Flyers-Canadiens Preview: Making the Cut

After all of the off-ice commotion during Monday night's game, which resulted in another loss for the Flyers, the team moves forward with a new addition to the blue line and one game remaining on the four-game homestand.

They welcome in the Montreal Canadiens, who have snapped out of a three-game losing streak after the holiday break to win two of their last three games against top teams like the Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. They also catch the Flyers in the middle of a prolonged stretch of play, seven games in the last 12 days, while having been off from game action since last Saturday.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Montreal Canadiens	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	40	21	15	36	Nick Suzuki	39	12	22	34
Joel Farabee	40	12	18	30	Cole Caufield	39	11	16	27
Sean Couturier	38	10	17	27	Mike Matheson	39	6	21	27
Travis Sanheim	39	4	21	25	Sean Monahan	39	10	13	23
Owen Tippett	40	13	10	23	Juraj Slafkovsky	39	4	10	14

Jamie Drysdale makes his Flyers debut, just two days after the blockbuster trade brought the 21-year-old defenseman to the Flyers. As shocking as the trade involving Cutter Gauthier was, it was equally a surprise for the Flyers to add a player that could be inserted into the lineup effective immediately in a rebuilding season. The first opportunity to see Drysdale and his potential on this blue line will be something to watch.

Cole Caufield is always a scoring threat, and appears to have found his scoring touch again. After scoring just one goal over 12 games, he had a three-game goal-scoring streak before behind held off the board for the last two games.

Sam Ersson gets the start in goal for the Flyers. Ersson made 26 saves on 28 shots in his last start against Columbus last Thursday, taking the shootout loss.

Cayden Primeau gets the start for the Canadiens. Primeau makes his first start of 2024 and first since Dec. 28, when he made 26 saves on 30 shots in a loss to Carolina. This will be Primeau's ninth start of the season.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Noah Cates (injury), Marc Staal (healthy), Nick Deslauriers (healthy)

Canadiens Scratches: Rafael Harvey-Pinard (injury), Alex Newhook (injury), Tanner Pearson (injury), Jonathan Kovacevic (healthy), Gustav Lindstrom (healthy), Samuel Montembeault (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Jamie Drysdale makes his Flyers debut, and the team will dress seven defensemen. Nick Deslauriers comes out of the lineup as a healthy scratch.
Canadiens: No changes are being made to the Montreal lineup.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (10.8% - 31st), Canadiens (17.9% - 23rd)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (86.2% - 2nd), Canadiens (72.7% - 28th)
Recent History vs. Canadiens
- March 28, 2023 - Flyers 3, Canadiens 2 (at PHI)
- Feb. 24, 2023 - Canadiens 5, Flyers 2 (at PHI)
- Nov. 19, 2022 - Canadiens 5, Flyers 4 (F/OT) (at MTL)
Flyers Leaders vs. Canadiens
- Sean Couturier: 28 GP, 7 G, 12 A, 19 P
- Cam Atkinson: 23 GP, 7 G, 6 A, 13 P
- Travis Konecny: 14 GP, 6 G, 4 A, 10 P
- Carter Hart: 8 GP, 2-3-3, 3.26 GAA, .900 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Sean Couturier needs three assists to reach 300 for his career.