Flyers’ to avoid sweep, end homestand vs. Habs

Amid their best run in the 2022-2023 NHL season, the Philadelphia Flyers are on a five-game point streak (4-0-1) with a chance to end the homestand with momentum.

The Montreal Canadiens visit the Wells Fargo Center. They’ve already taken the season series from the Flyers, including a 5-2 victory in Philadelphia on February 24th. Before that, on November 19th, the Canadiens won at the Bell Centre in overtime, 5-4.

The Flyers will either extend their point streak or, if Montreal is victorious, they’ll slide closer toward a top-five NHL Entry Draft lottery slot. It is a rare occasion where Philadelphia benefits no matter the result, but that isn’t how John Tortorella looks at it; clearly, this club is playing to win.

Montreal Canadiens (30-38-6)

Stringing along back-to-back wins, the Montreal Canadiens aren’t trending toward Connor Bedard. Ten points separate the Canadiens from the Anaheim Ducks, who have the fourth-best overall NHL Draft Lottery odds.

Rafael Harvey-Pinard (12G, 5A) exploded versus the Columbus Blue Jackets, scoring a hat trick. Harvey-Pinard had four more high-danger scoring chances against the Buffalo Sabres, but Eric Comrie made the saves. In February, Harvey-Pinard took a few hits from Owen Tippett, Ivan Provorov, and Scott Laughton, but his linemate scored the game-winner.

Nick Suzuki (23G, 38A) scored the game-winning goal in February on the powerplay. He is on a tear, scoring ten points (2G, 8A) over his last five games. Suzuki was on the receiving end of punishment against the Sabres, turning the puck over twice. In February, Suzuki took a couple of shots from Laughton and Kevin Hayes but eventually scored on a slim-angle shot from beyond the faceoff dot along the goal-line extended.

Here’s the tentative lineup for the Montreal Canadiens:

HarveyPinard-Suzuki-Hoffman
Gurianov-Dach-Drouin
Ylonen-Evans-Gallagher
Pezzetta-Tierney-Belzile

Matheson-Savard
Edmundson-Barron
Harris-Kovacevic

Primeau
(Allen)

Philadelphia Flyers (28-32-12)

The Philadelphia Flyers are continuing their grand changes to the franchise. Yesterday, in an official press release, Dave Scott announced his retirement as the Chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor.

Carter Hart (21-21-10, 2.90GAA, 90.9%SV) will occupy the crease, per Tortorella. In his last five starts, Hart is 4-1-0. Hart claimed the shutout versus the Red Wings, stopping 29/29 shots on goal. He started each game in 2022-2023 versus the Canadiens to an 0-1-1 record, 85.8%SV, and a 4.5GAA.

Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:

Farabee-Cates-Tippett
van Riemsdyk-Hayes-Allison
Laughton-Frost-Lemieux
Deslauriers-Laczynski-Braun

Provorov-York
Sanheim-Ristolainen
Seeler-DeAngelo

Hart
(Sandstrom)

Place Your Bets

Philadelphia Flyers moneyline (-170)
Montreal Canadiens moneyline (+145)
Nick Suzuki over .5pts (-135)
Carter Hart over 24.5 saves (-120)

Game Information

You can watch the Philadelphia Flyers host the Montreal Canadiens on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The radio broadcast is available on 97.5 the Fanatic and Flyers Radio 24/7. The puck drops at 7pm.

(Photo Credit/Alex McIntyre)