Samuel Ersson allowed a goal on the first shot he faced in his NHL career and was eventually pulled after allowing five goals. In relief, Carter Hart was back in goal, until he was forced to exit with an injury, sending Ersson back in during a whirlwind 6-5 loss for the Flyers to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
The Flyers were blown out again, this time by a 6-3 margin against the Hurricanes on Friday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center, sending the Flyers to their fifth straight loss.
Entering the third period on Friday night in Carolina, it was another case of Carter Hart keeping his team in a game. Carolina had only one goal. Hart had 27 saves. This time, the Flyers gave him some run support, and Hart did the rest in a dominant performance that continued his hot start to the season.
Both the Flyers and Canadiens will be without key players in Friday's Game 6, and it should be an energetic affair that fits the mold of playoff hockey at its finest. Game 6 is set for 7 p.m.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi took a major boarding penalty. Matt Niskanen has been suspended for Game 6 for a cross-check to the head of Brendan Gallagher. Nick Suzuki fueled the fire by patting Carter Hart on the head after a goal. A collision between Sean Couturier and Artturi Lehkonen started an end-of-game scrum. The bad blood in this series went from 0 to 60 in Game 5.
The Montreal Canadiens are not dead yet, and mark my words, you don't want them to take it to a Game 7. Here are 5 Takeaways from Game 5 of Flyers-Canadiens.
The Flyers had to overcome a lot of obstacles to eventually tie the game in the third, but gave the lead back 22 seconds later, as the Canadiens carried the lead the rest of the way for the 5-3 win in Game 5 to force Game 6 on Friday.
It's a quick turnaround for the Flyers from their second straight shutout win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday night gives the Flyers the chance to finally get back on the right side of a playoff series result and claim their first playoff series win in over eight years.
It wasn't a perfect game from the Flyers in Game 3, but it was a better game than the debacle in Game 2. Now the Flyers have a chance to take a commanding lead in the series against the Montreal Canadiens again, just as it hits a crucial point. Game 4 is set for 3 p.m.