After dropping their first two bouts of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers look to secure their first win of 2014-2015 as they take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night in Philadelphia.
This is the first matchup between the two teams since January 8th of this year. The Flyers won the 2013-2014 season series 2-1.
After a dismal lack of offense in their first game of the season against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, the Flyers seemed to find their spark against the New Jersey Devils the following night. With the team down 3-0 less than six minutes into the second period, Claude Giroux began the comeback with a power play goal. Wayne Simmonds scored his first two goals of the season (within 56 seconds of each other), while Vincent Lecavalier scored his first. Giroux, Simmonds, and Lecavalier recorded assists as well, as did Matt Read, Mark Streit (2), Andrew MacDonald, and Jake Voracek.
Unfortunately, the team fell short and the Devils won 6-4, but the offense is showing potential.
Ray Emery will get the start in net for Philadelphia, while Carey Price will start for Montreal. Emery faced the Canadiens once last season allowing four goals on 34 shots. Coach Craig Berube said that Emery is starting because it’s “his turn” with the team having three games in four nights.
Price was responsible for one win and one loss against the Flyers last season, allowing one goal in the win and two in the loss.
The Canadiens have won their first two games of the season behind the goaltending tandem of Price and Dustin Tokarski. Price gave up three goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs on opening night, including a power play goal, while Tokarski was responsible for one against the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Philadelphia’s blue line was a focus of concern even before the season began, but with the lower-body injury to Braydon Coburn keeping him out for at least the short-term, there is even more cause for concern. General Manager Ron Hextall said that the team will not make any transactions over the weekend and will instead wait until Coburn is evaluated by doctors again on Monday before making a move. Look for Nick Schultz to replace Coburn as he did on Thursday night, logging 14:46 of ice time.
Game Notes
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Power Play: Flyers (5th in 2013-2014, 8th at home), Canadiens (T-15th in 2013-14, T-6th on road)
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Penalty Kill: Flyers (8th in 2013-14, 10th at home) Canadiens (4th in 2013-14, T-5th on road)
Flyers scratches: Blair Jones, Jay Rosehill, Braydon Coburn
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Jake Voracek
Line 2: Brayden Schenn-Vincent Lecavalier-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-R.J. Umberger
Line 4: Zac Rinaldo-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Jason Akeson
D-Pair 1: Andrew MacDonald-Nick Schultz
D-Pair 2: Nick Grossmann-Mark Streit
D-Pair 3: Michael Del Zotto-Luke Schenn
Goalie: Ray Emery
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Kim Pollock is a beat writer for Flyerdelphia. You can find her on Twitter at @kfpollock.
