Canadiens Lineup

Jonathan Drouin – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Tomas Tatar – Max Domi – Andrew Shaw 

Paul Byron – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia 

Artturi Lehkonen – Nate Thompson – Matthew Peca

Victor Mete – Shea Weber

Mike Reilly – Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak – Jordie Benn

Carey Price – Antti Niemi

Christian Folin, Nicolas Deslauriers, Charles Hudon

none

Game Report

This game was billed as the inaugural battle between the Jedi master and the young Padawan. It didn’t quite turn out that way but don’t necessarily buy the narrative that Carter Hart was too star-struck by his idol, Carey Price.

There’s no question that Hart should have stopped two of the three goals he allowed before he got the hook for the second straight game. Hart gave up three goals on nine shots in 10:33 of work.

But the Flyers didn’t do their blue chip prospect any favours. The Canadiens owned the neutral zone from the drop of the puck. Montreal exploited turnovers and poor gaps as they pounced on the Flyers.

This game was over in the first 30 minutes. Both teams were essentially on auto-pilot for the last half of the game.

🎩#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/8Bz2KS7F0r

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 22, 2019

It was a very good night for Brendan Gallagher, who recorded the first career hat trick in the NHL. Gallagher got an early start, scoring just 58 seconds into the contest. He leads the Habs with 26 goals this season.

The Canadiens now embark on a challenging stretch of their schedule with seven of the next eight games being played on the road. That includes three games in four nights in California. And we are just days away from the NHL trade deadline that could have an impact on the Montreal lineup.

Plus / Minus

▲  Carey Price, Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Phillip Danault

▼  Nate Thompson, Victor Mete