The Philadelphia Flyers returned to action Saturday night with a tilt against the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens are fighting for a playoff spot, so it was deemed to be a big game. Karsen Dorwart would make his NHL debut and Samuel Ersson would get the start in net. Rodrigo Abols and Olle Lycksell came out of the lineup. Nicolas Deslauriers jumped in. The Flyers let a one-to-zero lead slip in the third period. They tried to come back but it fell just short. This is the first loss under interim coach Brad Shaw. The Flyers fall to 31-37-9 on the season.
Ryan Poehling gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at the 4:10 mark of the first period. Jakob Pelletier navigated the neutral zone and then passed to Cam York in the Canadiens zone. York passed back to Pelletier, who set up Poehling for a backhander past the blocker of Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault in front. Pelletier and York collected assists.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play at the 5:41 mark of the first period as Alexandre Carrier was called for high-sticking. It was a double-minor as blood was drawn. They had a few chances to begin the power play, but turnovers led to multiple scoring chances for the Canadiens while shorthanded.
York was called for delay of game at the 11:38 mark of the first period, which gave the Canadiens their first power play. Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson had to make a big save on Cole Caufield, and the Flyers were able to clear the puck a few times to take time off the clock.
The Canadiens got their second power play at the 11:05 mark of the second period as Pelletier was called for slashing. Ersson yet again had to come up big as he had to make a huge save on Nick Suzuki. The Flyers also did a nice job of clearing the puck when given the opportunity.
Brendan Gallagher tied the game up at one at the 1:24 mark of the third period. Jake Evans passed the puck to him from behind the net and Gallagher put a snap shot off the far post and past Ersson. Evans and Christian Dvorak tallied assists.
The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead at the 2:40 mark of the third period courtesy of Lane Hutson. He navigated through the ice to the Flyers zone and put a snapshot past Ersson at an extreme angle. Suzuki picked up the only assist.
The Flyers got their third power play at the 9:20 mark of the third period as Juraj Slafkovsky was called for boarding. It backfired, however, as Suzuki scored a shorthanded goal at the 10:39 mark of the third period. Ersson played the puck to the side, Suzuki picked it up, and put a snap shot past his glove. This gave the Canadiens a 3-1 lead. Kaiden Guhle was given the lonely assist.
Ersson was pulled with 3:34 left in the third period, and the team was down by two. Couturier had a great chance in tight, but Montembeault made the save.
The Flyers got their fourth power play at the 18:13 mark of the third period as Mike Matheson was called for delay of game. Ersson remained pulled, so it went to six-on-four. Tyson Foerster got the Flyers within one at the 19:20 mark. Travis Konecny passed the puck to him to the slot and Foerster put a snapshot under the blocker of Montembeault. Konecny and Poehling collected assists.
The Flyers pulled Ersson again with 1:50 left in the third period, but they couldn’t get any more pucks past Montembeault.
The Flyers went one for four on the power play and managed to kill off both Canadiens’ man advantages.
Ersson was strong through two periods but fell apart in the third. He saved 23 of 26 shots, giving him a .885 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Poehling (12) Assists: Pelletier (12), York (12)
2nd Period:
None
3rd Period:
Gallagher (20) Assists: Evans (22), Dvorak (20)
Hutson (6) Assists: Suzuki (56)
Suzuki (27) (Shorthanded) Assists: Guhle (12)
Foerster (19) (Power Play) Assists: Konecny (50), Poehling (15)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Wednesday, Apr 9, in New York against the Rangers.
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