Flyers-Canadiens: Game 13 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers have managed to salvage slow starts into a solid week with an overtime win over the Red Wings on Wednesday and a shootout win over the Islanders on Thursday.

The week ends with another meeting in Montreal against the red hot Canadiens, who just suffered their first regulation loss on Friday in a 10-0 shellacking.

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. 

Flyers Leaders GP G A P Canadiens Leaders GP G A P
Claude Giroux 12 2 11 13 Shea Weber 11 4 6 10
Wayne Simmonds 12 6 6 12 Alex Galchenyuk 11 3 7 10
Jake Voracek 12 6 5 11 Brendan Gallagher 11 4 5 9
Mark Streit 12 3 6 9 Alexander Radulov 11 3 5 8
Brayden Schenn 9 2 6 8 Max Pacioretty 11 2 5 7
 
Player to Watch
15 Michael Del Zotto 6 Shea Weber
Last 5 Games: N/A Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, E
 
Michael Del Zotto makes his return to the lineup for the first time since February. After dealing with two separate injuries that ended his 2015-16 season and derailed the start of his 2016-17 season, the Flyers defenseman will be a breath of fresh air for the blue line.
 
The Canadiens are red hot to start the season and a big reason for that is Shea Weber. Weber was acquired in a blockbuster trade in the offseason and so far that move — sending P.K. Subban to Nashville for the former Predators captain — has been paying major dividends.
 
Goalie Matchup
30 Michal Neuvirth 31 Carey Price
4-1-1, 3.30 GAA, .876 SV% 6-0-0, 1.17 GAA, .964 SV%

Michal Neuvirth makes his fourth straight start after picking up a shootout win over the Islanders on Thursday. It seems clear Neuvirth is the Flyers go-to option, but the goalie has allowed some soft goals in his last couple of games.

Carey Price was not in net for the Canadiens on Friday, and Montreal suffered their first regulation loss of the season as the Blue Jackets put a beating on them by a score of 10-0. With Price back in net, the challenge becomes tougher for the Flyers, who only managed to score once on Price just over a week ago.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Dale Weise, Boyd Gordon, Andrew MacDonald, Nick Schultz, Scott Laughton

Left Wing Center Right Wing
12 Michael Raffl 28 Claude Giroux 17 Wayne Simmonds
11 Travis Konecny 14 Sean Couturier 93 Jake Voracek
24 Matt Read 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 13 Roman Lyubimov
76 Chris VandeVelde 10 Brayden Schenn 25 Nick Cousins
Defense    
53 Shayne Gostisbehere 15 Michael Del Zotto  
9 Ivan Provorov 32 Mark Streit  
3 Radko Gudas 23 Brandon Manning  
Goalie    
30 Michal Neuvirth    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (4th, T-9th on road), Canadiens (T-14th, 13th at home)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-24th, T-23rd on road), Canadiens (14th, 3rd at home)
  • Recent History vs. Canadiens
    • Oct. 24, 2016 - The Canadiens defeated the Flyers, 3-1, in Montreal in the first game of the season series. Shea Weber struck for the game's first goal just over five minutes into the second period. Midway through the period, Jake Voracek deflected a Claude Giroux shot past Carey Price to tie the game. The game remained tied until the final 6:52 when Brendan Gallagher deflected an Alexander Radulov shot past Steve Mason for a power-play goal. That stood as the game-winner and Radulov added an empty-net goal to seal the win for Montreal.
  • A Look Back in Flyers History – Who can forget the moment when Ron Hextall made a beeline for Chris Chelios during the 1988-89 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the Flyers trailing in Game 6 of the Wales Conference Finals, Hextall retaliated for an earlier hit on Brian Propp. Chelios had thrown an elbow into Propp 10 days earlier that went unpenalized. Hextall took out the frustration on a series that was two minutes from ending and made a run at Chelios that started a huge brawl. Hextall was suspended for 12 games as a result. 
  • Flyers leaders vs. Canadiens
    • Shayne Gostisbehere – 4 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points
    • Jake Voracek – 20 games, 4 goals, 16 assists, 20 points
    • Brayden Schenn - 15 games, 4 goals, 9 assists, 13 points
    • Michal Neuvirth - 13 games, 6-4-2, 2.14 GAA, .926 Sv%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Jake Voracek needs three assists to reach 300 for his career. 
    • Brayden Schenn needs one point to reach 200 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: TCN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

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