be without key players in Friday's game, so it should be an energetic affair that fits the mold of playoff hockey at its finest.

Game 6 is set for 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Montreal Canadiens	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	7	4	3	7	Shea Weber	9	3	2	5
Scott Laughton	8	3	2	5	Nick Suzuki	9	2	3	5
Kevin Hayes	8	0	5	5	Jonathan Drouin	9	1	4	5
Sean Couturier	8	0	5	5	Jesperi Kotkaniemi	9	4	0	4
Joel Farabee	6	3	1	4	Paul Byron	9	1	3	4

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	14 Nick Suzuki
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, E	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, +3

With the series on the line, the Flyers need their best players to step up. So far in the series, Travis Konecny has just one assist. That's not good enough from your top scorer in the regular season. The Flyers need a big game of Konecny, especially in a game that could help the Flyers move on. Having Konecny set the tone early could help spark the Flyers for the rest of the game.

Nick Suzuki was certainly a presence in Game 5, and after his head pat of Carter Hart in Wednesday's game, he's on the radar of every Flyers fan for sure. Suzuki had one goal taken off the board, then got it back in the third period just 22 seconds after the Flyers had tied the game in the third. He's an energy player with a ton of skill and he's going to get significant minutes again. The Flyers need to contain him to win the series.

Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	31 Carey Price
7 GP, 5-2-0, 1.66 GAA, .944 SV%	9 GP, 5-4-0, 1.65 GAA, .943 SV%

Game 5 was a shaky one for Carter Hart. He allowed four goals and was in danger of being pulled before an offside challenge took away a Montreal goal and gave Alain Vigneault a chance to talk to the netminder and give him a vote of confidence. From there, Hart was solid, allowing just one goal the rest of the way. Hart has been the catalyst for the Flyers in this series and they need him one more time to get through to the next round.

The Canadiens have two wins in the series and Carey Price really hasn't been the deciding factor in either. That could all change in Game 6. Price was looking very sharp in Game 5, but the Flyers were able to break through on the power play. With their playoff lives extended, Price gets the call again and could be the one who decides this game.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
49 Joel Farabee	13 Kevin Hayes	11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk	21 Scott Laughton	38 Derek Grant
12 Michael Raffl	44 Nate Thompson	18 Tyler Pitlick
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	61 Justin Braun
6 Travis Sanheim	5 Phil Myers
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
Goalie
79 Carter Hart	37 Brian Elliott

Canadiens Projected Lineup

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
90 Tomas Tatar	24 Philip Danault	92 Jonathan Drouin
13 Max Domi	14 Nick Suzuki	62 Artturi Lehkonen
41 Paul Byron	15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi	40 Joel Armia
54 Charles Hudon	71 Jake Evans	60 Alex Belzile
Defense
8 Ben Chiarot	6 Shea Weber
77 Brett Kulak	26 Jeff Petry
61 Xavier Ouellet	53 Victor Mete
Goalie
31 Carey Price	39 Charlie Lindgren

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Matt Niskanen was suspended for Game 6, so he will be out. Shayne Gostisbehere comes back in to take his lineup spot. James van Riemsdyk is also expected to re-enter the lineup for Connor Bunnaman. As with previous games, expect the lines and pairings to go through changes throughout the game.
Canadiens: The Canadiens also suffer a big loss with Brendan Gallagher out for the remainder of the series with a broken jaw. Charles Hudon was a new addition to the lineup for Montreal in Game 5, and he could stay in the lineup with Gallagher out. Alex Belzile was a healthy scratch for Game 5 and could also be back in the lineup now that Gallagher.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (21st), Canadiens (19th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (12th), Canadiens (11th)
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)
- Jan. 16, 2020 – Canadiens 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- Aug. 12, 2020 (Game 1) – Flyers 2, Canadiens 1
- Aug. 14, 2020 (Game 2) – Canadiens 5, Flyers 0
- Aug. 16, 2020 (Game 3) – Flyers 1, Canadiens 0
- Aug. 18, 2020 (Game 4) – Flyers 2, Canadiens 0
- Aug. 19, 2020 (Game 5) – Canadiens 5, Flyers 3
Flyers Leaders vs. Canadiens (Career Regular Season Stats)
- Jake Voracek – 31 GP, 7 G, 22 A, 29 P
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 13 GP, 2 G, 12 A, 14 P
- Claude Giroux – 36 GP, 10 G, 16 A, 26 P
- James van Riemsdyk – 39 GP, 16 G, 9 A, 25 P
- Sean Couturier – 27 GP, 7 G, 12 A, 19 P
- Carter Hart – 4 GP, 2-2-0, 2.85 GAA, .913 SV%