GAME DAY | Canadiens – Flyers: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

By
Sam Gerber
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Game Preview by Sam Gerber
Last game: MTL 4  OTT  1  

The Canadiens had a great weekend with back-to-back wins. For a change, the Habs provided goal support for their netminders. Lehkonen got the monkey off his back and scored twice against the Senators.

For a complete recap: Habs Lehkonen Rewarded for Strong Effort

Players to watch

  • Travis Konecny
    With his high energy game, Konecny has the knack of scoring timely goals for the Flyers.
  • Nikita Scherbak
    Scherbak had a great weekend for the Habs with two assists. He is looking to stay with the big club for the rest of the season. It’s important that he plays top six minutes to play his best.
  • Claude Giroux
    After having an off year in 2016-17, Giroux has already achieved his point total from last season with lots of hockey left.

Keys to Victory

  • Score with the man advantage
    The Canadiens power-play has been on fire in 2018. Winning the offensive zone face-off has been a big factor.
  • Use your speed
    The Habs will need to out skate the hard checking Flyers, who always leave teams bruised.
  • Execute zone entries
    When the Canadiens maintain possession on their zone entry they have great offensive pressure.
Matchup by All Habs staff
Wells-Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA | February 8, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, NBCSC

2017-18 statistics
FLYERS CANADIENS
59 (18th) Points (rank) 50 (27th)
25-19-9 Record 22-25-6
13-9-5 Home/Away 8-15-1
5-4-1 Last 10 4-5-1
2.87 GF/G 2.58
2.85 GA/G 3.06
20.4 PP% 21.6
74.2 PK% 78.6
 49.91  CF%  50.81
eSAT Analytics by Mathieu Chagnon
 
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Giroux – Couturier – Konecny
Voracek – Patrick – Simmonds
Weal – Laughton – Raffl
Lehtera – Filppula – Weise		 Pacioretty – Byron – Hudon
Galchenyuk – Drouin – Scherbak
Lehkonen – Plekanec – Gallagher
Deslauriers – Froese – L. Shaw
Defensemen
Provorov – Gostisbehere
Hagg – MacDonald
Manning – Gudas		 Alzner – Petry
Mete – Schlemko
Morrow – Benn
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Alt, Leier
Injured: None		 Scratched: Jerabek, Carr, De La Rose
Injured: Weber, Hemsky, Danault, A. Shaw
Goalies
Brian Elliot Carey Price
Record: 20-11-7
GAA: 2.71
Sv%: .909
SO: 0
Alternate: Michal Neuvirth		 Record: 15-19-4
GAA: 2.92
Sv%: .907
SO: 1
Alternate: Antti Niemi
 What to Expect
Prediction: Canadiens 2  Flyers 3 

The Flyers currently hold down a wild card spot and need all the points they can get. Expect them to set the tone early. Philadelphia is a high offensive team who relies on scoring to make up for their below-average defensive style. With Price in net, the Canadiens should be able to hold off the Flyers offense. The game plan for the Habs should be patience, waiting for the Flyers to open up the game. Then Montreal can take advantage.
Highlights from the NHL
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