Watch PHLY Flyers Postgame

The Philadelphia Flyers did what they do best in Montreal, allowing the Canadiens to score the game’s first goal so they could come back and take the lead.

Thirty-nine seconds after the Habs took the lead, Carl Grundstrom tied the game late in the first. From there, Trevor Zegras and Bobby Brink made it 3-1 in the second, while Dan Vladar continued his now-expected solid play between the pipes for the Orange & Black.

The first half of the third period was all Vladar, as the Canadiens made their push down a couple of goals.

Philly stemmed the tide just enough, getting a power play and a spending a little time on offense, but it was still mostly a goalie and defensive effort to lock up the win and end Philly’s 3-game skid.

It was Travis Konecny who netted the insurance goal, albeit late and on an empty net, that wrapped this thing up for Philly, and suddenly we’re talking about a five-game point streak!

First period

Not a ton going on in the first seven minutes, with five total shots on goal. Dan Vladar did make a decent glove save against Cole Caufield on the right wing post early, but that’s really about it so far in terms of highlights.

Rasmus Ristolainen announces his return with a BIG HIT on Juraj Slafkovsky. Ivan Demidov retaliates with a few crosschecks, putting the Flyers on the power play. Risto put an earlier hit on Nick Suzuki in the neutral zone, so it appears #55 is back. What else is back? An inept power play. We’ll always have that moderate early-season success, I guess.

But, a few minutes later, a shot at redemption, with Christian Dvorak drawing a tripping penalty in front of their own net, so another two minutes to get the offense going. A decent chance or two, but nothing crazy. Flyers are up to eight shots on goal, but none have been huge tests for Jacob Fowler.

The Habs strike first. With 59 seconds to go until intermission, the Flyers fail to get the puck deep into Montreal’s zone allowing a transition rush, finished off by Alexandre Texier. It took a while but Philly gave up its customary first goal of the game, putting them in great position to pick up at least one point tonight.

CARL GRUNDSTROM TIES IT! Just 39 seconds later, the newly-formed trio of Sean Couturier, Owen Tippett and Grundstrom move the puck up ice, and Tippett sent a slick pass to a breaking Grundy on the left post and he buried it. That’s three goals and four points in the last five games for Grundstrom.

The games goes to intermission tied at one, with the Flyers holding a 9-6 SOG advantage.

Second period

Travis Konecny nearly makes it 2-1 in the first 92 seconds, getting a second chance opportunity in front of the net and backhanding it through Fowler’s five-hole, but the Habs’ 21-year-old netminder was able to squeeze his pads shut.

A minute later Montreal threatens in front of Vladar, with Slafkovsky winning a board battle and getting it to Demidov but Vladar made the save and denied the rebound as well. Fast start to second with a few chances near the crease for both teams.

After a turnover on the breakout by Grundstrom, Coots gets called for holding Owen Beck’s stick as the puck came back to them. The Habs’ fourth-ranked power play (26.4%) now goes to work. The Flyers, who’ve struggled on the PK since mid-November, do a good job of taking away the middle and any cross-ice passes, and survive the first MTL power play of the night.

TREVOR ZEGRAS MAKES IT 2-1! After the penalty expired, Montreal had set up in Philly’s zone, but pressure at the point and a well-timed poke of the puck ahead to Zegras by Emil Andrae created a 2-on-1 for Zegras and TK, with Ziggy finding TK early, allowing him to break to the middle and receive a lead pass through Lane Hutson that put him 1-on-0 with Fowler, and the Flyers’ #46 beat the young goaltender five-hole. Zegras extends his career-high goal streak to four, and his 14th goal of the season has him only 10 away from a new career high in only 32 games played so far.

With 7:11 left in the second, Vladar has only faced nine shots, but several have been huge. He’s stopped a few odd-man rushes and one-timers to keep Montreal’s total at one.

FOWLER LEAVES THE PUCK BEHIND THE NET FOR A FORECHECKING MATVEI MICHKOV, WHO STEALS AND CENTERS TO BOBBY BRINK! 3-1! Just a miscommunication or mixup of some kind by the goalie making his third career start allows Michkov to find Brink in the slot to score as Fowler slid back in late, but to no avail. Good stuff.

The goal with 50 seconds left in the middle stanza allows Philly to take a two-goal lead into intermission. The Flyers are 9-0-0 when leading after two periods, but that’s not to say they’ve been perfect with the lead. Let’s see if they can avoid OT and win this one in 60 minutes.

Third period

The Flyers survive the first push by Montreal over the first 90 seconds or so, with Dan Vladar making a couple of big saves to maintain the two-goal lead. I know this team tends to play conservatively with a lead, but an insurance goal would be huge in the first half of this period.

About four minutes into the period the Habs got a couple more dangerous chances, with Vladar having to deny both Hutson and Slafkovsky. The Flyers are still up two after icing the puck with just under 14 minutes remaining, but it doesn’t feel like they can maintain the lead if they don’t do something to relieve the pressure.

Montreal came into the period with 10 SOG. They’ve already got seven with 10:41 left. Philly needs to pick it up and spend a little time in the offensive zone. The Flyers are a strong defensive team, but the Canadiens have a lot of guys who can score- have to limit the opportunities at some point.

The Flyers have stemmed the tide recently, getting a few pucks deep and managing a couple of shot-attempts. If they can use the forecheck like a run-game to milk the clock it will serve them well in learning to play with the lead, and not just depend on the goaltender and winning d-zone draws to hold on in the third.

Zegras is slow to get back to Philly’s bench after taking a hit from behind as he cleared the puck from the defensive zone. He’s on the bench, possibly testing his knee. We’ll see if he takes his next shift.

The Flyers get a power play when Nick Seeler “draws” a high-stick (I’ll take it), but after a pair of roughing calls against Zegras and Josh Anderson, the Habs got the better of the chances while short-handed, starting with a Michkov turnover on the half-wall. Vladar continues to get the job done, though. Shots are 20 a piece with 30 seconds left on the initial penalty, and 4:38 left in the game.

Montreal pulls Fowler with about 3:20 left, and the FlyGuys must know defend the 6v5 against one of the best man-advantage teams in the league.

Grundstrom’s physicality on the point-man, Cam York blocking shots, Risto being Risto, and TK burying an empty-net goal, combined to give the Flyers a win on the road, and an end to their three-game losing streak.

Watch PHLY Flyers Postgame