Round 1, Game 2 Preview: Flyers-Canadiens
The Flyers didn't have their best in Game 1, but came away with the 2-1 win in large part due to their goaltender. On Friday afternoon, they have a chance to really establish themselves in the series.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens know they are in a must-win situation to really stay in the series, and they will have their head coach in mind throughout the series, even if he isn't able to be behind the bench.
Another tight-checking, low-scoring game could be on tap again between these two teams.
Game 2 is set for 3 p.m.
Team Leaders
Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Montreal Canadiens | GP | G | A | P |
Scott Laughton | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | Shea Weber | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Kevin Hayes | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | Paul Byron | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Joel Farabee | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | Jeff Petry | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Travis Sanheim | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Artturi Lehkonen | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Nicolas Aube-Kubel | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Player to Watch | |
49 Joel Farabee | 14 Nick Suzuki |
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, +2 | Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, +1 |
Projected Goalie Matchup | |
79 Carter Hart | 31 Carey Price |
3 GP, 3-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .966 SV% | 5 GP, 3-2-0, 1.74 GAA, .945 SV% |
Carter Hart was excellent again in his first playoff series start, making 27 saves in the Game 1 win. If anything, he's proved three times now that the stage certainly isn't too big. Hart was certainly the Flyers savior in Game 1, given the play in front of him for a majority of the second period, and he carried them to a win.
Carey Price put together an excellent game of his own in Game 1, making 29 saves on 31 shots. This will be a goalie duel throughout the series, but the Flyers certainly found one way to beat Price, by going to the net. Otherwise, if Price has a chance to make the save, he is capable of doing just that. He'll look to be the better backstop in Game 2 for the Canadiens.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
28 Claude Giroux | 14 Sean Couturier | 49 Joel Farabee |
21 Scott Laughton | 13 Kevin Hayes | 11 Travis Konecny |
62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel | 38 Derek Grant | 93 Jake Voracek |
25 James van Riemsdyk | 44 Nate Thompson | 18 Tyler Pitlick |
Defense | ||
9 Ivan Provorov | 15 Matt Niskanen | |
6 Travis Sanheim | 5 Phil Myers | |
53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 61 Justin Braun | |
Goalie | ||
79 Carter Hart | 37 Brian Elliott |
Canadiens Projected Lineup
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
90 Tomas Tatar | 14 Nick Suzuki | 11 Brendan Gallagher |
92 Jonathan Drouin | 15 Jesperi Kotkaniemi | 40 Joel Armia |
62 Artturi Lehkonen | 24 Philip Danault | 41 Paul Byron |
22 Dale Weise | 13 Max Domi | 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: Obviously, no word on any lineup changes, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the Flyers tried a couple of different things. There is certainly a chance that Robert Hagg could come back in for Shayne Gostisbehere for Game 2. No changes are expected at forward, but it may not be a surprise to see some line shuffling. James van Riemsdyk is a candidate to move to the third line and play alongside Jake Voracek with Nicolas Aube-Kubel dropping to the fourth line, but that remains to be seen.
- Canadiens: Don't expect much in terms of changes for the Canadiens. They liked what they saw from the group in Game 1 and will likely go with the same lineup as a result.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-23rd), Canadiens (22nd)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (14th), Canadiens (13th)
- 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
- 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%
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia/NBCSN
Radio: 97.3 ESPN
Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.